The first stop of the 2024 World Women's Volleyball League in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, is about to be ignited, and the Chinese women's volleyball team has also sent a group of elite players to South America, which will start the final journey to qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. The Women's Volleyball World League Brazil will be held from May 15th to 20th, and the Chinese women's volleyball team will play against South Korea, the United States, Canada, and Serbia.
Zhang Changning returned
The lineup sent by China this time is composed of 16 players, although Zhu Ting, who officially announced that she will return to the national team not long ago, was unable to travel with the team this time, but the return of veterans such as Zhang Changning and Ding Xia may also add some heavy weight to this team.
For the Chinese women's volleyball team, qualifying for the Paris Olympics is the primary goal of this Olympic cycle. However, it is a pity that in the Olympic qualifying tournament held in 2023, the Chinese women's volleyball team failed to obtain a direct quota.
According to the International Olympic Committee's previous plan to qualify for the Paris Olympic volleyball competition, 12 teams from each men's and women's volleyball teams will qualify, with the exception of the host country, France, 6 teams will be determined through the Olympic qualification tournament, and the other 5 places will be determined by the world ranking.
The Chinese women's volleyball team in the game
National Olympic Committees (NOCs) have the final say in who will represent them at the Games, so an athlete's participation in Paris depends on whether their NOC selects them to be part of their Paris 2024 team.
Eight teams – France, Turkey, Serbia, Poland, the United States, Dominica, Brazil and Kenya – have already qualified for the Olympics, leaving only four for the Olympic qualifiers, and this is the last chance for the remaining teams. After Brazil, the remaining two sub-tournaments of the Women's Volleyball World League are Macau, China and Hong Kong, China. At the end of all three events, the final Olympic qualification will be determined based on the real-time world rankings.
The biggest competitors of the Chinese women's volleyball team are five teams, including Italy, Japan, the Netherlands and Canada. The Italian women's volleyball team and the Chinese women's volleyball team are currently relatively high in points, and theoretically have a better chance of promotion.
Yuan Xinyue smashed the ball
Although Zhu Ting, the star of the Chinese women's volleyball team, has announced that she will return to the national team, because she is still recovering from a wrist injury, she will not participate with the team in this Brazil event. However, the latest news shows that Zhu Ting will represent the Chinese women's volleyball team in the Macau, China tournament.
In addition to Zhu Ting, veterans such as Zhang Changning and Ding Xia also chose to return to the national team. This is Zhang's first appearance for the national team since the Tokyo Olympics, and it is also her 10th year in 2014. After being eliminated from the group at the Tokyo Olympics, Zhang Changning underwent knee surgery and has since faded out of the national team. It wasn't until February 18 this year that Zhang Changning, who gradually regained his form, returned for the first time and entered the Chinese women's volleyball team training list. As the main force of the Chinese women's volleyball team winning the championship in the 2016 Rio Olympics, can Zhang Changning's return make the Chinese team go to the next level?
The return of another veteran, Ding Xia, means on another level. The veteran joined the Polish Women's Volleyball Super League team Polyice Chemical Club in September 2023 to start his first career trip abroad, and won the Polish Super Cup and the league double championship with the team. After returning to China, Ding Xia almost didn't rest and joined the national team non-stop. What kind of performance will she contribute to Rio de Janeiro?
The Chinese Volleyball Association announced the lineup
Wu Mengjie, a young player born in 2002, is known as Zhu Ting's successor, her physical fitness is outstanding, her arm span is amazing, and she has accumulated enough experience in the national team in the past two years. Head coach Cai Bin also has high hopes for her, believing that she has great potential in the main offensive line. At the Hangzhou Asian Games last year, it was Wu Mengjie who smashed a strong smash in the final against the Japanese team to lock in the victory and help the Chinese women's volleyball team successfully win the championship. What surprises will this up-and-coming star bring us?
Wang Wenhan, who was also born in 2002, is actually no stranger to the national team, she represented the Chinese U17 women's volleyball team in the Asian Junior Championship with Wu Mengjie as early as 2018 and won the runner-up. Wang Wenhan, who is 1.94 meters tall and has a buckle height of 3.15 meters, is very eye-catching in terms of physical condition, but her offensive ability still needs to be further developed. Can Wang Wenhan go to the next level after the baptism of the Women's Volleyball World League?
2024 World Women's Volleyball League Rio de Janeiro, Brazil China Women's Ranking List and Schedule
Yuan Xinyue, Diao Linyu, II-VI, Gong Xiangyu, Wang Yuanyuan, Xu Xiaoting, Zhang Changning, Wang Yunrui, Li Yingying, Zheng Yixin, Ding Xia, Ni Feifei, Wang Mengjie, Wang Yizhu, Wu Mengjie, Wang Wenhan.
All of the following are Beijing time
May 15 04:30 Chinese women's volleyball team VS South Korea women's volleyball team
May 17 04:30 Chinese women's volleyball team VS United States women's volleyball team
May 18 04:30 Chinese women's volleyball team VS Canada women's volleyball team
May 19 01:00 Chinese women's volleyball team VS Serbia women's volleyball team