Net gains cheer Team China

Encouraging world championship campaign lays solid foundation for rebuilding women's team, Sun Xiaochen reports.

No surprises, yet still plenty to cheer about. That is the takeaway from Team China's FIVB Women's World Championship campaign, which ended in a quarterfinal defeat to hot favorite Italy on Tuesday.

Now the hope is the solid performances in the Netherlands can act as a steppingstone for the rebuilding program as it bids to peak in time for the Paris 2024 Olympics.

Without superstar spiker Zhu Ting and experienced outside hitter Zhang Changning, the Chinese women's team put up a brave fight against world No 1 Italy in a 3-1 quarterfinal loss. The team eventually finished sixth at the quadrennial tournament to leave fans and pundits upbeat about the squad's prospects at Paris 2024.

Leading a young, recently reshuffled squad that included eight players making their worlds debut, head coach Cai Bin took pride from his team's efforts in securing seven wins out of 10 matches at the tournament.

"Overall I think we did a good job. The championship ended up being a great learning curve for us as a young team without much international experience," Cai said after Italy's 3-1 (25-16, 25-22, 13-25, 25-17) triumph in the Dutch city of Apeldoorn.

"We were a little bit too tense in the first set, then improved in the second before picking up our game in the third. Our players have done their best," added Cai, who took over the women's team in February after the legendary Lang Ping stepped down following last year's Tokyo Olympics.

"Technically, we can improve a lot compared to the world's best, but mentally I am quite satisfied with how hard our players fought, displaying the great teamwork that the Chinese women's team is traditionally renowned for."

A two-time Olympic gold-medal winner, Team China approached this year's worlds as the first major test on its way back to the pinnacle of the sport after the squad unexpectedly hit rock-bottom at the Tokyo Games, where it suffered group-stage elimination as the defending champion.

A nagging wrist injury that hampered Zhu's performances in Japan has sidelined the prolific attacker for over a year. The 1.98-meter spiker this week reported a clean bill of health at her new club — Pallavolo Scandicci in Italy's top-flight league.

Zhu's fellow spiker Zhang, who was also a formidable member of Lang's triumphant Rio 2016 squad, didn't make Cai's roster for the worlds either after she took leave from the national program to get married and recuperate from injuries.

The absence of the two leading aces, coupled with the retirement of several veterans, posed Cai a tough challenge.

However, bolstered by fresh faces selected from China's domestic league, the reshuffled national team — built around middle blocker Yuan Xinyue, in-form outside hitter Li Yingying and experienced setter Ding Xia — proved to be a unit capable of restoring the program's elite status.

"Even though the team didn't advance to the final four, it was quite a reasonable result that should be kept in perspective," said Hui Ruoqi, retired captain of the 2016 gold-winning team, who is working as a TV commentator during the worlds.

"The world championship journey has exposed some weaknesses, which also represent where the team's potential lies. Hopefully, they can continue to gain experience and improve the squad's depth to prepare for next year's Asian Games and the Olympics in Paris," she added.

Now with Zhu, a three-time FIVB world player of the year (2016-18), set to resume action when the Italian league begins on Oct 23, it's up to Cai to hone his young squad to his own style while leaving the tactics adaptable for the anticipated return of the all-conquering "Zhuper" Ting.

Cai was particularly buoyed by his young team's third-set performance against Italy, the reigning FIVB Nations League and European champion.

With veteran Ding coming off the bench after Italy won the opening two sets, Team China's fast-paced offense began to find its rhythm. Opposite Gong Xiangyu, spiker Wang Yunlu and Yuan took turns to smash aces, while also elevating the quality of serves and defense.

Italy's star opposite Paola Egonu, however, proved too much to handle after she scored a match-high 29 points to help the top-ranked team secure its fifth semifinal berth from the last the six editions of the worlds. Italy will take on No 2 Brazil on Thursday.

Outside hitter Li was China's top scorer on Tuesday with 14 points, followed by Wang on 11, and nine each from Yuan and Gong.

"Our opponents made many errors in the third set, but we also didn't give up, clawing back point by point. It worked well. Even though it wasn't enough for a comeback win, we've shown a lot of improvement already," said Cai.

Three days previously, China lost to Italy in straight sets in their first encounter in the group stage. China's only other defeat at the tournament was a 1-3 loss to Brazil in its final group match on Oct 1.

"For this Team China, I think it reached the goal it set prior to the world championship, which is to gauge itself against the best in the world and learn where to improve," said Hui, who retired in 2018.