On the evening of April 29, FIVB officially announced that the Chinese men’s volleyball team would replace Russia and return to the 2022 National League. As the National League is related to the world ranking, the Chinese men’s volleyball team is expected to improve the world ranking through competition and strive to participate in the men’s volleyball qualifying match of the Paris Olympic Games.

The official website of the International Volleyball Federation shows that the Chinese men’s volleyball team will replace the suspended Russia and participate in the competitions in Brasilia, Brazil, Quezon City, Philippines and Gdansk, Poland. The first match of the Chinese men’s volleyball team in the National League is Iran, a strong rival in Asia. The Chinese team will play against 12 teams except the United States, Australia and Canada in the sub race.

The Chinese men’s volleyball team was originally one of the core teams of the National League and gave up the competition in 2021 due to the COVID-19. The Chinese men’s volleyball team was disqualified this year due to the cancellation of the promotion and promotion of the current National League. After the Chinese men’s volleyball team withdrew from the World League, the International Volleyball Federation announced the selection method of the Paris Olympic Games. In addition to the host French men’s volleyball team, the top 24 teams in the world have the opportunity to win the Olympic qualification, and there is another place for the top teams in the other five continents. This regulation made the Chinese men’s volleyball team very passive for a time, because it was unable to participate in the National League and wanted to improve the world ranking, leaving only the men’s Volleyball World Championship. The twists and turns, affected by the armed conflict between Russia and Ukraine, Russia was banned by the International Volleyball Federation. The venue and participating teams of the National Men’s Volleyball League in 2022 have changed. Previously, the Chinese men’s volleyball team had limited opportunities to compete in international competitions and ranked lower in the world. Winning the National League qualification this time is a great benefit to the competition for the qualification of Paris Olympic Games in 2024.

After failing to qualify for the Tokyo Olympic Games, the Chinese men’s volleyball team set up a new team of coaches and athletes in 2022. The new head coach Wu Sheng said that the team needs to play its own strength in 2022, strive to break through itself in the Hangzhou Asian Games and the world championships, improve the world ranking and impact the men’s volleyball qualification of the Paris Olympic Games.

Text / our reporter Chu Peng