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Post by alohavball on Jan 1, 2021 13:32:53 GMT -5
I'm not too worried about the OH position, all three star OHs (Zhu, Zhang, Li) are young and can still play for years. I haven't really seen Liu Yanhan play in the opposite position, so I don't know how huge the drop will be from Gong Xiangyu. Yang Fangxu is a notable omission - what happened to her? There's a setter crisis not only in China but also in Serbia and Japan. I haven't been impressed with Yao Di, even after being given a lot of playing time. What happened to Shen Jingsi? She's not up there with Ding Xia but at least she can give the setter position a little bit of depth. Shen Jingsi was cut from the team prior to Rio, since Wei Qiuyue was picked as the "stable" setter and Ding as the "imaginative" one. And then she gave up (and got married), probably because she was already a "World Champion" (In China, World Championships and World Cup have equal importance regarding athlete pension, benefits, etc) and I guess she thought there'd be new talent and couldn't make it to Tokyo. Well, she was dead wrong.... had she continued she would have been 2nd setter as a stable backup to Ding Xia. Now Ding Xia is both the stable and creative setter, hope she can maintain form for Paris 2024. I don't see Yao Di leading the team in the next cycle.
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Post by CAI BIN MUST GO on Jan 1, 2021 14:19:48 GMT -5
I am shocked they decided to call Gao Yi back after ignoring her from 2018-2020. I'm also surprised that there aren't more OH's being considered, but in theory both Liu Yanhan and Li Yao have played and can play as a non-receiving OH. Kind of surprised there aren't more setters... Gao Yi returning will definitely add more competition to the size with Wang Yuanyuan and Yang Hanyu. I was hoping Yang Hanyu would develop into that last spot, but she's not there yet. They really should've had Xu Ruoya there. I feel like Liu Yanhan is better hitting from the left side than at the right (ex. VNL 2019 Final Round) and Li Yao is the opposite. I was surprised when I saw that the latter had made the list, she might only be there as a sparring partner for the team. I know both aren't known for amazing receiving skills receiving, but who would you say is better out of the two? Mei Xiaohan could've been there if Diao needed more time, but since she's on the list despite her injury Yao Di should be nervous. Neither are good at receiving at all.... but I guess Liu would learn it quicker. I can't imagine asking either Zhu, Zhang, Li, or Gong to cover reception for them anyways.
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Post by CAI BIN MUST GO on Jan 1, 2021 14:26:11 GMT -5
Shen Jingsi was cut from the team prior to Rio, since Wei Qiuyue was picked as the "stable" setter and Ding as the "imaginative" one. And then she gave up (and got married), probably because she was already a "World Champion" (In China, World Championships and World Cup have equal importance regarding athlete pension, benefits, etc) and I guess she thought there'd be new talent and couldn't make it to Tokyo. Well, she was dead wrong.... had she continued she would have been 2nd setter as a stable backup to Ding Xia. Now Ding Xia is both the stable and creative setter, hope she can maintain form for Paris 2024. I don't see Yao Di leading the team in the next cycle. I'm not sure if Ding wants to play that long. One of her teammates mentioned the Korean setter who was still playing at 39 (I think) and Ding basically said "I'm not doing that". Although she would "only" be 34 when it's Paris so maybe she will get peer pressure and continue to play, since the core of the team will still be a good age in Paris and if none of the new setters are good enough.... she'll probably stay (or come out of retirement)
I don't see Yao Di having a future with the NT either; could be Diao going to olympics or one of the younger setters (Mei Xiaohan; Lei Hailin) to 2022 WCh.
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Post by ironhammer on Jan 2, 2021 21:26:42 GMT -5
I'm not too worried about the OH position, all three star OHs (Zhu, Zhang, Li) are young and can still play for years. I haven't really seen Liu Yanhan play in the opposite position, so I don't know how huge the drop will be from Gong Xiangyu. Yang Fangxu is a notable omission - what happened to her? There's a setter crisis not only in China but also in Serbia and Japan. I haven't been impressed with Yao Di, even after being given a lot of playing time. What happened to Shen Jingsi? She's not up there with Ding Xia but at least she can give the setter position a little bit of depth. Shen Jingsi was cut from the team prior to Rio, since Wei Qiuyue was picked as the "stable" setter and Ding as the "imaginative" one. And then she gave up (and got married), probably because she was already a "World Champion" (In China, World Championships and World Cup have equal importance regarding athlete pension, benefits, etc) and I guess she thought there'd be new talent and couldn't make it to Tokyo. Well, she was dead wrong.... had she continued she would have been 2nd setter as a stable backup to Ding Xia. Hehe. If we can have a crystal ball and predict the future, we'll all be able to make the right bets, we'll all be rich and successful (bets not just in the gambling sense of blowing money at a casino or betting at a horse race, but making certain life choices that will affect your future). Fact is, nobody knows what the future is like. People have to make decisions that they feel is best for them and their loved ones. So if Shen decided to pursue non-volleyball interest, she has to do what she feel is right for her. Was it a mistake in hindsight? Could she have made it to Rio? Possibly. But life isn't lived in a endless series of "what if" scenarios or regrets about whether one should have turned left instead of right. She made her choice, what's done is done. No point living with regret. She has to look to the future.
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Post by CAI BIN MUST GO on Jan 3, 2021 1:23:49 GMT -5
Shen Jingsi was cut from the team prior to Rio, since Wei Qiuyue was picked as the "stable" setter and Ding as the "imaginative" one. And then she gave up (and got married), probably because she was already a "World Champion" (In China, World Championships and World Cup have equal importance regarding athlete pension, benefits, etc) and I guess she thought there'd be new talent and couldn't make it to Tokyo. Well, she was dead wrong.... had she continued she would have been 2nd setter as a stable backup to Ding Xia. Hehe. If we can have a crystal ball and predict the future, we'll all be able to make the right bets, we'll all be rich and successful (bets not just in the gambling sense of blowing money at a casino or betting at a horse race, but making certain life choices that will affect your future). Fact is, nobody knows what the future is like. People have to make decisions that they feel is best for them and their loved ones. So if Shen decided to pursue non-volleyball interest, she has to do what she feel is right for her. Was it a mistake in hindsight? Could she have made it to Rio? Possibly. But life isn't lived in a endless series of "what if" scenarios or regrets about whether one should have turned left instead of right. She made her choice, what's done is done. No point living with regret. She has to look to the future. I agree of course (there's nothing she can do anymore and it would be best for her to not dwell on this; as fans we can speculate all we want), but that's the story of "where is Shen Jingsi and what happened to her". I understand her decision and can't fault her for it (considering she was already 27 during Rio), but from a career perspective there was one reason to continue and that was to make it to Tokyo. Sometimes life throws curveballs at us (in this case, the unexpected situation of none of the backup setters doing very well).
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