On May 18, the World Women's Volleyball League ended a new round of competition, and the Chinese women's volleyball team lost to the Canadian team 1-3, suffered its first defeat, and slipped to fourth place. Japan continued to play strongly, sweeping Germany 3-0 to move up to the top of the table with three consecutive wins.
One of the highlights of this year's Women's Volleyball League is the birth of the last four quota places for the Paris Olympics. So far, Asian teams have not secured a quota place. China and Japan will compete for a spot in the league - the highest-ranked team from the Asian region will qualify for the Olympics. If both teams maintain the top 10 in the world after the league, they will advance together.
The Chinese team played very well in the first two rounds, beating South Korea 3-0 in the first round, and controlled the opponent within 15 points in three games. In the second round, the Chinese team defeated the world's No. 2 United States team 3-1. Although the U.S. team is a semi-main player, it is still strong.
In the third round, the opponent of the Chinese team was the old enemy Canada. Canada is not strong overall, but there are two super attackers, Gray and Van Rijk, who beat China together last year. In today's game, Gray and Van Rijk broke out again, scoring 21 and 27 points respectively, breaking down the Chinese team again, and finally leading Canada to beat the Chinese team 3-1 again, becoming the biggest upset in this round. The Chinese team missed three consecutive victories, and lost twice in a row on the same opponent, which estimated a psychological shadow.
The Japanese team was pleasantly surprised all the way and took the quick change to the extreme. In the first round, they defeated the world No. 1 Turkey 3-2, South Korea 3-0 in the second round, and Germany 3-0 in the third round, and rose to the top of the standings with eight points from a wave of three consecutive wins. Japan's one-pass system is stable, and if the serve doesn't break their one-pass system, they can beat any team.
Poland and Brazil have both won two games and are second and third with six points. The Chinese team also has 6 points and ranks fourth with 2 wins and 1 loss. Canada and Italy are also 2-1 and ranked 5th and 6th respectively.
The current problem of the Chinese women's volleyball team is that there is no rotation, and the main lineup plays to the end. Any player will have a period of fatigue and need to adjust properly after two games. From the 3-1 defeat to the United States to the 1-3 defeat to Canada, one of the reasons is also the fatigue of the players, the main players do not have any chance to rest, and their form and energy will definitely decline.
If the league does not get the Olympic quota, the Chinese women's volleyball team will create the worst in history. Hopefully, this won't happen, how will the next game be played? It's worth the wait.