China women’s volleyball team ‘defeated but still honoured’ as Weibo users praise fighting spirit in 2022 AVC Cup final loss

Fans on social media are left feeling proud by national team’s efforts in loss to Japan, who claimed first gold medal on Monday night

Support is in contrast to backlash caused by players wearing face masks last week during a match at the regional Asian tournament

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Wang Yifan (left) of China spikes the ball during the 2022 AVC Cup final against Japan at the Philsports Arena in Pasig City, the Philippines. Photo: Xinhua

Published: 10:05pm, 29 Aug 2022Updated: 10:53pm, 29 Aug 2022

China’s women’s volleyball team suffered heartbreak in the final of the 2022 AVC Cup, losing to Japan in four sets on Monday night.

But Chinese fans on Weibo were left feeling proud of the players’ efforts, flooding the Twitter-like social media platform with positive messages in contrast to the backlash sparked last week when the team wore face masks in a group-stage win over Iraq.

In a rematch of the most recent final from 2018, Japan secured their first gold medal in the regional Asian tournament, battling past the defending champions and five-time winners 25-23, 25-21, 19-25, 25-16 in Pasig City, the Philippines.

Japanese players celebrate after winning gold against China at the Asian Volleyball Confederation Cup for Women. Photo: AP

The result quickly rocketed up the trending charts on Weibo, with netizens praising the team for being “defeated but still honoured”.

“Congratulations to the team. The road ahead is long and we need to take one step at a time,” one netizen wrote.

“It’s not a shame to lose to Japan. After all, the strength of the Japanese women’s volleyball team is really strong,” another said.

“No matter what the score is, the team members who worked hard are worthy of themselves,” read another comment.

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