After the announcement of the 20-man roster of the Chinese women's volleyball team, the team moved from Beilun to Zhangzhou, and the training content also changed from physical improvement to technical polishing. Although the list of participants in the World Women's Volleyball League has not yet been determined, from the grouping situation in the grouping video, the team's main lineup has emerged. This undoubtedly means that the main framework construction of the Chinese women's volleyball team has been completed, and the next step should be to formulate tactical play methods according to this framework, determine the tactical core players, and promote the implementation of captain candidates.
According to the current situation of the Chinese women's volleyball team, whether it is the tactical core of the team or the captain, it should be produced among the four players who have competed in the Tokyo Olympic Games, Ding Xia, Yuan Xinyue, Gong Xiangyu and Li Yingying. However, given that the team has just completed its restructuring, it is likely that these two important positions will be held by two players separately, so as not to have too much pressure on the players and affect the state of the competition. Judging from the situation of these four players, the most suitable player for the tactical core should be Li Yingying, and the position of captain should be Gong Xiangyu. Of course, it is not excluded that there will be unexpected situations.
Although Gong Xiangyu is the best candidate to become the captain of the team, he has not yet been able to release the news that Gong Xiangyu will be elected captain without the team's big list being determined, which is obviously a bit hasty. Perhaps at that time, Gong Xiangyu did not even know whether she could be selected for the big list, so she issued an appeal through her personal social media to "do not believe in rumors, do not spread rumors". Although Gong Xiangyu quickly retracted the appeal, it was enough to calm the anger of some fans. As the team's rebuilding efforts continue, the captain and tactical core are now on the horizon, but things seem to be moving faster than fans expected.
On the occasion of Gong Xiangyu's birthday, China Sports News published an article entitled "Gong Xiangyu Cherishes the Present and Remains Beautiful". The article first affirmed Gong Xiangyu's important role in winning the Rio Olympic Games, and then praised Gong Xiangyu for his excellent performance in leading the team to the runner-up in the 2020-2021 season and the second place in the 2021-2022 season. Finally, when looking forward to the prospects of Gong Xiangyu's Paris Olympic cycle, the author confirmed the position of Gong Xiangyu's "team core" and "backbone core" in an affirmative tone. Although this is a signed article published by China Sports News and only represents the author's point of view, the forwarding of the General Administration of Sport shows that the General Administration of Sport recognizes the author's point of view.
Since the China Sports News praises and the General Administration of Sports supports it, the identity of Gong Xiangyu's new core of the Chinese women's volleyball team seems to have been determined, and the position of captain is likely to belong to Li Yingying, but it is not excluded that Gong Xiangyu's core and captain are shoulder to shoulder, after all, Gong Xiangyu is already a veteran player who has participated in the Olympic Games twice, whether from personal ability or from the experience of the competition, it is enough to support her to hold both positions. Moreover, fans also believe that Gong Xiangyu has the ability to balance the relationship between the two positions and lead the Chinese women's volleyball team to rise again.
Some people may think that Gong Xiangyu is technically deficient, or some people may think that there are flaws in her personality, but no one is perfect, even If Zhu Ting also has some flaws in technology and personality. Therefore, although Gong Xiangyu has some deficiencies, whether he is the core of the team, or the captain, or the two positions are shoulder to shoulder, there is nothing wrong with it. After all, Zhu Ting is nearly 28 years old and has begun to enter the twilight of her career, and no one can guarantee how long she can play for the Chinese women's volleyball team. In the case of Zhu Ting's absence due to injury, cultivating a successor is also a precautionary plan, which is definitely worth supporting.