Jiangning, China, July 14, 2009 - This weekend, the
Chinese team will meet its final opponent Italy at home at the Jiangning Sports
Center Gym in Nanjing, China.
China's young players have gained a lot of confidence at
the tournament following four close matches and two wins at home against two
strong teams, namely the USA and Netherlands.
After China's 3-0 win over the Dutch, Mr. Yuan Weimin
(President of the China Volleyball Association, former President of the Chinese
Olympic Committee and Honorary Life-President of the Asian Volleyball
Confederation) praised the Chinese team and encouraged them to continue
improving by taking advantage of every opportunity to play against strong
teams.
Although China no longer has a chance to qualify for the
Final Round with 9 points from a 3-7 record, a fantastic performance can still
be expected this weekend considering their recent fettle and an away win in
Italy.
Italy now ranks second, 4 points behind USA in Pool A
after splitting its series against the States last weekend. With a chance to
overtake Team USA, Italy will give everything they've got to qualify for the
Final Six.
The first match starts at 19:15 (local time) on Friday.