MATCH INFO

Tokyo, Japan, November 17, 2011 - Press Conference, Kenya v China: After a tough loss at the hands of USA on Wednesday, China bounced back to win a relatively easy match against Kenya on Thursday. They now look forward to a much tougher opponent in Germany on Friday.

China coach Yu Juemin: Every player had good focus and concentration and I think we performed well. We hope we can carry this into our match with Germany tomorrow.

As you know last year in the World Grand Prix we did not play so well, but in the Asian Championships we did much better. Overall I am trying to look to younger players and their potential to help us improve. We have built a new team as of May of this year and I have to mix new players with veteran ones. I had to figure out how to combine these types of players to create synergies. I have to let the experienced players to step up and lead so we can act as a unified team. We have played many games, and so far I think we have been successful in achieving our goal.

Our main purpose is to win a ticket to the Olympic Games. The World Cup is one of our biggest chances to achieve this, so we’re putting forth our best effort for this tournament and these matches.

Regarding number 17 [Zhang Lei]: Last year she left the team but now she’s back. So I think her experience on the national team is important for us; her mentality has been kept up well and that experience contributes to our team a great deal.

China Zhang Xian: Today before the match, we all came in knowing Kenya were the African champions. So we made sure to get in some good practice before this Kenya match. So today we came into the match with a quick start, in good condition, and we made the most of our chances. I think we played a good match today.

On improved passing and defence: I’ve addressed what’s lacking in my game and that has led to my overall improvement. Our number 17 [Zhang Lei] is now back and I can communicate well with her. There is better blocking up front which decreases pressure on our defence.

On tomorrow versus Germany: A lot of people have high expectations of us, so I’ve been feeling pressure. But I’ll try not to think about the pressure and do my best as much as I can.

Kenya coach Paul Bitok: Today playing China, I think they were very strong, and were prepared not to lose any matches. They are one of the teams wanting to qualify [for the Olympics] in this World Cup. Although China is strong, I think we could have played better. We have played other good teams and did better. Today I think we lacked mental and physical preparation. In this game we used six players and had a lot of fatigue and that affected our play a lot.

Kenya captain Brackcides Khadambi: Today we didn’t play so well. We lost a lot of services, and our attack was not very good, also our reception. China is a good team and we felt good playing against them, and we have learned so much. I wish them all the best.

On Lydia Maiyo who has left the team: The absence of [Lydia] Maiyo is being felt and the death of her father affects the team so much. We are trying our best to improve on our poils tally. We will miss Maiyo tomorrow because she is one of the key players in our team.