China's national women's volleyball team has revealed its 22-woman roster for the upcoming FIVB Volleyball Women's World Championship.
Team captain Yuan Xinyue leads the team, but ace spikers such as Zhu Ting and Zhang Changning are still absent from the squad.
The tournament will take place from September 23 to October 15 in the Netherlands and Poland.
Chinese players celebrate during a match against Türkiye at the 2022 FIVB Volleyball Women's Nations League in Ankara, Türkiye, June 3, 2022. /CFP
Head coach Cai Bin said his side is aiming for a better result at the World Championship after finishing sixth in the 2022 Volleyball Nations League (VNL). The Chinese team will look to dust off the disappointment of the Tokyo Olympics, where they crashed out of the group stage, registering their worst result in decades.
Cai said the door of the national team will always be open for Zhu and Zhang. "They underwent surgeries after the Tokyo Olympics. They are recovering well, but based on their situation and the arrangements for the World Championship, unfortunately, they were not called upon for the national team this time."
The Chinese squad are currently training behind closed doors in Ningbo, east China's Zhejiang Province. Cai said they hoped to improve upon the weaknesses exposed at the VNL.
"This is a young team, and they are required to have relatively comprehensive skills to balance attacks and defenses of techniques and tactics, in order to produce powerful attacks with speed and multiple changes during games," Cai said.
A total of 24 teams will compete at the tournament. China is in Group D with Brazil, Japan, Colombia, Argentina and the Czech Republic.
Meanwhile, China will send second-string players of the national team to compete at the upcoming Asian Cup, which will be held from August 21 to 29 in the Philippines. They will face South Korea, Vietnam, the Philippines and Iran, respectively.