Volleyball…Beijing 2008

Are China going to start dominating world Volleyball once again? They seem to be on their way with a win over Italy in the Grand Prix.

Full article FIVB

FIVB World Grand Prix champions of 2003 China are blazing a trail at the top of the standings in this year’s competition with a 100 percent record after the first two weekends of competition. China won Group F in Hong Kong, while six-time champions Brazil won Group D in Vinh Phuc, Vietnam and two-time winners USA were triumphant in Wroclaw, Poland.

Read full article Shanghai Daily

THE Chinese women’s volleyball team looks to have recovered its form just in time for its Olympic title defense after beating Cuba six times in a row in friendlies over the last two weeks.

After winning the gold medal in Athens, China suffered injuries to key players, including Zhao Ruirui, who was injured well before the Athens Games in 2004, and Feng Kun and a loss of form.

It finished fifth at the 2006 world championships and missed out on the Asian title last year for first time in more than two decades.

If the military games are anything to go by, China are in for some big results in Beijing! The mens and womens team toppled Italy and Brazil respectively.

Chinese women’s volleyball team extended their winning streak at the Military World Games by thrusting Italy 3-0 on Tuesday.

The high-spirited Chinese spikers started off very well, playing attacking spikes and giving their counterparts very little chance to rally.

They met no challenge in the first set and cruised past it with a clear advantage of 25-7.

Chinese star Tang Miao is reportedly recovering well in hospital after an accident in June nearly left him paralyzed. The accident occured during a warm up for a friendly against Russia. This will surely provide a moral boost to both the mens and women’s teams for their upcoming competitions. He was a star for the mens team, and he is married to the captain of the womens team, Zhou Suhong.

This is a snippet from an article I found from 2001.

In the 2004 Olympic Games the women’s volleyball team should be among top four and men’s volleyball team to get the qualification for the Olympics. And in the 2008 Olympic Games the women’s volleyball team should be made capable enough to strive for the championship and the men’s volleyball team to enter the top eight. More at People Daily