Head coach: China to strive for good results at women's volleyball worlds

BEIJING, Aug. 15 (Xinhua) -- China will aim for "good results" at the upcoming FIVB Volleyball Women's World Championship in Thailand, head coach Zhao Yong told Xinhua on Thursday.

"We have been working to improve on our performance from the Women's Nations League. Hopefully, we can show that improvement and achieve good results in Thailand," Zhao said.

The team, which finished the 2025 VNL preliminaries with a 9-3 record but fell to Poland 3-2 in the quarterfinals of the final stage, will depart for Bangkok on Saturday, with two warm-up matches against the hosts before moving to Chiang Mai to prepare for their opening Pool F match against Mexico on August 23.

Also grouped with the Dominican Republic and Colombia, China is aiming for a top finish in the pool, treating each match as a tough battle.

"We will try to finish in a good position in the group," Zhao added. "Every match will be a battle for us, and we need to beat strong teams to advance."

Zhao hailed the team's strong fighting spirit in the VNL, where they won four matches in full sets, but noted there is room for technical improvement.

"We have focused on our serving, receiving and the coordination between the setter and spikers. However, as a young team, we need time to improve our skills and cohesion," he said.

"We lost to Poland 3-1 in Beijing and narrowly missed a chance to win in the Finals. I think we improved and fought hard to create opportunities, but we also paid the price for the lack of experience among young players. We just need more time to get better and stronger."

Zhao also mentioned that star spiker Li Yingying, still recovering from an ankle injury, is eager to return to play.

"She has been working hard in her rehabilitation, and she is keen to come back and play for China. We will make a careful assessment before deciding her role in the tournament," he said.

The Women's Volleyball World Championship will be held from August 22 to September 7 in various cities across Thailand. 32 teams will compete in the round-robin preliminary rounds in eight pools, with the top two finishers from each pool advancing to the knockout stage. ■