A smooth road so far, but big bumps ahead
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China Daily, November 15, 2011
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Players of China celebrating victory over South Korea in women's volleyball World Cup on Sunday, Nov. 13, 2011. |
If the Women's Volleyball World Cup ended today, China would be the proud owner of a berth in next summer's Olympic Games.
Unfortunately, there's a long hard week left.
Currently ranked third - the cutoff for an automatic qualification - the young squad still faces strong challenges in the final stages.
"We are not the tournament favorite, and our opponents in the next round, the US and Germany, are very strong," said China head coach Yu Juemin. "The loss of any match will cost us points in the rankings.
"Therefore, we have to try all-out to challenge both of them."
Through three stages, China has claimed six victories in eight matches and collected 19 points. Italy leads with 23 points, followed by the US with 21. Germany is fourth with 18.
The top three teams qualify for London directly. If China fails to make it to the podium, it has to go through more qualifications.
In the last stage of the World Cup, which begins on Wednesday in Tokyo, China faces Kenya in addition to the US and Germany. Winning three points over Kenya seems all but a forgone conclusion, but the other two will prove difficult.
"Frankly speaking, I'm worried that the two opponents are too strong to beat," Yu admitted.
"The US played very well this season as it claimed the Grand Prix championship. As for Germany, the one-point gap between our two could be changed by the result of one match. I can't predict the result of the match between us. It will be a fatal match.
"It's too early to talk about the Olympic berth. Nothing will be settled until after the tournament."
Although cautious about the future, Yu is satisfied with the team's performance this past week.
"No matter which team we faced, our players showed their fighting spirit and our lineup and strategy are proving to be suitable for us," Yu said. "We are still weak in blocking, defense and dealing with details compared with those powerhouses.
"Collecting 19 points after eight matches is within our plan."
China will face the US on Wednesday, Kenya on Thursday and Germany on the final day of the tournament on Friday.
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