Courting Olympic success

China's 3x3 hoopsters embark on intense Paris 2024 journey in confident mood

With the new Olympic qualifying campaign just around the corner, China's celebrated women's 3x3 basketball program is preparing for a busy international schedule as a slew of promising young guns join the ranks.

Despite enjoying major success on the global stage to date, the squad is refusing to rest on its laurels and is shooting for higher goals, beginning with this year's qualifying events for Paris 2024.

"No matter where we've been and where we started, our goal is always to fight for the best result we can, but we should do it with our feet on the ground and our minds ready for the grind," head coach Xu Jiamin said after an open training session in Beijing last month.

Under Xu's guidance the team claimed three straight podium finishes at major international events — gold at the 2019 World Cup, bronze medal at the half-court game's Olympic debut in Tokyo, and another third-place finish at last year's World Cup.

The team begins its Olympic qualifying campaign in Wuhan this weekend with a FIBA Women's 3x3 Series event. Xu has been overseeing a training camp featuring over 20 players since March 10, with the aim of developing multiple squads capable of representing China at events that offer Paris 2024 qualification points.