The 2009 Women's Hockey Champions Trophy was the 17th edition of the Hockey Champions Trophy for women. It was held between 11–19 July 2009 in Sydney, Australia.
Argentina won the tournament for the third time after defeating Australia 4–3 in the final on penalty strokes after a 0–0 draw.
Despite finishing runner-up, Australia were relegated from next year's tournament instead of the sixth-placed team England, due to England being the host of the 2010 edition. Relegation was decided based on rankings from the 2008 Olympics. Australian coach Frank Murray strongly criticised the rule, calling it "a ridiculous qualification process", upon discovering prior to the final that Australia would have to win the tournament to avoid relegation. He stated that the tournament's lowest-placed team bar the next hosts should instead be relegated, and noted that the rule incentivised Australia to deliberately lose to England, to help England to finish higher than sixth.
Read more about 2009 Women's Hockey Champions Trophy: Contents, Teams, Umpires, Awards
Famous quotes containing the words women and/or champions:
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The champions and enthusiasts of the state:”
—Herman Melville (1819–1891)