China hopes for 'fresh look' in FIBA Women's World Cup qualifiers

With their battle for a FIBA Women's World Cup spot imminent, Chinese players hope to bring a "fresh look" to the court.

The FIBA Women's World Cup qualifiers will be held across four competition zones from March 11 to 17. China will face Belgium, Brazil, South Sudan, the Czech Republic and Mali in Wuhan. Belgium has qualified as the European champion, meaning there will be three spots up for grabs for the remaining five teams.

Li Yueru of China competes during the FIBA Women's World Cup Qualifying basketball match between China and Nigeria in Belgrade, Serbia on Feb. 10, 2022. (Photo by Predrag Milosavljevic/Xinhua)

The return of centers Han Xu and Li Yueru, who played in overseas leagues, serves as a boost to China's paint attack, with the host already boasting towering center Zhang Ziyu.

"We are on an upward trajectory," Chinese guard Wang Siyu said after Tuesday's training session. "But as Han and Li just returned to the team, we still need time to fine-tune our preparations."

"We need to bring what we trained to the court, and show a fresh look on the home court," she added.

Han looks forward to seeing the impact of the paint trio herself.

"We have different characteristics and strengths, so we need to put these into play based on our opponents," she noted.

China will start its qualifying campaign with a game against Mali on Wednesday.

"Our team has new faces. Everyone needs to do their own job, and hopefully we can show a new-look Chinese women's basketball team and put on excellent games in this tournament," said guard Yang Shuyu.

"We need to go step by step, and prepare well for each game, especially for any difficulty," Han remarked.

"We are a young team. I hope to shoulder the responsibility as a key figure and help the team with my experience and strength," the center added.