Just having the "scoring king" Zhang Jingyin is not enough. The Chinese men's volleyball team has won their first game in homework, with the goal of winning the Paris Olympics men's volleyball league in Paris
On June 6th, Beijing time, the 2023 World Men's Volleyball League held in Nagoya, Japan. The Chinese men's volleyball team defeated the Bulgarian men's volleyball team 3-2, achieving a good start. The main attacker of the Chinese team, Zhang Jingyin, scored 29 points and was crowned the scoring king of the game.
In Nagoya, the Chinese men's volleyball team will also face Serbia, France, and Iran. Compared to the Bulgarian men's volleyball team, it is a relatively simple question. The two teams have similar strength and once faced each other in last year's World Men's Volleyball League, when the Chinese men's volleyball team defeated their opponents 3-1. At present, the Bulgarian team ranks 23rd in the world rankings and the Chinese team ranks 25th. The result of this match will affect the points of both teams and directly affect the world rankings. Moreover, in the qualifying rounds for the Paris Olympics, both teams were placed in the same group, and the Chinese men's volleyball team's victory boosted morale.
The starting lineup of the Chinese men's volleyball team in this game consists of main attacking Zhang Jingyin and Yu Yuantai, secondary attacking Peng Shikun and Li Yongzhen, supporting Jiang Chuan, second setter Wang Hebin, and free agent Qu Zongshuai. The starting lineup of the Bulgarian men's volleyball team consists of main attacking Nikolov and Atanasov, secondary attacking Kolev and Grozdanov, replacing Dimitrov, setter Blatoyev, and free agent Bozhlov.
The Bulgarian men's volleyball team has a high net height, but the Chinese men's volleyball team is not inferior in attack and blocking, with a score of 25-20 in the first game. In the second inning, the Chinese men's volleyball team had the opportunity to widen the score, but they were not rigorous enough in handling some details and made many mistakes. The Bulgarian men's volleyball team had a strong impact in serving and managed to win the first inning with a score of 21-25. In the third game, the Chinese men's volleyball team performed well in blocking and defense, with a better grasp of key points, and turned the tables 25-21 for the next game. In the fourth inning, the Chinese men's volleyball team failed to maintain their opening advantage, and the Bulgarian men's volleyball team dragged the game into the decisive round with a score of 25-20. In the fifth round, the Chinese men's volleyball team withstood the pressure and secured the victory with a score of 15-9.
Looking at the entire game, although this young Chinese men's volleyball team still has technical imperfections, the overall progress is obvious, and the performance of several overseas players is impressive.
23-year-old Zhang Jingyin is truly the team's number one main attacker. He scored 29 points, including 6 blocks and 2 serves. After the end of last season's domestic volleyball league, Zhang Jingyin joined the Gdansk men's volleyball team in the Polish league. During his overseas studies, he played in 11 games for the Gdansk men's volleyball team, scoring a total of 105 points, with a success rate of 57% in attack and a passing rate of 38%. Zhang Jingyin said, "Through training in overseas leagues, I feel that I have greatly improved in serving and passing."
Another main attacker, Yu Yuantai, contributed 15 points. Yu Yuantai is 1.83 meters tall and has no advantage among male volleyball players, but his jumping ability is excellent, nicknamed "Little Spring". His powerful jump serve is also a big weapon. In this game, Yu Yuantai, like Zhang Jingyin, scored two serve points. Last season, he joined the Qatar League powerhouse Al Arabi and faced off against a group of West Asian experts, giving him more ways to break through high blocks.
Captain Jiang Chuan scored 10 points. Last year, he was absent from the national team due to injury. Afterwards, he joined the Japanese professional league team JT Thunder and took on the team's main offensive tasks. According to league technical statistics, Jiang Chuan played a total of 34 games and played 123 innings, contributing 600 points. He ranked 6th in the league in terms of total scoring and spike success rate. He also made it to the league's All Star lineup with outstanding performance.
Peng Shikun is a growing young secondary attacker, and his high point fast attacks always leave opponents defenseless. In this game, he scored 7 points. Peng Shikun played for Sunbird Club in Japan in the first two seasons. As an Asian foreign player for the team, he has always been a key player, helping the team win the championship and runner up in the Japanese V1 league. This year, the team also won the historic AFC Cup championship and successfully advanced to the Club World Cup.
Substitute assist Wang Dongchen also had a good performance. In the decisive game, he served and scored at a crucial moment, helping the team reach the match point. Last season, he joined the Japanese Nagoya Wolverine men's volleyball team and played an important role as the team's main secondary attacker, helping the team win the Japanese men's volleyball V1 league championship.
In order to narrow the gap with the world's top teams, Chinese men's volleyball players have gone out one after another to experience and accumulate experience in foreign leagues. As an Asian team, the Iranian men's volleyball team has produced several world-class players in high-level professional leagues; All the main players of the Australian men's volleyball team play in the European professional league; Although the Japanese men's volleyball team does not have outstanding height conditions, there are also several players competing in Europe, paving the way for excellent defensive small balls, fast offensive counterattacks, and comprehensive technical skills. Whether studying abroad in the short term can bring qualitative changes to the Chinese men's volleyball team, this year's World Men's Volleyball League is a touchstone.
Before this year's World Men's Volleyball League, the Chinese men's volleyball team had played 5 warm-up matches against the Japanese first and second teams, only winning 1 game. During the matches, some problems were also exposed, especially in terms of passing and serving. Due to the original main setter Yu Yaochen studying abroad, the Chinese men's volleyball team had to use a new setter, which also affected the team's tactical coordination to a certain extent.
In the first game, the Chinese men's volleyball team took on a new look. Zhang Jingyin said in an interview after the game, "This game was a very good result for both the individual and the team. The team achieved a good start, and at the same time, we also saw problems with the team during the game, including a lot of mistakes and insufficient team cooperation. We hope to further increase cooperation and coordination in the future."
The head coach of the Chinese men's volleyball team, Wu Sheng, once said that the gap between the Chinese team and the world's top teams is comprehensive. "We are all behind in serving, receiving, attacking, defending, including free agents." Therefore, in this year's World Men's Volleyball League, the Chinese men's volleyball team's "competition" is the top priority. Wu Sheng emphasized, "No matter which game it is, I require players to play with energy and spirit."
For the Chinese men's volleyball team, we must strive for more victories, improve world rankings, and spare no effort to increase our chances of advancing to the Paris Olympics.
