The 2022 FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup will kick off today in Sydney, Australia. The Chinese team will face South Korea, the first opponent of the group stage, at 15:30 Beijing time.
After nearly 3 months of preparation, what kind of answer sheet will the Chinese team hand over in this "big test"?
The Chinese team started training for nearly 3 months in late May, flew to Europe ahead of schedule and played 7 warm-up matches with France, Spanish league clubs, Belgium, Serbia and other strong teams.
After arriving in the competition area, they warmed up with the Australian team, Canada team, Puerto Rico team, etc., and the Chinese team was in good shape.
In the 12-man squad for the Chinese team, Han Xu and Li Yueru are two interior players with WNBA experience. After a season of experience, their confrontation intensity and self-confidence have been further improved. Both of them have experienced 4 years ago. The World Cup and the baptism of the Tokyo Olympics, the competition experience is rich.
Few other teams have such inside players with height and skill as the Chinese team.
At present, these players of the Chinese team are in the rising and golden period of their careers. Most of the players are around 25 years old. They have a physical foundation and game continuity, which will provide a guarantee for the overall defensive quality of the team.
The Women's Basketball World Cup is held every 4 years. Before the 2018 World Championship was renamed the World Cup, the Chinese team's best result in history was the runner-up, and the Chinese team won the sixth place in the 2018 Women's Basketball World Cup.
This time, the Chinese team is in Group A with Bosnia and Herzegovina, Belgium, South Korea, Puerto Rico and the United States.
The Chinese team has defeated Belgium and Puerto Rico in the group stage of the Tokyo Olympics.
Facing the South Korean team and the Bosnia and Herzegovina team that participated for the first time in history, the overall strength of the Chinese team is relatively dominant.
In the history of the Women's Basketball World Cup, only 4 teams have won the championship. Among them, the US team topped the list with 10 breaks. This time they will hit the 4th consecutive championship.
According to the competition system, the top 4 teams in the group advance to the knockout rounds. From the perspective of overall strength, it should not be a problem for the Chinese team to qualify.
In the latest world rankings released by FIBA, the Chinese team is temporarily ranked 7th.
In the World Cup participating teams, the Chinese team ranked third.
FIBA's official website commented: "The Chinese team has two outstanding players in every position, and they have reason to step onto the podium." But head coach Zheng Wei kept a low profile, saying that in addition to the top-ranked US team, there are In addition to the obvious advantages, the other top 10 teams are not far behind.
She is well aware that the outside world has high expectations for the Chinese team, and has always emphasized the need to remain calm, be prepared to face difficulties, and put herself in a position of fighting and rushing.
Lowering yourself and secretly accumulating internal strength is the basis for the maturity of the Chinese women's basketball team, and it is also another kind of combat power for the girls.
Our reporter Su Yahui