Great Britain captain Kate Walsh got her hands on the Investec London Cup before the hockey tournament began.
However, the odds of her lifting the trophy on Sunday lengthened after a depleted Britain side lost 3-1 to South Africa at the University of Westminster Sports Ground in Chiswick yesterday.
Britain are ranked fourth in the world, eight places above the African champions, but the absence of Walsh, who has been ill, and the injured Alex Danson, Crista Cullen and Sarah Thomas took its toll.
“Missing 25 per cent of our Olympic squad is a tough ask but the reality was that we still got enough chances in the game to get a result,” said coach Danny Kerry. “We know which areas we need to improve on.”
Britain now face Germany tomorrow in what is the final tournament before the Olympics.
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