Tears on the Court! The Real Shock for China’s Women’s Volleyball Team Isn’t the 1–3 Loss to France, but Zhao Yong’s Post-Match Remarks

On the evening of August 31 (Beijing time), in the Women’s Volleyball World Championship Round of 16, China’s women’s team suffered a shocking 1–3 defeat to France, marking their worst finish in the last four editions of the tournament. The set scores were 20–25, 25–27, 25–22, and 20–25. With this loss, China dropped 18.27 points in the world rankings, falling to seventh place with 337.02 points.

A Promising Start Turns Into Disappointment

This Chinese squad is relatively young, with an overall level that is solid but not dominant. In the group stage, they started slowly in their first two matches against Mexico and Colombia but still managed 3–1 victories in both. Their breakthrough came against the Dominican Republic, where they delivered a straight-sets win to secure first place in their group—crucially avoiding a clash with tournament favorite Brazil in the Round of 16.

France entered the knockout stage with two wins and one loss in the group stage. Their only defeat came against Brazil, where they let a 2–0 lead slip and lost in five sets—proof that they are not to be underestimated.

Before the match, head coach Zhao Yong noted:

“Any team that makes it into the top 16 has significant strength and skill. We must focus on our own performance, show our fighting spirit, and execute our tactics on the court.”

Match Recap — Momentum Lost Early

Unfortunately, China could not maintain the momentum from their dominant win over the Dominican Republic. From the start, unforced errors piled up, and they trailed throughout the first set, eventually losing 20–25. In the second set, China led for most of the way but faltered at the crucial moments, losing 25–27 and falling into a 0–2 deficit.

They fought back in the third set with a 25–22 win, but the fourth set saw their struggles resurface. Another 20–25 loss sealed the 1–3 defeat and their elimination. After the match, star player Wu Mengjie was seen in tears, visibly heartbroken.

Stats Breakdown — Attack Falls Short

In total points, China trailed 90–99. They recorded 56–63 in attacks, 8–8 in blocks, 4–5 in serves, and 23–22 in errors. The main shortcoming was the offensive output.

Starting outside hitters Wu Mengjie and Zhuang Yushan, along with substitute Li Yingying, were all off form, which directly impacted the attack. Fortunately, the middle blockers stepped up—particularly Wang Yuanyuan, who scored 15 points to become the team’s top scorer. She achieved an impressive 87% attack success rate (15 attempts, 13 kills, no errors, 2 blocks).

Fans Voice Their Frustrations

Chinese volleyball fans were quick to express their concerns:

• “Our two outside hitters just aren’t strong enough against European teams, and today’s mistakes were way too many.”
• “They figured us out—same rhythm all game, once they built confidence in blocking, we had no solutions.”
• “This team has no defining style—can’t outpace the fast teams, can’t outpower the tall ones in blocking.”
• “The coaching staff needs to reflect. France’s coaches studied our outside hitters thoroughly. With such poor scoring from our second outside, we had no answer to their No. 1 and No. 88.”
• “Look at the scoring and error stats—no complaints about the result. But taking two setters with no senior national team experience to a world tournament was bold.”

Post-Match Remarks — A Point of Controversy

After the game, Coach Zhao Yong told reporters that “team growth requires paying a big price” and suggested that the players were too conservative and not decisive enough, urging them to learn from France’s aggressiveness. However, many felt his comments deflected responsibility away from the coaching staff, despite their significant role in the team’s performance.