China's women's volleyball team will open its Olympic gold-medal defense against Venezuela with strong momentum after finishing second at the Swiss Volleyball Masters and with the return of two stars Feng Kun and Zhao Ruirui. Their match will be held on on Aug 11.

The schedule, which was unveiled yesterday in Beijing, has China's next group match being played two days later against Poland. China will go on to face Cuba, the US and Japan, respectively.

The favorable draw will allow China to avoid powerhouses like Brazil, Italy and Russia in the group stage. China will play two relatively easy tune-up matches before meeting the group's stiffest competition in Cuba and the US.

"It's a good schedule as we do not have to open the Olympic campaign against a very strong opponent when maybe we are not physically and mental at our best," said head coach Chen Zhonghe.

The Olympic host will play in Pool A. Pool B includes World Cup silver medalist Brazil, World Cup winner Italy, Athens Olympic silver medalist Russia, African champion Algeria, as well as Serbia and Kazakhstan.

But coach Chen knows there is no easy path to defending the title.

Good or bad

"I am not concerned about whether it is a good or a bad draw - I just hope we get through the group matches," Chen said. "Group competition is just the start. The real test comes in the knockout stage."

The women have struggled since their Athens gold, but the return of Feng Kun and Zhao Ruirui from injury seems to have reinvigorated the team, as evidenced by its second-place finish at the Swiss Volleyball Masters.

"Though we lost to Cuba and failed to defend the title in the tournament, I am not frustrated at all," Chen said.

"I am glad Zhao and Feng came back and showed they are close to getting back to their best."

The towering Zhao used to be one of the world's best spikers but has struggled with a knee injury for the past three years. Pivotal setter Feng, who played a key role in the team's Athens triumph, has also been on the sidelines for over a year.

"The best way to test whether they are fit or not is to compete in a major event," the coach said.

"We can see they still played high-quality volleyball, they still showed motivation, determination and teamwork.

"Though not at their best, I can see they are on track to regain their prime form."

Feng was named "Best Setter" in Switzerland while Zhao ranked seventh in scoring and sixth in blocking.

The team will head to Ningbo, Zhenjiang province, on June 16 for the FIVB Grand Prix opening stage, which begins June 20.

Mountains for men to climb

Meanwhile, yesterday's draw for China's underachieving men's team was not so favorable. Advancing to the Olympics only by virtue of being the host, the men will have mountains to climb if they are to make it to the next round.

The men's team will open its second-ever Olympic campaign against Bulgaria, followed by matches against Venezuela, Japan, the US and Italy.

"According to our ranking in the world, every opponent in the group is stronger," head coach Zhou Jian'an said. "We have to try our best in every match."

With China unlikely to beat either Bulgaria, the US or Italy, the team will have to rely on victories over the less-fancied Japan and Venezuela if it hopes to gain a spot in the next round.

(China Daily 06/12/2008 page23)