China stars the top attraction

The head coach of the China women's volleyball team says he will give young players a chance in this week's tournament at the Hong Kong Coliseum.

China, the Olympic champions, will be the main attraction at the 2006 FIVB World Grand Prix preliminary rounds, which begin on Friday.

Russia, who lost to China in the memorable 2004 Olympic final, Azerbaijan and Thailand make up the four-team event - the first of three regional qualifiers leading to the finals in Italy next month. The four national teams will be fighting for US$95,000 prize money over three days of round-robin play.

China coach Chen Zhonghe's 12-member squad arrived in Hong Kong on Monday.

'I am going to give my young players more chances to play in high-level competitions, which will give them international experience and make them more mature,' said Chen.

The squad includes top players, such as Feng Kun, Yang Hao and Liu Yanan. But veteran star Zhou Suhong was injured during training last week and will miss the Hong Kong leg. She may return for the second round against Brazil, United States and the Dominican Republic in Macau next week.

China will also take part in the third round in Ningbo from September 1-3. Cuba, Poland and Azerbaijan are the other teams in the mainland competition. The top five teams from the three legs will play in the finals from September 6-10.