Chinese women's volleyball team will open its world
championships against Azerbaijan Tuesday afternoon.
The girls managed to get a taste of the gym on Monday.
Head coach Chen Zhonghe said after the one-hour training that
the girls are in high moral.
However, he stressed that the opening match is always difficult
to deal with.
He added that Azerbaijan is among the top four teams in Europe
and China didn't have an overwhelming power over the European
rivals during their two encounters this year at the Grand Prix
series.
The 2006 FIVB Women's Volleyball World Championship will smash
off Tuesday with 24 teams competing for the prestigious title of
World Champion.
Reigning champions Italy will be looking to defend the title
they won in Germany in 2002 with new head coach Massimo Barbolini,
who has only been in the job since 21st September this year.
The girls from Brazil, however, are the strong favourite, having
followed their Grand Champions Cup victory in Japan this time last
year with a fourth consecutive World Grand Prix title in Reggio
Calabria in September. Although the Brazilian women's team have
numerous international victories to their name, they are still
looking for a World Championship trophy to complete the collection
in their cabinet.
In addition to the defending champions and the favourites, FIVB
President Dr Ruben Acosta listed Russia, China and Cuba among his
picks for the podium. Russia's strong team took second place at
this year's World Grand Prix under the guidance of Italian head
coach Giovanni Caprara, who admitted he was "optimistic" for the
World Championship after his team's performance in Italy.
China pipped Russia to the post in the Athens 2004 Olympic
Games, taking their second Olympic gold and head coach Chen Zhonghe
has included six veteran players from the Athens Olympics and the
previous World Championships in his squad, as well as four younger
players who will be making their World Championship debut.
Cuba finished fifth at the 2002 World Championship and fourth in
this year's World Grand Prix. With three gold medals under their
belt, the Cuban women are a strong contender and benefit from the
unrivalled experience of Eugenio George Lafitta, who has been
coaching the Cuban women's team for 30 years and was named Coach of
the Century in the FIVB's millennium survey in the year 2000.
(CRI October 31, 2006)