Posts by wyatt23

    gone were the days when China used to play fast volleyball, with Feng Kun setting. I miss the fast spikes of Yang Hao, the deceptive plays of Zhou Suhong and the swift middle spikes of Liu Yanan...

    Even if I have long been a fan of the Chinese team, I hope that the Russians will win this OG. Of all the teams, they are the ones who really deserve to win the gold. I am confident enough that they will be able to beat Brazil, Cuba and Italy which are the major threats, but they will first have to work on their tactics to beat the unpredictable Chinese players.


    With Russia going against China in this year's OG, it might be a replay of the Grand Prix 1993 which China won. But then again this could be anybody's game. After all, Russia has already defeated China in the WCH2006.


    I think the better player to sub Gamova in case that she is having a bad play would definitely be Safronova. She has superb attacks and great placement.


    Let's all cross fingers and hope Russia will win this OG. I want to see Gamova's tears but her smiles instead. I dont wanna see the Russian team reaching the finals only to lose it.


    Good luck to the Russian team. :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

    considering how all the teams are preparing for the OG, it could be anybody's game. For what it's worth, the Russians will be a blast. Russians have good outside hitters, the two loopholes that i see on the team is their lack of a good setter and the poor reception. I agree from the above post that with Artamonova making a comeback, the team may be able to improve their reception, say 80%. From the past, the only good setter that Russia had was Vassilevskaia and Sheshenina. The two Akulova's are a bit shaky.


    With China, yes, playing in their hometown gives them an extra edge, not to mention the fact that they have long been training and prepping up for this OG. With Feng Kun, arguably the best setter in the world, and Zhao Ruirui making a comeback, it may prove lethal to other teams especially Russians and the Brazilians who find it hard to play against the Chinese because of their unpredictability and great execution.


    From my odds, I think that it is more likely to be Russia, Italy and China who will be able to reach the finals. No offense to the Cubans but unless they can make Mireya Luis and Regla Torres back to the NT, i don't see them reaching the finals. The team is so unstable, has poor reception and bad teamwork. But Rosir Calderon is great.


    Like my previous posts, since this is the Olympics that we're talking about, what we can expect is a lot of surprises. Oh yeah!