New team, bigger challenge, says China volleyball coach ahead of Serbia clash
The mainlanders beat their European rivals for Olympic gold in Rio but they must start afresh in Hong Kong
China have only a handful of survivors from their 2016 Olympics gold medal-winning team, and most of them were on the bench in Rio. That’s why their coach is wary ahead of the clash against Serbia in the women’s volleyball world grand prix in Hong Kong – the first encounter between the two powerhouses after the Olympic final showdown last summer.
In Rio, the mainlanders overcame Serbia 3-1 in the thrilling match to lift their third Olympic title after successes in 1984 and 2004.
But acting Chinese head coach An Jiajie doesn’t expect an easy task against the European giants, who top the table heading into next week’s finals in Nanjing.
“We had some mixed results against Serbia before the Rio Olympics as they are always one of the tougher opponents,” said An, assistant to iconic coach Lang Ping but who is in temporary charge while she recovers from hip surgery in the United States.
“They kept most of their squad players from the Olympic Games and that’s why Serbia are doing so well in the grand prix while many other nations are in a transition phase and grooming new players for the Tokyo Olympics.”
An said China had retained only up to six players from their Rio Olympic squad and many of them were substitutes at the Games, except outside hitter Zhu Ting – the world’s highest-paid player who is also China captain.
