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E-mail Xinhua, June 15, 2024
China defeated Germany 3-0 in the FIVB Women's Volleyball Nations League in Hong Kong on Friday, achieving their second consecutive victory and securing a ticket to the Paris Olympics.
After the victory, it was announced that world No. 6 China has qualified for the Paris Olympics, followed by a celebration ceremony organized by The International Volleyball Federation (FIVB), during which the Chinese players were presented with hats printed with the phrase "Road to Paris".
Cai Bin, head coach of the Chinese women's volleyball team, told Xinhua that the team had never doubted their ability to qualify for the Olympics. However, securing the Olympic ticket is only the first step, and they will strengthen teamwork and tactics.
"At the Paris Olympics, we will continue to give our all and fight one game at a time, and show the spirit of the Chinese women's volleyball team," he added.
Gong Xiangyu expressed excitement about qualifying for the Olympics, adding, "We are very happy to step onto the Olympic stage again, but we will also prepare well for the upcoming matches and give our best performance."
Facing world No. 12 Germany, Cai used the same starting lineup as the previous match against Bulgaria, with spikers Zhu Ting and Li Yingying both starting. China took the initiatives in the first set, but then fell behind 7-5, before the two teams then took turns leading.
When trailing 11-10, Zhu's powerful spike helped China level the score. China then continued with the momentum to win the first set 25-19.
China didn't give their opponents any chance in the second set amidst enthusiastic cheers from the audience to win 25-17. In the third set, Germany took an early lead, but China delivered a 6-0 surge to make it 6-3, en route to win 25-18.
Team captain Yuan Xinyue and Li each scored 13 points, while Zhu, who only scored six points in the previous match, contributed 12 today. Wang Yuanyuan and Gong added 10 and six, respectively.
Cai highly praised Zhu's performance and believed that the team's overall strength had been strengthened since her return, adding, "Zhu Ting's experience and how she picks the pace helped a lot."
Facing Türkiye and Poland on Saturday and Sunday respectively, Yuan said that the team will continue to prepare well and hope to further improve their overall performance.
