大象传媒

Out with a bang? Or out with a whimper? It was frustrating to watch hopes fade. For all the excitement of the , the men subsided with that draw against Canada - a country better known for their skills on the ice.

And the women's path was . It's hard to shake the feeling that opportunity was knocking.

Ranked eighth and 10th in the world respectively, Britain's men and women will claim with justification to have made progress here in China. They each hope to finish in fifth place, which would be a significant achievement in the wider scheme of things. They are making headway.

What a start for Britain's men's hockey team.

Just as Steve Harmison's wayward first ball of the 2006 Ashes set the tone for the whole of the series, they'll be hoping is an omen for their Beijing campaign.

It certainly set tongues wagging at the .

The New Zealand TV commentator next to me was cooing with admiration, so too my German counterpart just below me.

All four goals were of the highest quality - reverse stick effort my personal favourite.

Beijing

GB's men have eased off the gas as D-Day approaches, confident that the hard work is done

Their coach Jason Lee told me the time at the training base in Macau was invaluable for the acclimatisation process, and he expects to reap the dividends here in China.

The stifling heat in Beijing will ask questions of every athlete - but Lee insists it was hotter in Macau, and .

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Twenty years ago, British hockey enjoyed its finest hour. On a sweltering afternoon in Seoul, a prompted wild celebrations.

The amateurs assembled under were deservedly crowned Olympic champions, but rather than heralding a period of dominance and trophies, the game in this country stagnated. Two decades on, do Jason Lee and Danny Kerry's sides have what it takes to win gold for Britain in Beijing?

The easy answer is probably no, given current form and world rankings. Both the GB men and women seem short of genuine world-class players, but there is nothing like an Olympic Games to galvanise a group. It's their , and for some, it's the only chance they will have to showcase their talents on the global stage.

I spend the bulk of my working year reporting and commentating on rugby and tennis for Radio 5 Live. Every other year though, I focus on the hockey at the Olympic and Commonwealth Games. I'm 33, English and joined the 大象传媒 in 2002.

My first job in journalism was with Independent Radio News. After 18 months of news reporting, I jumped ship to the sports desk where I spent four happy years covering rugby and cricket, taking in some tasty England tours to South Africa, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, along with the .

Since moving to 5 Live, I have continued to cover the rugby, including a trip with the Scottish team to the , and with Ireland to the . I also commentate on the four tennis Grand Slams for the 大象传媒, and covered the hockey at the Athens Olympics of 2004, and the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne 2006.

I am still coming to terms with the fact that , lift the or score a . I have to be content with some , a regular workout on a tennis court, and a hope that my two little boys achieve their own dreams of sporting glory.