2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympic GamesAug 3, 2016 by Beverly Oden
2016 Olympics Rankings: #3 China (Women)
2016 Olympics Rankings: #3 China (Women)
The China women clock in No. 3 in our 2016 Olympics Rankings.
The FloVolleyball Olympics Rankings will count down to the start of the indoor volleyball competition in Rio by highlighting one team per gender each day. Today, three days before the first serve, we profile the No. 3-ranked Russia men and China women.
TOP PLAYERS
Zhu Ting, Outside Hitter
Best spiker, third-best blocker, ninth-best scorer at World Cup; China's best scorer, second-best spiker and digger, fourth-best blocker at World Grand Prix
Zhang Changning, Outside Hitter
Best server, seventh-best spiker at World Cup; China's best server and receiver, second-best scorer, second-best spiker and third-best digger at World Cup; China's best server, second-best scorer and digger at World Grand Prix
Yan Ni, Middle Blocker
Seventh-best server World Cup; China's second-best server and third-best blocker at World Cup; China's third-best blocker at World Grand Prix; China's third-best scorer, server and spiker and second-best digger at World Cup
RISING STAR TO WATCH
Yuan Xinyue | 19 | Middle Blocker
Fourth-best blocker at World Grand Prix; China's best spiker, best blocker, third-best receiver and fourth-best scorer at World Grand Prix
China's women's volleyball team has participated in every Olympics since 1984 and has earned five medals--two gold (1984 and 2004), one silver (1996) and two bronze (1988 and 2008).
Head Coach Jenny Lang Ping is a legendary Chinese volleyball player herself who was instrumental in China's gold medal as an athlete at the 1984 Olympics. Her first stint as the Chinese national team coach yielded a silver medal at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. In an unprecedented move, Lang took the head coaching position for USA Volleyball and coached the American women through the 2008 Olympics where she led them to a victory over her native China in pool play and a silver medal finish in Beijing.
Lang returned to coach the Chinese women in 2013 and made a decision to go with a younger crop of players this time around. So far it has produced results. In 2014, the team won silver at the World Championships, losing to USA in the final. China qualified for Rio by winning gold at World Cup in 2015, Lang's first major international victory as a coach.
China started out strong at this year's World Grand Prix, finishing the preliminary round with a 8-1 record, including a 3-1 victory over No. 1 USA and a 3-0 victory over No. 2 Brazil. Injuries to some key players hindered the team in the final round where it lost to the Netherlands in five and USA in three and did not advance to the medal round.
If China's key players are back and healthy for Rio, it can continue what it started and could not finish at World Grand Prix. China can beat every team in its pool consistently, with the exception of USA. If it emerges from pool play in second place it will most likely win the quarterfinal match and head to the medal round. The Chinese will probably have to beat Brazil or USA in order to make the gold-medal match and that's unlikely, but they have a great shot at taking bronze.
FloVolleyball Women's 2016 Olympics Rankings
12. Cameroon
11. Puerto Rico
8. The Netherlands
6. Serbia
5. Japan
4. Russia
3. China
COUNTRY: China
TOP PLAYERS
Zhu Ting, Outside Hitter
Best spiker, third-best blocker, ninth-best scorer at World Cup; China's best scorer, second-best spiker and digger, fourth-best blocker at World Grand Prix
Zhang Changning, Outside Hitter
Best server, seventh-best spiker at World Cup; China's best server and receiver, second-best scorer, second-best spiker and third-best digger at World Cup; China's best server, second-best scorer and digger at World Grand Prix
Yan Ni, Middle Blocker
Seventh-best server World Cup; China's second-best server and third-best blocker at World Cup; China's third-best blocker at World Grand Prix; China's third-best scorer, server and spiker and second-best digger at World Cup
RISING STAR TO WATCH
Yuan Xinyue | 19 | Middle Blocker
Fourth-best blocker at World Grand Prix; China's best spiker, best blocker, third-best receiver and fourth-best scorer at World Grand Prix
SYNOPSIS
China's women's volleyball team has participated in every Olympics since 1984 and has earned five medals--two gold (1984 and 2004), one silver (1996) and two bronze (1988 and 2008).
Head Coach Jenny Lang Ping is a legendary Chinese volleyball player herself who was instrumental in China's gold medal as an athlete at the 1984 Olympics. Her first stint as the Chinese national team coach yielded a silver medal at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. In an unprecedented move, Lang took the head coaching position for USA Volleyball and coached the American women through the 2008 Olympics where she led them to a victory over her native China in pool play and a silver medal finish in Beijing.
Lang returned to coach the Chinese women in 2013 and made a decision to go with a younger crop of players this time around. So far it has produced results. In 2014, the team won silver at the World Championships, losing to USA in the final. China qualified for Rio by winning gold at World Cup in 2015, Lang's first major international victory as a coach.
China started out strong at this year's World Grand Prix, finishing the preliminary round with a 8-1 record, including a 3-1 victory over No. 1 USA and a 3-0 victory over No. 2 Brazil. Injuries to some key players hindered the team in the final round where it lost to the Netherlands in five and USA in three and did not advance to the medal round.
PREDICTION
If China's key players are back and healthy for Rio, it can continue what it started and could not finish at World Grand Prix. China can beat every team in its pool consistently, with the exception of USA. If it emerges from pool play in second place it will most likely win the quarterfinal match and head to the medal round. The Chinese will probably have to beat Brazil or USA in order to make the gold-medal match and that's unlikely, but they have a great shot at taking bronze.
FloVolleyball Women's 2016 Olympics Rankings
12. Cameroon
11. Puerto Rico
10. Argentina
9. Korea
8. The Netherlands
7. Italy
6. Serbia
5. Japan
4. Russia
3. China
