Jenny Lang Ping poses with Italy 2014 official Mikasa ball.
Bari, Italy, September 21, 2014 –Following a disappointing 10th finish at the last World Championship in Japan four years ago, the Chinese women vowed to better their performance and results here in Italy. Under the guidance of volleyball legend Jenny Lang Ping, they have put their eyes on a top six finish ahead of the 2014 FIVB Women’s World Championships.
“We will try our best to secure a spot in the third round,” said Jenny, who returned to coach the Chinese national team in 2013. “Since there will be another draw before the start of the top six round, we will see who we are playing and try our best in the rest of the tournament.”
The 24 teams participating in the World Championships have been drawn into four pools to play a round-robin in the first stage with top four finishers from each pool to advance to the second phase. Then the top 16 teams will be divided into two groups in the second round and the top three finishers from each group can make it to the top six.
“Of course it will not be easy, we can’t take anything for granted, but we will try our best,” Jenny added.
Jenny has brought a young team to Italy with only three players having the experience of the World Championships, namely Wei Qiuyue, Shen Jingsi and Xu Yunli.
“As a young team, sometimes we can play very well, but we lack consistence and stability. If we improve on that, we can win a lot of more games,” Jenny said.
Missing four regular starters due to injuries, the Chinese team settled for the fifth place in the 2014 FIVB World Grand Prix Finals in Tokyo a month ago. This time the key players Zhu Ting, Hui Ruoqi, Wei Qiuyue and Xu Yunli have all come to Italy with the team.
"Our team is in good condition, we don’t have any new injuries, we are getting prepared for the competition,” said Jenny.
China will take on Puerto Rico on Tuesday in their opening match in Group D which also includes Japan, Belgium, Cuba and Azerbaijan.