Zhang Changning came on as a substitute and was in great form. The Chinese women's volleyball team's victory over the Korean women's volleyball team was just an "appetizer"
On May 15th, Beijing time, at the Brazilian station of the 2024 World Women's Volleyball League, the Chinese women's volleyball team defeated the Korean women's volleyball team 3-0, getting off to a good start and kicking off the fight for tickets to the Paris Olympics. In the next game, the Chinese women's volleyball team will face the American women's volleyball team.
In the first match in Brazil, the four opponents of the Chinese women's volleyball team, in addition to the weak Korean women's volleyball team, the world championship champion Serbian women's volleyball team, the Olympic champion American women's volleyball team, and the North American powerhouse Canadian women's volleyball team are all strong opponents.
According to the latest world rankings, the Chinese women's volleyball team is ranked 6th and the Korean women's volleyball team is ranked 40th. There is a clear gap in the strength of the two teams. According to the rules of the competition, when playing against lower-ranked teams, strong teams are somewhat "thankless": if they win 3-0, they will get 0.93 points; if they win 3-1 or 3-2, they will only get 0.01 points; if they lose, You will also be deducted points from your opponent.
For the Chinese women's volleyball team, there is no room for failure in the first game. In this campaign, the starting lineup of the Chinese women's volleyball team changed. Wu Mengjie replaced Wang Yunlu. They were the main attackers Li Yingying and Wu Mengjie; the assistant attackers Yuan Xinyue and Wang Yuanyuan; the backup Gong Xiangyu; the setter Diao Linyu; and the free agent Wang Mengjie.
The Chinese women's volleyball team has a network advantage and almost controls the entire game. As the core of the team's offense, Li Yingying performed steadily and scored a game-high 17 points; Wu Mengjie scored 14 points, Yuan Xinyue 12 points, Gong Xiangyu 10 points, and Wang Yuanyuan 6 points.
There are 4 main attackers in the 14-man roster of the Chinese women's volleyball team in Brazil: Li Yingying, Zhang Changning, Wang Yunxiang, and Wu Mengjie. Li Yingying is the starter of the Iron Fight, and who is her opponent has always been a problem that head coach Cai Bin has to solve.
Although the 22-year-old Wu Mengjie is still lacking in first pass, he played an important role on the offensive end. She is tall, has long arms, and has strong jumping power, especially when throwing her arms and changing lines. In this game, facing tall teams like the United States and Serbia, Wu Mengjie's high-point attack is exactly what the team needs.
Zhang Changning came on as a substitute at the end of the third game. This was her first appearance in the national team jersey after three years since the Tokyo Olympics. Once on the court, she showed good form with her threatening serve and tenacious defense. In the previous warm-up match against the Brazilian women's volleyball team, Zhang Changning scored 17 points in her first appearance and performed well. In the early stage of the 2023-2024 Women's Volleyball League, Zhang Changning began to resume training, and actual combat is needed to achieve the best competition condition. Zhang Changning has both offense and defense, and is capable of both main attack and support positions. Her addition will enrich the Chinese women's volleyball team's tactical system.
According to FIVB regulations, the latest world rankings after the 2024 World Women's Volleyball League will determine the final five places for the Paris Olympics. The teams that have already obtained tickets for the Paris Olympics include the host France team, as well as the women's volleyball teams of Brazil, Turkey, Dominica, Serbia, the United States, and Poland. According to the fact that one team from each continent participates, Africa's Kenyan women's volleyball team has actually qualified for the Paris Olympics, so only the last four tickets have yet to be determined.
The Chinese women's volleyball team failed to get Olympic tickets as soon as possible in last year's Olympic qualifying tournament, and the World Women's Volleyball League will be the last chance. The primary goal of the Chinese women's volleyball team is to maintain the world ranking. Even if it fails to rank in the top four, as long as the points hold down the Japanese team, it can still advance to Paris with the highest ranking in Asia.
Regarding the defeat in the Olympic qualifying match, Cai Bin concluded, "There are problems in concentration of thoughts, and the burden has not been completely let go. Not only in thinking, there are also problems in the technical and tactical levels, and the ability to control the game is still insufficient." Facing the world League, Cai Bin expressed "confidence" to get tickets for the Paris Olympics.
