Li Yingying, who rose as the new ace for the Chinese women's national volleyball team at the FIVB Volleyball Women's World Championship that ended in mid-October, revealed in an interview with Xinhua news Agency that she had a totally different experience playing a new role in the team.

"I participated in multiple major international tournaments before with the national team, but I was only sent to the field when the team faced difficulties, like an unexpected move by the coach," Li said. "When I began to play as a leading player from the Women's Nations League to the World Championship this year, I encountered much greater pressure both physically and mentally. Our opponents began to study me more carefully. It's difficult in a different way."

Though Li admitted that sometimes she felt so nervous that her hands would be shaking, she was still the best-performing player of the Chinese national team at the World Championship. She scored 179 points in total, the sixth-most among all players and belonged to the top tier on serving, first passes and other fronts.

China ranked sixth at the World Championship in the end with seven wins and three losses, two of which were against Italy. In the first one in Poole E, China were swept 3-0 and Li was underperforming scoring only eight points.

"I watched a lot of the clips of Italy's and other teams' matches from last and this year. I wanted to win so much that I became very nervous. I could do some of the moves right and began to hesitate during many plays," Li told Xinhua. "That's my problem. I couldn't play with a rational mindset. I was too obsessed with how the opponents would play, but ignored how I should play."

China met Italy again in the quarterfinals and lost again 3-1. A loss is a loss, but Chinese players did much better compared to the previous match. Their performances in the third set gave the team reasons to believe in them.

"Though we lost again in the second match against Italy, I enjoyed the competition and didn't think too much about the result," Li said in the interview. "I just wanted to display everything I could do on the field. I won't be downhearted by the loss because I will always play against them in the future. We lost because they did better than us. I won't stay there, but will try to do better the next time."

Li said every match against the world's top team was a good learning opportunity for her. "I need to keep sharpening my skills on the details level. My biggest problem lies on the mental front. I must do better in adapting to difficulties and improving my flexibility for key plays," Li told Xinhua.

Li said the experience of playing in the World Championship made her more confident. Though she admitted that there is still a gap between her and the top players in the world, she also believes in herself.

"I believe I can do better next time. It's both my goal and expectation to become a top player. I will work hard to realize it," she said.