The Chinese men's volleyball team is still going through a difficult "painful period" and wants to regain its position as the Asian champion in the competition
On June 10th, Beijing time, at the Nagoya stage of the World Men's Volleyball League in Japan, in an Asian derby, the Chinese men's volleyball team was reversed after winning one game first, and ultimately lost 1-3 to the Iranian men's volleyball team. At this point, the Chinese men's volleyball team achieved a record of 1 win and 3 losses in the first round of the competition, but failed to make a significant breakthrough. One week later, the Chinese men's volleyball team will compete in Rotterdam, Netherlands.
The Iranian men's volleyball team, currently ranked 10th in the world, is an Asian powerhouse and a major opponent of the Chinese men's volleyball team at the Asian Games. In this game, Chinese men's volleyball head coach Wu Sheng adjusted the starting lineup, with the main attacker Zhai Dejun entering the starting lineup, partnering with Zhang Jingyin, and other starting players including assists Peng Shikun and Li Yongzhen, receiving Jiang Chuan, setter Wang Hebin, and free agent Qu Zongshuai. The Iranian team is led by substitute Amin. Iran's men's volleyball team had previously lost to Japan and Poland's men's volleyball team, and this game is also determined to win.
In the first game, the Iranian men's volleyball team, which excels in speed, seized the opportunity to counterattack and maintained a leading score. The Iranian men's volleyball team received Amin's impressive performance, with consecutive strong attacks and hits. At a critical moment, the secondary attacker Peng Shikun equalized the score by serving, while the main attacker Zhang Jingyin spiked and blocked the ball, scoring consecutively. The Chinese men's volleyball team took the lead in the next set. In this game, the Chinese men's volleyball team scored 8 points in the blocking section.
At the beginning of the second inning, the Chinese men's volleyball team had the opportunity to defend and counterattack, but they did not do a good job in the small ball section, causing some confusion in their formation. The Iranian men's volleyball team, on the other hand, made a fierce impact and equalized the score by losing one inning first. In the following two games, the blocking efficiency of the Chinese men's volleyball team decreased. Faced with the opponent's strong serve, the one pass system was washed away, making it difficult to perform the magic of the first game again.
According to post match data statistics, Zhang Jingyin scored the highest 20 points in the team, Jiang Chuan scored 9 points, Li Yongzhen and Peng Shikun each scored 8 points, and Zhang Guanhua scored 7 points. The Iranian team received Amin's highest score of 26 points, including 6 serve points.
It should be said that the Chinese men's volleyball team also has shining points in the competition. But compared to the sustained and stable performance of the opponent's overall attack and defense, the Chinese men's volleyball team has significant fluctuations in their form. This Chinese men's volleyball team still needs to put in hard work in the technical aspects, and even more so, it needs high-quality competitions to hone.
Since Xie Guochen led the Chinese men's volleyball team to a 3-1 victory over Iran in the 2012 Asian Cup final and won their first Asian Cup championship, it has been difficult for the Chinese men's volleyball team to win an international tournament against Iran. In the quarter finals of last year's Asian Cup, the Iranian men's volleyball team was preparing for the World Championships and did not send a first team to participate. It was only then that the Chinese men's volleyball team had the opportunity to defeat the Iranian national youth men's volleyball team, which was composed of the post-2000s generation. At present, the Iranian men's volleyball team is facing a transition from old to new. After some core players have faded out of the national team, the overall competitiveness has declined, but it is still an opponent that the Chinese men's volleyball team cannot surpass.
In the 1980s, the Chinese men's volleyball team had a glorious period, not only being the Asian hegemon, but also achieving good results in fifth place at the World Championships and qualifying for the 1980 Olympics. The back flight and other technologies invented by the Chinese team were also the most advanced technologies in the world at that time. Since the 1990s, the Chinese men's volleyball team has begun to decline, gradually losing its position as the dominant force in Asia.
From a global perspective, the playing techniques and volleyball concepts of the Chinese men's volleyball team are not only significantly inferior to those of Europe and America, but also lack advantages in the Asian region. After Wu Sheng took over, he emphasized the basic skills training of the team members and forged their strong psychological qualities. He not only requires his players to have good attacking skills, but also to improve their first pass defense. Nowadays, the overall defense and blocking of the Chinese men's volleyball team have improved, with a significant decrease in serving errors. In terms of technical and tactical tactics, the Chinese team is also learning from the last three attacks and four point attacks of the world's top teams.
At last year's World Championships, both Asian teams, the Japanese men's volleyball team had steadily entered the round of 16, while the Chinese men's volleyball team lost three consecutive games in the group stage and did not win a game. Compared to the Japanese men's volleyball team, the Chinese men's volleyball team is proud of its height and physical fitness, which is not inferior to the strong teams in Europe and America. It has a clear advantage in internet access, but its technology is backward. On the other hand, the Japanese men's volleyball team has become a world-class powerhouse by improving its domestic league level, inviting players to come in and go out. Except for the less impressive blocking data, the Japanese men's volleyball team's data on starting, receiving, attacking, and defending in the back all surpass that of the Chinese men's volleyball team. Especially the first pass system of the Japanese team, thanks to their early defensive training, has a solid foundation.
Although Chinese men's volleyball players have broadened their horizons by going to overseas leagues for training, it still takes time for them to improve their skills, experience, cooperation, and awareness in all aspects. This process will be a difficult "painful period", and we may still have to bear the bitter consequences of failure. But as long as we walk on the right path and remain confident, the Chinese men's volleyball team will eventually break through its cocoon and become a butterfly.
