New-look China women open Volleyball Nations League campaign in Beijing
More than half of country’s 18-strong squad expected to make their debuts in six-team tournament
China’s women begin their road to volleyball redemption at home to Belgium on Wednesday, as the 2025 Nations League gets under way in Beijing.
Still smarting from a poor performance at the Paris Olympics, where they lost in the quarter-finals to Turkey, China have since overhauled an ageing squad and installed Zhao Yong as head coach.
More than half of the 18-strong squad will be making their international debuts this week, and at a pre-tournament press conference, Zhao said starting in from their own fans at the National Indoor Stadium brought both “pressure and motivation”.
“But the motivation is greater. It has been years since a major international tournament was held in Beijing, and for this new generation of players, it is more of an encouragement,” said the 49-year-old, who took over from Cai Bin last month.
“All the athletes have shown great commitment and a strong desire to bring honour to the country and the team,” Zhao said. “We hope to grow and improve through tough competition.”
Team captain Gong Xiangyu is among those in the squad who have tasted success, winning Olympic gold in Rio de Janeiro in 2016 and the FIVB World Cup in 2019.