Our reporter Zhou Yuan
After missing the top 16 of the World Championships, the Chinese men's volleyball team set off to return to China on September 4, and this year's journey has come to an end.
From the World Men's Volleyball League to the Asian Cup to the World Championships, the Chinese men's volleyball team has experienced three major competitions in a short period of time, not only the amazing victory over the world powerhouse Brazil, but also the joy of regaining the Asian Cup after 10 years, and even the World Championships It's a pity that all three battles were lost.
But through the three major competitions, the Chinese men's volleyball team has been trained and found an accurate position.
In the World Men's Volleyball League competition held from June to July this year, the Chinese team ranked 13th in the World Men's Volleyball League with 9 points from 12 games, 3 wins and 9 losses.
Although they failed to make it to the finals, the whole team retained their qualifications for next year's competition, and even staged a 3-0 upset victory over the Brazilian men's volleyball team in the sub-station competition.
However, among the 16 teams, China ranked fourth from the bottom, and there is a big gap compared with Japan and Iran, the Asian top two entering the finals.
In the Asian Cup in early August, the Chinese men's volleyball team regained the Asian Cup championship after a lapse of 10 years. However, in this Asian Cup, the truly valuable game is the semi-final against the Korean men's volleyball team, who played all the main players. In the end, the Chinese team 3 The narrow victory over 2 shows that the Chinese men's volleyball team does not have much advantage against other teams in Asia.
In the World Championships that started at the end of August, the Chinese men's volleyball team faced Turkey, Canada and Italy in turn, losing all three games and missing the top 16.
The three losses have exposed a lot of problems, from technical and tactical to on-the-spot mentality to competitive state, etc., there is a big gap with the world's top teams.
Meanwhile, Asian teams Iran and Japan entered the round of 16.
Entering the Paris Olympic cycle, in terms of the current Asian pattern, Iran has maintained the high level of the Tokyo cycle, while Japan has made great progress. Their two teams have drawn a certain distance from other teams in Asia.
On the other hand, although the performance of the three major competitions has fluctuated significantly, this period is also the most played since the establishment of the Chinese men's volleyball team in the Paris Olympic cycle in October 2020. It is a rare opportunity for the Chinese men's volleyball team, regardless of the results. Both the good and the bad are helpful for the exercise and improvement of the young Chinese men's volleyball team.
Since the Tokyo Olympics cycle, Jiang Chuan has always been the core of the Chinese men's volleyball team, but Jiang Chuan was helpless to miss this year's Chinese men's volleyball competition due to injuries.
In the face of the three major competitions, the Chinese men's volleyball team needs a new core. At this time, the heavy responsibility is handed over to Zhang Jingyin.
The 22-year-old Zhang Jingyin took on the heavy responsibility of the Chinese team's offense. He scored 28 points in the World League match in Brazil, and won the Most Valuable Player in the Asian Cup. These are the performances of Zhang Jingyin's growth.
But this 22-year-old boy is also playing in the World Championships for the first time. He is inexperienced on the field and will be chaotic and make mistakes on the field.
These are the prices that must be paid for growth.
After three competitions, this group of young Chinese men's volleyball players represented by Zhang Jingyin will grow faster.
Although all three World Championships were lost, objectively speaking, the Chinese men's volleyball team has indeed experienced some new changes and new atmosphere in the two years after entering the new cycle. The team is showing an upward trend. The players have had some dazzling moments on the field this year.
It's just that these positive trends have not brought qualitative changes to the team.
After going through the three major competitions, the Chinese men's volleyball team has a clearer positioning of its own strength, and there is a big gap with the world's high-level teams, and there is also a certain gap with the Asian teams Iran and Japan.
In the future, the Chinese men's volleyball team needs to strengthen polishing in various technical links, and need to participate in high-level competitions as much as possible, find problems, solve problems, and continuously improve.