On the morning of July 27, the first loss of the
Chinese women's volleyball team
Stepping into the second battlefield of the group stage of the Tokyo Olympics, facing the US women's volleyball team, which is deservedly the No. 1 in the world. Although
Zhu Ting (1978-), Chinese tennis star
Fighting with injuries and contributing a team-high 18 points, the Chinese team still lost 0-3 in the battle for the key points, losing their second consecutive group game. The scores of the three sets were 27-29, 22-25 and 21-25.
With this loss, the Chinese women's volleyball team fell to the bottom of Group b along with Argentina, while the all-winning United States and Italy took over the top spot. Turkey and the Russian Olympic team follow. According to the rules, the top four in the group will advance to the knockout rounds. Given Argentina's relative weakness, the advancement spots will likely come down to five teams - the U.S., Italy, Turkey, Russia and China. The Chinese women need to win at least two of their next three group matches to keep their hopes of advancing alive. For now, the most practical strategy for the Chinese women's volleyball team is to beat the Russian Olympic team and fight for a place in the tournament, which makes the July 29th match against the Russian Olympic team especially crucial.
Entering the Olympic cycle, the formerly glorious Russian volleyball is in a slight decline, with veteran Kosheleva and core first-passer Parubetz not coming east with the team. However, the young attacker Fedorovtseva's performance in the World Women's Volleyball League is remarkable. The 17-year-old not only has excellent bouncing and a high point of attack, Lang Ping praised her, "Fedorovtseva has outstanding volleyball talent, has a high point of dunk, and plays both smart and calm." In the current Olympic Games, Fedorovtseva's performance is also quite bright, despite the Russian Olympic team's opening loss to Italy, but under her leadership, the team swept Argentina 3-0 in the July 27 match, temporarily leading China by one win.
If China can beat a weaker Argentina team in the late game and win against the Russian Olympic team, then at least two wins will boost hopes of advancing. However, it should be noted that the Russian Olympic team could also reach two wins if the United States or Turkey lose in a blowout or give away points by default, at which point the points would be compared. According to the rules of volleyball, a team that wins 3-1 or 3-0 accumulates three points, while a team that wins 3-2 accumulates two points. Therefore, the Chinese women's volleyball team will not only have to fight for a victory in the following matches, but also score as many points as possible.
At present, the most secure path to advancement for the Chinese women's volleyball team is to win all three of their next matches, but this requires not only a victory over the Russian Olympic team, but also to face the Italian team, which has a strong setter, Egnu. In the first two games, the Italian team has defeated the Russian Olympic team and Turkey, the strength should not be underestimated. In the face of the severe group situation, the Chinese women's volleyball team is not unprepared. Captain Zhu Ting said: "Group B is the group of death, for the current predicament we are psychologically prepared, behind the ball but also one by one to play." Head coach Lang Ping also said: "I think we still have to face the reality, one game at a time, the back of the game, we have to let go some more, the first two games players are still a little nervous."
After the match with the U.S. women's volleyball team, Rio Olympic champion and former women's volleyball player Wei Qiuyue talked about the team's prospects for the line in a program, and she said, "The Olympic Games are equal opportunities for us, the group stage has suffered two consecutive defeats, but the battle with the United States, the Chinese women's volleyball team's passion and emotions are on display, which is very good. Now we don't have to count the points, fight and it's over, the Russian Olympic team, Argentina, Italy we have to fight down."
The poor situation of the Tokyo Olympics reminds people of the ups and downs of the Chinese women's volleyball team at the Rio Olympics. At that time, the Chinese women's volleyball team lost to the Netherlands, Serbia and the United States in the group stage, and finally only barely advanced to the fourth place in the group, but in the knockout rounds, the Chinese women's volleyball team has become more and more courageous, and finally climbed to the top of the podium. Five years later, the Chinese women's volleyball team is again facing a similar situation. However, in the case of the captain Zhu Ting can not play due to injury, a pass problem has not yet been solved, as the defending champion of the Chinese women's volleyball team can once again put on a reversal of the myth of adversity?
