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CHN / China - Team Composition

Team manager	Zhang Rongfang
Head coach	Zhou Jianan
Assistant coach	Xie Guochen
Doctor	Song Weiping
Therapist / trainer	Zhang Luo
Journalist

	No.	Name	Lastname	Shirt Name	Birthdate	Height	Weight	Spike	Block	Club
	1	Hongmin	Bian	Bian H.M.	22/09/1989	210	95	355	330	Zhejiang
	4	Zhi	Yuan	Yuan Z.	29/09/1981	194	95	348	334	Liaoning
	5	Peng	Guo	Guo P.	1/07/1982	200	84	360	337	Army
	6	Hairong	Shi	Shi H.R.	27/03/1977	192	80	350	335	Jiangsu
	8	Jianjun	Cui	Cui J.J.	1/08/1985	192	94	350	335	Henan
	9	Shuai	Jiao	Jiao S.	28/01/1984	194	75	350	341	Henan
	11	Dawei	Yu	Yu D. W.	21/06/1984	199	90	345	335	Shandong
C	12	Qiong	Shen	Shen Q.	5/09/1981	198	84	359	349	Shanghai
	14	Fudong	Jiang	Jiang F.D.	10/01/1983	197	85	345	336	Sichuan
L	16	Qi	Ren	Ren Q.	24/02/1984	174	70	322	312	Shanghai
	17	Shengsheng	Sui	Sui S.S.	30/05/1980	192	75	345	334	Liaoning
	18	Yingchao	Fang	Fang Y.C.	3/08/1982	198	79	360	350	Shanghai

C=Captain L=Libero

Team Profile

Coach Profile

China had a tricky run-up to the 2008 FIVB World League before the Olympics as they had not played as many competitive matches as most of the others.

The Chinese were not involved in the 2007 World Cup or any World Olympic Qualification Tournaments.

The last global competition they had taken part in was the 2007 World League. They finished in ninth place, winning four and losing eight. There was an impressive showing by team captain Shen Qiong, who finished in the top 10 best scorers of the Untercontinental Round together with Yingchao Fang.

In order to prepare for the Beijing Games, China made some adjustments to the playing staff in March 2008, although the team officials stayed the same as 2007: Coach Jianan Zhou, the Chinese team captain in 1990s, Assistant Coach Xie Guochen, Trainer Fu Jun and Team Manager Zhang Luo.

After analyzing the team's performance in last year's FIVB and Asian Volleyball Confederation competitions, Zhou has been confident he has pinpointed the problems of the team's tactics and technique and the skills of the players that should be improved.

China's record on the Olympic stage is a lone eighth-placed finish at the Los Angeles Games in 1984 and they have been overshadowed to a fair extent over the years by their supremely successful female compatriots.

Away from the Summer Games, it has been a mixed bag of results for the Chinese in recent years. In the FIVB World Championship, they were the model of consistency from 1994 to 2002, finishing 13th three times running before dropping to a 17th-placed finish in 2006.

In the FIVB World Cup, they twice finished fifth in 1977 and 1981 and after an 18-year gap came back to place 11th in 1999 and then 10th in 2003.

China have fared better in the Asian Games. They won the competition in 1990, placed second in '94, won in '98, finished third in 2002 and second in '06.

In the Asian Championship, they placed third in '91, fourth in '93 and second in '95, before winning the title in '97 and retaining it in '99. They then finished third in 2001, second in '03, second in '05 and fourth in '07.

Zhou Jianan, born in April 17, 1964 in Sichuan Province, was selected for the Sichuan Province team in 1982 and recruited to the Chinese National Team four years later.

As the setter and captain of the Chinese Men's team from 1987 to 1999, Zhou led the Chinese team to win four gold medals in the Asian Championships and Asian Games from 1990 to 1999. Zhou also took part in many world major competitions.

He appeared in three FIVB World Cups, three FIVB World Championships and played for several years in the FIVB World League.

After retiring from the Chinese Men's Volleyball team in 1999, he worked as Head Coach of the Sichuan Men's Club team for several years. After Zhou's appointment, Sichuan finished in first place in the Chinese National League many times.

In 2006, the Chinese Men's National Team was revamped and Zhou was appointed as Head Coach. Ahead of the Olympics in Beijing, Zhou planned to select a group of young players for the team, providing them with as much opportunity as possible to grow up rapidly and perform well during the 2008 Games.

"What we had done is all for the Olympics. The Chinese Men have not participated in the Olympic Games since 1994 in Los Angles, where they finished eighth," said Zhou.

"“It is the most valuable opportunity for us to take part in the Beijing Olympic Games."

"Playing on home ground, we are going to show our fighting spirit and skill in the competition so as to satisfy our spectators."