In response to the nine-game suspension handed down by the National Hockey League as a result of actions in last night's Nashville-Buffalo game, Nashville Predators center Scott Nichol issued the following statement:

Nashville Predators forward Scott Nichol has been suspended for nine games, without pay, for a blind-side punch to the head of Buffalo Sabres defenseman Jaroslav Spacek during NHL Game #512 at Nashville, Dec. 21.

Korea defended the men's hockey gold medal they won in Busan 2002 by defeating China 3-1 in the final of the competition at Al-Rayyan Sports Club. The win meant they were the only undefeated team in the tournament while Jang Jong Hyun finished as the top scorer with 15 goals.

Pakistan won the men's hockey bronze medal with a convincing 4-2 victory against Japan at Al-Rayyan Hockey Field.

China can win their first Asian Games hockey gold when their men take on defending champions Korea as the sport in Asia undergoes a radical shift in power.

As the 15th Asian Games draws towards its conclusion, there are many medals up for grabs on Thursday 14 December as 15 sports come to an end with a selection of mouth-watering finals on a bumper day of competition.

China have successfully defended their Asian Games women's hockey title, defeating Japan 1-0 to win gold at Al-Rayyan Sports Club with a 41st minute penalty corner strike from Ren Ye. China were markedly improved from their 3-0 defeat by Japan in the preliminary round.

India's women gained the consolation of a bronze medal in the hockey competition after a hard-fought 1-0 victory against Korea.

China produced an exciting last minute comeback to reach their first ever men's hockey final in a thrilling semifinal victory over seven times winners Pakistan at Al-Rayyan Sports Club. In the other semifinal, defending champions, Korea beat Japan 2-0 to secure their place in the final.

Malaysia and India will battle it out for 5th place in the men's hockey competition after winning their respective 5th/8th classification matches at Al-Rayyan Sports Club this afternoon.

After suffering a series of successive defeats throughout the tournament, Hong Kong, China ended their Asian Games hockey competition on a high note after defeating Oman 4-0 at Al-Rayyan hockey fields to finish in 9th place.

Malaysia and Japan both recorded wins in pool A of the men's hockey tournament at Al-Rayyan Sports Club on Wednesday to stay in contention for semifinals places. Malaysia survived an early scare and came from behind to beat Hong Kong, China 2-1 at Al-Rayyan Sports Club. In the following match, Japan enjoyed a much more comfortable victory, 4-0 over Chinese Taipei.