China's volleyballers burst Brazil's bubble

Wei Qiuyue of China celebrates winning the match with her teammates.  [Photo/Agencies]

RIO DE JANEIRO - China's women volleyball team beat Brazil in a five-set battle on Tuesday in Rio's Maracanazinho stadium packed with Brazilian supporters, dashing the host nation's hopes of winning a third consecutive Olympic gold medal.

The younger Chinese team outplayed their more experienced opponents, with a final score of 15-25, 25-23, 25-22, 22-25 and 15-13 to go through to the semi-finals.

The contrast of China's women volleyball team before and after the Olympic quarterfinals was clear. Team members shook off the heaviness before the game when facing the loud cheering and booing from the supports of the Brazilian team. They encouraged each other and cried with triumph after the tough win.

Lang Ping, the Head coach of the Chinese team, said that the team members' attitudes were the key to winning the game.

"I want to congratulate my players. They did not give up in the most difficult situation. We lower our status and prepare for any setbacks. We do our best and accept any results," Lang said.

As China's women volleyball team was beat by Holland, Serbia and the US during the previous group matches, the team prepared for anything to come and played without distractions during the match with Brazil.

"We lost previous games because of the lack of focus. But today, we played with good pace. Brazilian team surpasses us in terms of technique, experience and coordination, so we are not afraid of losing and played with lower expectation," Lang said after the match.

"Except for the first set, it was a spectacular performance by our team that never gave up."

Hui Ruoqi, team leader of the Chinese women volleyball team, said the Brazilian team and their enthusiastic supporters imposed great pressure on them and they adjusted gradually to be more focused during the game. "I think we do very well to let ourselves concentrate to play," Wei said.

Lang Ping also said attitude was not everything. Strength, she says, is the base of the high spirit and good attitude.

"Our players are very young and have less experience. They tend to be distracted when having obstacles. We have not very mature technique, so once distracted we are easy to be stuck," Lang said.

Lang Ping said she thought the players showed the traditional spirit of the Chinese women's volleyball team during the game. However, she said the spirit could sometimes be functional with strength and effort.

After defeating Brazil, the Chinese team will head to the semi-finals to take on the Netherlands on Friday.