China volleyball team feel fans’ fury before Women’s Nations League in Hong Kong
- After two losses in previous round, qualification for Olympics may be under threat and fans want coach Cai Bin sacked
China head into the Hong Kong leg of the FIVB Volleyball Women’s Nations League next week under fire from their fans and facing the daunting possibility of not qualifying for the Olympics for the first time in 40 years.
Next Tuesday, the Hong Kong Coliseum will host the international tournament’s third and final round of pool fixtures.
China’s women slumped to two losses in four games in the previous round in Macau, including one to direct Olympic qualification rivals Japan and a 3-0 battering by Italy, leading fans and experts to question head coach Cai Bin.
On Sunday, after the defeat to Italy, a group of fans mobbed the team bus calling for Cai to be sacked.
Former national team captain Hui Ruoqi, who won gold at the 2016 Rio Olympics, questioned the team’s tactics and management in a post on Chinese social media platform Weibo.
