With new coach Cai Bin in charge, the Asians are currently holding a training camp for 67 athletes
Opposite Xiangyu Gong is among the 67 players training in Beilun
The Chinese women’s national team was one of the first to gather for the 2022 international volleyball season when the three-time Olympic champions started a three-week training camp at their facility in Beilun last weekend.
Described as the team’s first step towards the Paris 2024 Olympics, the activity also marks the first contact of new head coach Cai Bin with his players after being hired earlier this month. The 55-year-old Cai replaced the legendary Lang Ping, who coached China from 2013 to 2021 and left the position following a ninth-place finish at the Tokyo Olympics.
New coach Cai Bin addresses the players during a training session (Photo: Volley China)
The training camp reunites as many of 67 athletes. Most have never played for the national team and could be called up for the first time in 2022. Some popular faces, such as setter Ding Xia, middle blockers Yuan Xinyue and Wang Yuanyuan and opposite Gong Xiangyu, who were all on China’s roster at the Tokyo Olympics, are also taking part.
Chinese superstar and team captain Zhu Ting, however, is absent due to injury, as are setter Yao Di and outside hitters Zhang Changning and Liu Yanhan.
Middle Blocker Yuanyuan Wang is one of the experienced players in the camp (Photo: Volley China)
China will have a busy 2022, with as many as four major tournaments in which they are scheduled to compete. The first of them will be the Volleyball Nations League, which will take place from May 31 to July 24. The Chinese will play in Ankara, Turkey, in the first week of the event.
Later in the year, from September 23-October 15, the Asian team will try to win the FIVB Volleyball Women’s World Championship for a third time. The pools for the tournament, which will be co-hosted by the Netherlands and Poland, will be known on Monday, when the drawing of lots will take place.
Additionally, the Chinese will also compete in the Asian Championships, where they’ll try to win their 14th gold medal, and the Asian Games, where they’ll be vying for their ninth title.
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