Courageous China goes down swinging
Even superstar Zhu Ting, the 2016 Rio Games MVP, found the going hard.
"This has been no doubt the toughest tournament that I ever played since I joined the national team six years ago," said Zhu, who plays for Istanbul-based club VakifBank.
Zhu's superb 26-point haul against the Italians again showed China's over-reliance on the 23-year-old.
However, the performances of 18-year-old Li Yingying-especially her 20 points against the Dutch-boded well on that front.
Li capped her breakout season for Tianjin in this year's China Volleyball League with a massive 43-point tally in the last game of the finals, totaling 206 points over the seven-match series.
She racked up 804 points over the season, making her the youngest player in CVL history to break the 800-point mark, and her emergence on the international stage in Japan looks set to relieve some of the pressure on Zhu.
"The season just made me a more mature player with a better mentality," said Li.
Lang, meanwhile, is sure the learning curve at the championship can only benefit the squad in the long run.
"Sometimes, losing is not necessarily a bad thing. It shows that we are lagging behind and need to make more effort," she said.
"We will take some time off now and decide the best way forward."
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