4 Jul 2011

Australia may miss out on 2012 Champions Trophy berth

10:02 am on 4 July 2011

Australia's place at the 2012 women's hockey Champions Trophy is in jeopardy after they finished sixth at this year's event with a 2-nil loss to England.

The Hockeyroos disappointing campaign came to an end as goals on either side of halftime handed England victory in the fifth-sixth playoff in Amsterdam.

Australia needed to finish fifth to guarantee a place at next year's tournament after the International Hockey Federation (FIH) revealed the selection criteria would include teams who finish in the top five of the 2011 event.

The Hockeyroos' fate is now in organisers' hands, with FIH to nominate the remaining qualifiers based on "commercial advantage to the sport, world ranking and development of the game".

It leaves the sixth-ranked Australian side in a delicate position given they will be vying with the likes of Germany (world No.3) and China (world No.4), who also missed out on automatic qualification.

The 2012 Champions Trophy will be played in Argentina in January and is a vital stepping stone for all teams heading towards the London Olympics.