When practice isn't making perfect

Wei Jizhong, president of the International Volleyball Federation (FIVB), recently expressed concern about China's women's volleyball prospects at the London Games after sluggish performances at pre-Olympic tournaments.

The latest setback came last month, when the title favorite finished fifth at the World Grand Prix Finals in Ningbo, Zhejiang province, claiming only one victory - over Cuba, which failed to make the Olympics.

"(The losing streak) is because of the lack of strict demands in training," Wei told the Sports Fans newspaper last week. "Without high-level requirements in training, the players can hardly perform consistently well in games."

The 72-year-old Wei, a renowned figure in Chinese sports, has witnessed the team's ups and downs since its prime in the 1980s, and said it's difficult to predict how it will perform in London due to its inconsistent form.

"I cannot say how they will play at the London Games," he said. "The team's performance in Ningbo gave me an impression of inconsistency and unpredictability."

Drawn in the "group of death" that includes defending champion the United States, world No 2 Brazil and Asian powerhouse South Korea, China will have to play its best to advance from the pool, Wei said.

But he still harbors hopes for the team, which won the Athens Olympics gold medal in 2004 but has since struggled due to a steady flow of retirements.

"Some experts have told me that China women's volleyball team is facing an opportunity that is as great as the one at Athens as none of the top teams are in their prime. Brazil's team is old; America has not settled its lineup yet and the Russian team is young I hope the China women's volleyball team can take advantage of this and pull itself together," Wei said.

The squad has more than its share of injury problems.

Almost half the main roster, including attacker Wang Yimei, setter Wei Qiuyue and libero Zhang Xian, was sidelined by injuries in Ningbo, casting doubt if the will fully recover during the Games.

Wei said the head coach should take responsibility for the team's physical problems.

"It depends on how you control training and what kind of methods you use," he said. "Our coach used his experience - not a scientific system - to make the training plan. But experience is usually unreliable."

Coach Yu Juemin was appointed to the job in 2010, taking over for Chen Zhonghe, who led the team to gold and bronze finishes at the 2004 Athens and 2008 Beijing Games respectively.

Although he guided the team to a direct berth in London, Yu's ability was questioned by the media when China finished 10th at the 2010 worlds and eighth at last year's finals.

China Daily

(China Daily 07/13/2012 page22)