After a week of short training sessions, the Chinese men's basketball team set off for Tehran, the capital of Iran, on the evening of November 7. The fifth window of the World Cup qualifiers is imminent. On November 11, the Chinese men's basketball team will face the Iranian team; 11 On the 15th, the Chinese men's basketball team will play against the Bahrain team.
In theory, these are not two very difficult games.
The Iranian men's basketball team is no longer what it used to be. Before the confrontation with the Chinese men's basketball team, they only ranked fourth in the group with a record of 5 wins and 3 losses. They have more pressure to qualify, not only will they play against the Chinese men's basketball team in this window period, and then Will also play against the unbeaten Australian team.
As for the Bahrain team, they are recognized as the weakest team in the group, and it is not difficult for the Chinese men's basketball team to beat them.
However, since the Chinese Basketball Association announced the list of 17 players for the training camp on October 29, the voices of doubt have never stopped.
The question first revolves around the selection and employment of head coach Du Feng: on the one hand, the powerful Liaoning men's basketball team has not been selected; on the other hand, some outstanding players in the league have not appeared in the Chinese men's basketball team. on the basketball training list.
In response to these voices, Du Feng also explained in particular: "The Liaoning team suffered some injuries, and some players wished to adjust due to long-term physical and mental fatigue. They all asked the coaching staff for leave, and I also asked the Chinese basketball team to cooperate. The report. This time the window period is short, so the main consideration for the selection of personnel is the longer time with the team, the tactical system of the national team, and the players who are familiar and familiar with Iran and Bahrain, the two opponents.”
Du Feng's explanation is not unreasonable, especially in the context of the Chinese men's basketball team hoping to get tickets to the World Cup during this window period.
At present, the Chinese men's basketball team ranks second in the group with a record of 6 wins and 2 losses in the World Cup qualifiers.
According to the rules, the top three teams in the group will directly qualify for the finals, and participating in the World Cup and becoming the best Asian team in the World Cup is related to the right to participate in the Paris Olympics.
The Chinese men's basketball team failed in the 2019 Men's Basketball World Cup and missed the Tokyo Olympics after losing the qualifying match. The negative impact on Chinese basketball is not small. Therefore, this World Cup qualifier cannot be lost.
However, the difficulties faced by the Chinese men's basketball team are also real, especially the physical and psychological state of the players themselves, which is very worrying.
After the Liaoning men's basketball team lost to Shanxi men's basketball team in the fifth round of the 2022-2023 CBA regular season, Liaoning men's basketball team defender Zhao Jiwei expressed his war-weariness to the outside world through social media. , I don't want to play, sometimes I want to secretly find a psychiatrist to treat me." After this social media release, Zhai Xiaochuan, Gao Shiyan and other players left messages to comfort Zhao Jiwei, and the fans were also very tolerant towards Zhao Jiwei, after all, it is really easy to play all year round Tired of fighting.
Recalling that the whole summer, the Chinese men's basketball team spent in training and competitions.
On June 24, the Chinese men's basketball team set off for Australia to participate in the third window of the men's basketball World Cup.
Due to the impact of injuries, the Chinese men's basketball team temporarily recruited a number of players to participate in the subsequent men's basketball Asian Cup.
After the Asian Cup, the Chinese men's basketball team started training in Europe to prepare for the two matches in the fourth window of the World Cup.
After returning to China after a lapse of more than 100 days, after the isolation is lifted, the players of the Chinese men's basketball team will face the new CBA season that will start in a month.
The first stage of the CBA league in the new season is still the same as the previous three seasons, adopting the game system of the game.
Under this circumstance, it is undoubtedly a big challenge for the regulars on the Chinese men's basketball training list to go overseas to participate in the World Cup qualifiers, especially during the CBA season.
It is not surprising that Zhao Jiwei is in a state of physical and mental exhaustion.
The only way to get rid of the predicament now is to complete the fifth window of the World Cup qualifiers with the most ideal results. If both games are won, the Chinese men's basketball team can ensure that they will get the tickets for the World Cup finals.
Then, in the two games against Kazakhstan and Iran on February 23 and 26 next year, we may be able to see some fresh blood join the list of the Chinese men's basketball training team.
Newspaper Beijing, November 7th
China Youth Daily, China Youth Daily reporter Yang Fen Source: China Youth Daily
"China Youth Daily" November 8, 2022 Issue 08