China News Service, Beijing, February 11th (Reporter Liu Xingchen) On the evening of the 11th, the China Division of the Paris Olympic Women’s Basketball Qualifying Tournament came to an end. The Chinese women's basketball team ended the journey with a 105:69 victory over the Puerto Rican women's basketball team.

　　The Chinese women's basketball team's final score was 2 wins and 1 loss. What this team has been through over the past four days has been a mixed bag.

  Image source: FIBA ​​Weibo

happiness

　　After successfully defending the title against Japan at the Hangzhou Asian Games last year, the Chinese women's basketball coach Zheng Wei made a powerful statement: "Entering the Olympics is a task we must complete."

　　Facing the camera, the whole team smiled and said: "Chinese women's basketball team, see you in Paris."

　　Today, this promise has become a reality.

  The picture shows the Chinese team celebrating after the Hangzhou Asian Games. (File photo) Photo by China News Service reporter Luo Yunfei

　　A total of 16 teams participated in the Paris Olympic Women's Basketball Qualifying Tournament, which was divided into 4 divisions. The top 3 teams in each division qualified for the Olympic Games. The Chinese team, the New Zealand team, the French team, and the Puerto Rico team are in the Xi'an Division of China.

　　Before the start of this competition, the host France team and the 2022 Women's Basketball World Cup champion United States team have obtained seats for the Paris Olympics.

　　On the evening of the 10th, the Puerto Rico team defeated the New Zealand team 69:67. According to the relationship between victory and defeat, the Chinese women's basketball team has locked in tickets to the Paris Olympics one game ahead of schedule, becoming the first team in China's traditional "three major ball" events to obtain tickets to the Paris Olympics.

　　At that moment, the team achieved the biggest goal of the trip and completed the "must-complete mission" in Zheng Wei's words.

  Image source: Chinese Basketball Association

worry

　　But on the same day, the Chinese team suffered its first international defeat since the 2022 Women's Basketball World Cup.

　　2nd and 7th, this is the current world ranking of the Chinese and French teams. The game should have been a strong dialogue. However, facing the French team with the return of world-class pitcher Marlene Johannes, the Chinese women's basketball team was lost. 50:82, a 32-point loss, which is a bit dazzling.

　　"Sorry, we played a very bad game during the Chinese New Year." Zheng Wei chose to start the 15-minute post-match press conference with these words.

　　To be fair, the overall strength of the New Zealand and Puerto Rico teams is far below the Chinese women's basketball team. Only the game against the French team can test the current state of the Chinese team.

　　Facts have proved that girls have not found their best selves yet.

  The picture shows Chinese women’s basketball player Li Yueru holding the ball and attacking. Photo by Zhang Yichen

　　Before the team went to the Olympic qualifying tournament, Zheng Wei once emphasized that the Chinese women's basketball team is not currently a strong team in the world. "The team's performance trend has been rising in the past two years, but there are still many shortcomings."

　　Looking back, this statement was more than just a statement of humility.

　　On the road to success, the Chinese women's basketball team, with an average age of 25.75, is still working hard to learn how to overcome all difficulties.

growing up

　　After a huge defeat, some people questioned the value of the Chinese team as the second best player in the world.

　　Winning the World Cup runner-up again after 28 years, breaking the curse of not reaching the semi-finals of major competitions, regaining the Asian Cup championship after 12 years, and defending the Asian Games championship... These achievements are enough to be a footnote to the improvement of the strength of the Chinese women's basketball team. In the past two years, they have become the best team in Chinese sports in the "three major sports".

　　Honor comes with a price. According to Yao Ming, Chairman of the Chinese Basketball Association, members of the 2023 women's basketball national team will have less than 2 months of personal time, excluding leagues, training camps and national team games. On average, they will not even have basic skills. Even weekends are not guaranteed.

  The Chinese team celebrates victory at the 2022 Women's Basketball World Cup. (Information map) Image source: ICphoto

　　The Chinese women’s basketball team can’t be said to have failed to work hard. But the laws of competitive sports still exist, and the performance of any team will fluctuate.

