China, with an early 1-0 lead, suffered their third straight defeat against Spain in the Olympic men's hockey tournament?in Beijing?on Friday.

Spain, ranked fourth in the world, are the only team to have won three preliminary games so far in Pool A.

Na Yubo opened the scoring in the sixth minute, his third Olympic goal, for China that kept the lead until the 17th minute when Spain's Ribas Xavier converted a penalty corner.

Spain had more possessions and their string of attacks were saved by China's goalie Su Rifeng.

However, in the 67th minute, Pol Amat found a good chance and scored a field goal, which sealed Spain's 2-1 win.

China coach Kim Sang Ryul said Chinese players did not perform to their advantages because of either environment or personal emotions. "I felt regret for three losses. I should be responsible for the tactical problems."

Kim also praised Na, the scorer for the first goal in three games, as a speedy and skilled player, but a further improvement should be made in teamwork.

"China are a new team but they made the match tough," said Spain coach Maurits Hendriks, who was quite happy with their result.

With three losses out of three, debutants China are out of contention for a medal. Spain now top Pool A with nine points.

China next play New Zealand and Spain take on Germany on Sunday.

(Xinhua News Agency August 15, 2008)