Liu's learning curve steepens as Tokyo countdown intensifies

Bayi women's volleyball captain Liu Yanhan is putting China's final defeat to Brazil at the 7th Military World Games down to experience as she looks to learn from the chastening loss and nail down a place in the defending champion's roster for next year's Tokyo Olympics.

After beating the Brazilians in the group stage, the Bayi squad was caught unawares by the South Americans' much-changed lineup in the final, losing 3-1 (25-23, 23-25, 25-23, 25-19) and ultimately having to settle for silver.

Still in the process of adapting to her new position as an opposite spiker in front of an expectant home crowd in Wuhan, the highly pressurized match was an intense but fortifying experience for captain Liu, both in terms of her individual play and as the team's leader.