Why did the Chinese women's volleyball team lose to Japan in the London Olympic Games? It was a very much unfortunate defeat (2021-04-17)
In the 2012 London Olympic Games, the Chinese women's volleyball team encountered the Japanese team in the quarter-finals. After the five-set match, the Chinese team lost 2-3, and finally ranked fifth. After qualifying, the Japanese team swept the South Korean team in the bronze medal match, and stood on the podium again since they won the bronze medal in 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games.
The QF match of China against Japan was very fierce: 26:28, 25:23, 23:25, 25:23 and 16:18, there was only a difference of two points in each set, no matter whether they won or lost. It is very similar to the four-set match between the Chinese team against the Dutch team in the semi-finals of the 2016 Rio Olympic Games. At that time, although the Chinese women's volleyball team won, the process was very difficult, and there was only two points difference in each set. It was a pity that in the final stage of the competition between Chinese and Japanese teams in the London Olympic Games, the Chinese team made many mistakes and gave up the opportunity. The ability to grasp the opportunity was not enough.
It's quite regrettable that the Chinese team lost that match. Maybe the team underestimated the opponent a bit before the match. When the draw came out, the whole team was very satisfied and thought that the draw was awarded. In fact, at this time, the Chinese team already underestimated the opponent and had a lax mind. In a four-year competition like the Olympic Games, there is no absolute weak team. Only by making the most difficult preparation, can the team not panic and have a clear idea. Obviously, the team did not prepare well, so that the opponent attackers Saori Kimura and Yukiko Ebata dominated the net, they scored higher than what Wang Yimei and Hui Ruoqi could achieve, the Japanese team was fast, Chinese blocking was not good, Japanese team had excellent passes, delicate small ball skills and tenacious defense caused Chinese attackers did less vigorously, but the Chinese coach, on the other hand, was always slow to adapt. In short, the strength of Chinese and Japanese teams were equal to each other, the Chinese team did not have enough strength to subdue the opponent's resistance reliably. The Chinese team underestimated the opponent first, and the opponent was ready to give full fight and showed excellent performance. It was no accident that the Chinese team lost the match.
In fact, the transition between the old and the new of the Chinese team in the London Olympic cycle was not good enough, the coach changed too frequently, which put the team in turmoil and stumbling. In the 2010 World Championship the team only won the 10th place, which was almost the worst record in history. Although in the 2011 World Cup the team won the third place and got the ticket to the London Olympic Games in the first attempt, it could not cover up the team's lack of competitiveness. The fundamental problem was not solved.
Losing is not a pleasant thing. Sometimes it's pretty hard to accept, but it's not necessarily a bad thing. It was this particular defeat that very much impressed Lang Ping, who was a guest in the television broadcast studio. It prompted her to return to coaching the Chinese women's volleyball team in 2013, and made the team back to the top. Now the Japanese women's volleyball team is not as strong as in the past, in fact at a historical low point. However, when the Chinese women's volleyball team faces the Japanese team, they still send all the main players to play, as a respect and to avoid any upset outcome, time after time!