FUZHOU - Olympic champions China claimed the first warm-up victory en route to the Beijing Olympics as they beat Cuba in the first match of the friendly series between the two teams here in Fuzhou, capital of East China's Fujian Province on Sunday.
China's Yang Hao (No.3 in red) spikes against Cuba during the first match of the two sides' friendlies series in Fuzhou on Sunday. China swept Cuba 25-18, 25-22, 25-12 in only one hour or so. [Xinhua] |
To a thunderous crowd of the 8,000-capacity Fujian Sports Center, the home team, who has just finished a two-month behind-door training camp, blitzed the Cubans 25-18, 25-22, 25-12 in only one hour or so.
Head coach Chen Zhonghe fielded a line-up including the long-time absentee Zhao Ruirui, who has been out of action for three and a half years due to knee injury, and team captain Feng Kun, also returning from a leg injury sidelining her for the past 2007.
"We have trained for two months, so all the players are highly involved in the first match. We basically played our best but still committed some unforced errors," said 29-year-old Feng, adding that she has put her injury under control and is trying to spark chemistry with her teammates on the court.
Partially thanks to the mistakes the Cuban girls made, China claimed the first set 25-18 without sweat.
The second set saw the Chinese team start with flying colors, going up 5-2 and finish the second technical timeout at 8-6. The contest, however, became tense as both teams exchanged lead many times. At 21-21, China pulled away first and scored four out of the last five points with Zhao popping up from the middle and left to hammer the last two smashes for the home team.
The third set was totally in China's control.
Newly rising wing spiker Wang Yimei led the Chinese team with 15 points, while Zhao compiled a high-profile comeback show-up scoring 13 points.
"Given the fact that Zhao had not played normal games since 2004, I give her 90 marks in the match," said head coach Chen, "while Feng is still in the harsh time, recovering her injury and training for the Olympics at the same time. I need her to handle the ball with least mistakes because in a top-class event like the Olympic Games, any mistake could not be afforded."
Chen added that the series are the start of the Olympic season for the Chinese team and he will use the friendlies as a chance to test the possible lineups for the Olympics.
The series on Monday will be moved to Jinjiang, 80km south of Fuzhou, for the second leg before the third clash between the two teams in Xiamen and after two days' break, the rivalry will be resumed in Zhejiang's Jiande, followed by the last two matches in Shaoxing and Hangzhou.
The friendly series are seen as partial gauges to pick members for the Olympic squad. Injuries-battered Zhao and Feng will have to compete with youngsters including Wei Qiuyue, Xu Yunli and Xue Ming before registering their names on the final roster.
Currently there are a total of 19 players in the Chinese side out of which only 12 can make the final roster for the Beijing Olympics.
