The New Zealand women's hockey team set sights on a top four at the upcoming Beijing Olympics, the 58-year-old head coach Kevin Towns said here Saturday.

"I believe we are good enough to play into the semifinals," Towns told Xinhua at the training field. "If we play well and win the first two places in the pool, we will have a chance to get a medal."

New Zealand, ranked eighth in the world, will face in the pool the second-ranked Argentina and defending gold medallist Germany, whom Towns considered as their arch rivals and the favorites for the Olympic title.

"Japan, Great Britain and the United States are also good. Every team in the pool have a chance," noted the coach.

Japan, ranked fifth in the world, finished fifth at both the 2006 World Cup and the 2007 Champions Trophy.

The New Zealand women's team had trained in Hong Kong for ten days before arriving in Beijing on Wednesday.

"We trained in very harsh conditions, because Hong Kong is much more hotter than Beijing," said Towns.

During their training here on Thursday, New Zealand played a warm-up with host China but lost 3-1.

The Kiwis will play the opening match with the Japanese on Aug. 10.

Source: Xinhua