　　Many people said that the quality of the Chinese team's training this time was not as good as in the past, which resulted in a huge loss.

　　In fact, during the training camp, the coaching staff realized that the high-intensity defense of European and American teams would cause trouble for the Chinese women's basketball team, which has been accustomed to the rhythm of Asian basketball games in recent times. To this end, the team invited the men's basketball team for training during the training camp in Qingyuan, Guangdong.

　　But the French women's basketball players are extremely talented, and their effortless running and stealing still makes it difficult for the Chinese women's basketball team to adapt.

  Image source: Chinese Basketball Team

　　The result cannot be changed. There are only two things the Chinese women's basketball team can do: learn from experience and improve themselves.

　　"Losing will definitely have a negative impact on the players, but a good team will adjust very quickly." Zheng Wei still believes that the team can adjust its status in the shortest time.

　　One day later, the girls who started again found their familiar selves as they wished.

　　In the final game, facing the Puerto Rican women's basketball team, which had also qualified for the Paris Olympics, the Chinese team took the initiative after the start and continued to attack the opponent's defense through smooth cooperation, and finally won the victory.

future

　　Only by focusing on the present can the team go further.

　　"We came out of the trough step by step, won the World Cup runner-up, and regained the Asian Cup championship." In the eyes of team core Li Meng, setbacks will not make the Chinese women's basketball team lose confidence, but urge everyone to continue to do their best. A good self grows through hard work.

  Image source: Chinese Basketball Association

　　Throughout the three games this time, the Chinese women's basketball team exposed problems such as lack of tacit cooperation, limited tactics, and inability to take advantage. With the Paris Olympics still about half a year away, this is not a bad thing.

　　For the young Chinese women's basketball team, they look forward to using more wins to consolidate their self-confidence, but there is no need to be afraid of losing. The team still has the opportunity and time to find out and fill in the gaps. There are still so many possibilities for this team to be explored, and the heights they can reach are far beyond this.

　　At the Tokyo Olympics, the Chinese women's basketball team won all the group matches and qualified. Facing the European powerhouse Serbia in the quarter-finals, the girls, who were inexperienced in the competition, suffered a reversal in the final quarter and missed the semi-finals.

　　After that game, the team began its journey to prepare for the Paris Olympics. With the further improvement of the replacement of old and new players, the team members have significantly improved in many aspects such as technical and tactical level and psychological ability to withstand pressure.

　　This summer, the Chinese women's basketball team will usher in its tenth Olympic trip in history. This time, the "warriors" with clear goals are eager to make up for the regrets left in Tokyo and use their results to fulfill their expectations.

  Image source: Chinese Basketball Team

　　"Some players are in very good physical condition. I hope that after the Olympics, they can truly become the 'golden generation'." Zheng Wei said before the start of this game.

　　30 years ago, the Chinese women's basketball team became the world runner-up in the World Championships (the predecessor of the World Cup), and that group of players was also known as the "94 Golden Generation."

　　At that time, Zheng Wei, as a team member, witnessed the most glorious era of the Chinese women's basketball team. Now, she and the younger generation of female basketball players are writing their own stories.

  The picture shows the Chinese team players throwing head coach Zheng Wei up to celebrate. (File photo) Photo by Shi Chunyang, China News Service

　　The qualifying round is the last international competition for women's basketball before the Paris Olympics. Talking about future plans, Zheng Wei said that she hopes the team can participate in more international competitions, better adapt to the intensity of strong European and American teams, and accumulate experience.

　　Do your best every day and work hard towards the goal of becoming a truly world-leading team. The Chinese women's basketball team's desire has never changed. This qualifying match has sounded a wake-up call for the Chinese women's basketball team, but it can be seen from the game that the team's fighting spirit is still there.

　　Make steady progress and achieve great results. Chinese women's basketball team, see you in Paris. (over)