BEIJING, Sept. 15 (Xinhua) — China are in search of to maintain their ft on the bottom regardless of excessive expectations forward of the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup.
After ending fifth on the Tokyo Olympic Games final yr, China continued their favorable form going into 2022 as they superior to the World Cup with an ideal file in February’s qualifying match.
This might partly clarify why they sat in second place, behind after the United States, when the FIBA launched its third quantity of the match in August.
“We are happy to earn these recognitions. At the same time, we are quite cool-minded,” Zheng Wei, head coach of China’s girls’s basketball workforce, advised reporters on Wednesday.
China positioned sixth on the FIBA Women’s World Cup 4 years in the past.
“After all, we haven’t advanced to the final four at any major international tournament in recent years. We need to position ourselves in the right manner,” stated Zheng.
Zheng revealed that it took her workforce round one month to recuperate bodily and drill successfully on abilities after they assembled on May 20, they usually have performed eight warmup matches since they headed to Europe for World Cup preparation.
“Every game is a test for us, and we are improving,” stated Zheng.
With veterans Shao Ting and Sun Mengran leaving after the Tokyo Olympics, some new blood has been injected into the workforce.
“We are now fixing some problems that we met at the Tokyo Olympics, like turnovers and a lack of physical contact. We are becoming better and better,” commented Zheng, who rated her workforce’s maturity at six out of ten.
“Hopefully we can reach eight [in this regard] when we are competing at the World Cup. We have found our players’ progress from every game, such as dealing with key possessions or an inferior situation.”
Centers Han Xu and Li Yueru, who performed within the WNBA this season, reunited with the nationwide workforce on the finish of August.
“We need to build better chemistry as they have only played two matches with us,” Zheng defined. “But they have shown good shape mentally. Despite some difficulties in our training, building team chemistry and injuries, we are gradually getting back to normal and ready for a final sprint.”
Han averaged 8.5 factors and three.6 rebounds in her sophomore WNBA season, having made enormous progress from three years in the past.
“After finishing my second season in the WNBA, I need to shoulder more responsibilities and help our team both on and off the court,” stated Han.
Playing as a rookie within the WNBA, Li did not earn as a lot taking part in time as Han, however nonetheless felt herself enhance over the previous months.
“The biggest improvement is self-confidence,” Li stated.
China have been drawn in Group A with Belgium, Bosnia, Puerto Rico, South Korea and the United States on the World Cup, which will likely be held in Sydney, Australia from September 22 to October 1.
“We are ready for it,” assured China guard Yang Liwei.
For Zheng, each workforce will cherish the chance of taking part in on the quadrennial match.
“We have to be fully prepared for the difficulties ahead, not only doing ourselves well but also puzzling over the opponents to unleash our advantages and do our best,” she famous.
“We are in a position to challenge others,” Zheng concluded.