2010 FIVB World Grand Prix: China prepares for the Kill in the 2nd round
China has a very passionate volleyball following, and the fans are happy about the fact that their own country is hosting the FIVB Grand Prix matches this season. The city of Chengdu hosted the first round matches of the 2010 FIVB Grand Prix where the Chinese team had a dream start to their campaign and made very good progress. The home-crowd supported the team and the uproar of fans pushed them to conquer the best volleyball teams in the world.
China has maintained a good reputation in the championship so far. They have won their first round matches (Pool C) and topped the chart scoring 9 points (they share the top spot with Poland). They played their first match against Puerto Rico on Friday, 6th August 2010, and remained on the winning track.
China defeated Puerto Rico in three straight sets by posting 25-20, 25-18, and 25-22. Chinese players dominated the opponents by their perfect under-hand pitching. In all three sets, China retained a good lead over Puerto Rico.
In the second match, the Chinese team went against neighbours Thailand. It was a one-sided match as China beat the Thailand team in three straight sets without putting much effort. However, the Thai players fought well in the first set and used their tactical skills to throw some unswerving spikes in the opponent’s court. The Chinese focused on their defence line and saved many points by blocking the Thai hits. As a result, China claimed a 3-0 (25-16, 25-16, 25-22) victory over Thailand.
In the last pool-play match, Netherlands’ team created a bit of problem for China. The Netherlands opened the game by delivering strong serves and stay put on the same course to make further progress. Chinese couldn’t survive the line shots and jump-serves of the Netherlands’ team in the first set and lost it. Afterwards, China regained the control of the game and won all three final sets to claim victory in the match (19-25, 25-20, 25-15, 25-21).
China’s prospects are high in this tournament; the first round triumph has set a direction for them to climb up to the top spot in the 2010 FIVB Grand Prix. The second round is set to start on 13th August (China will face Netherlands next) which will put their skills to a test.
After a brilliant start in the FIVB Grand Prix, China is certainly looking forward to maintain their lead in the tournament. On the other hand, defending champion Brazil, which received a shocking defeat from Italy last week, seem desperately trying to bounce back in the game. China is scheduled to face Brazil on the 15th of August in the second round matches. Both teams have the task to bring out a better plan for a better game.
China is currently number 1 in the overall standings while Brazil is at number 3 (with 6 points). The city of Macau is waiting for a heated competition between the season’s hit team China and the defending champions Brazil. China will be hoping to add to their three wins last week with a solid performance this weekend in Macau.
However, the Brazilian team aims to defend the title. They are all set to generate good pace to dismiss their high calibre opponents.
The Brazilian coach is confident about the team and also aware of potential threats from other strong teams in the squad. In this connection, he said, “We are glad to return to Chinese city Macau. Our first objective is to get to the finals in Ningbo, which is not easy as all the matches in the tournament are difficult matches. We are playing against three very strong teams here, but I am sure our team has what it takes to get to Ningbo.”
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