| Tournament: | Women's field hockey at the 2008 Summer Olympics |
| Size: | 250px |
| Country: | China |
| City: | Beijing |
| Venues: | Olympic Green Hockey Field |
| Dates: | 10 – 22 August |
| Teams: | 12 |
| Count: | 2 |
| Matches: | 38 |
| Goals: | 149 |
| Top Scorer: |  Maartje Paumen |
| Top Scorer Goals: | 11 |
| Previous Year: | 2004 |
| Previous Tournament: | Field hockey at the 2004 Summer Olympics – Women's tournament |
| Next Year: | 2012 |
| Next Tournament: | Field hockey at the 2012 Summer Olympics – Women's tournament |
The women's field hockey tournament at the 2008 Summer Olympics was the 8th edition of the field hockey event for women at the Summer Olympic Games. It was held over a thirteen-day period beginning on 10 August, and culminating with the medal finals on 22 August. All games were played at the hockey field constructed on the Olympic Green in Beijing, China.
The Netherlands won the gold medal for the second time after defeating the hosts China 2–0 in the final. Argentina won the bronze medal by defeating the defending champions Germany 3–1.[1]
The twelve teams in the tournament were divided into two pools of six, with each team initially playing round-robin games within its respective pool. Following the completion of the round-robin, the top two teams from each pool advanced to the semifinals. All other teams played classification matches to determine the final tournament rankings. The two semi-final winners met for the gold medal match, while the semi-final losers played in the bronze medal match.
Each of the continental champions from five federations and the hosts China received an automatic berth. The European federation received two extra quotas, while Oceanian received one extra quota, based upon the FIH World Rankings at the completion of the 2006 World Cup. In addition to the three teams qualifying through the Olympic Qualifying Tournaments, the following twelve teams, shown with final pre-tournament rankings, competed in this tournament.[2] [3]
| Dates | Event | Location | Quotas | Qualifier(s) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Host nation | 1 | (5) | |||
| 2–14 December 2006 | 2006 Asian Games | Doha, Qatar | 1 | (6) | |
| 14–22 July 2007 | 2007 African Olympic Qualifier | Nairobi, Kenya | 1 | (12) | |
| 14–29 July 2007 | 2007 Pan American Games | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | 1 | (2) | |
| 18–25 August 2007 | 2007 EuroHockey Nations Championship | Manchester, England | 3 | (3) (1) (10) | |
| 10–17 September 2007 | 2007 Oceania Cup | Buderim, Australia | 2 | (7) (4) | |
| 12–20 April 2008 | Olympic Qualifying Tournament 1 | Baku, Azerbaijan | 1 | (8) | |
| 19–27 April 2008 | Olympic Qualifying Tournament 2 | Kazan, Russia | 1 | (11) | |
| 26 April – 4 May 2008 | Olympic Qualifying Tournament 3 | Victoria, Canada | 1 | (9) | |
| Total | 8 | ||||
– China qualified both as host and continental champion, therefore that quota was given to the Asian federation allowing Japan to qualify directly to the 2008 Summer Olympics as the second-placed team at the 2006 Asian Games.
Fifteen umpires for the women's event were appointed by the FIH.[4] During each match, a video umpire was used to assist the on-field umpires in determining if a goal had been legally scored.[5]
See main article: Field hockey at the 2008 Summer Olympics – Women's team squads.
All times are China Standard Time
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