The Netherlands women's waterpolo team, who is within touching distance of its first Olympic appearance in eight years, will show its determination to strive for the final four of the Games.
"We are aiming the semifinal berth of the Beijing Olympics," head coach of Netherlands Galen Van Robin said at the Beijing International Airport after the team arrived on Wednesday.
Women's water polo, played in the Netherlands from the start of the 20th century, was included in the Olympics for the first time in Sydney in 2000. The Dutch finished fourth at the Sydney Olympics, beaten by Russia 4-3 in the third-place play-off.
"We didn't qualify for the Athens Olympics, but we are back again this time. Hopefully, we could get a satisfaction results in Beijing," said Van Robin.
"This is the second time we came to Beijing. Last time we came here, we trained with the Chinese team," added Van Robin.
There are eight teams qualified for the Beijing Olympics, namely Russia, Hungary, Greece, Italy, China, the United States, Australia and the Netherlands.
The Netherlands will face Hungary in its first match of the Beijing Olympics on August 11.
(Xinhua News Agency July 31, 2008)