China Women’s Basketball vs Belgium Preview: Han Xu Aims to Lead Team’s Resurgence, Zheng Wei Seeks Rejuvenation

At 2:20 am on June 29, the China Women’s Basketball team will face Belgium in their friendly series, marking the start of their Belgium leg.

In their European training tour, the Chinese team’s performance has been mediocre. In their opening match against Turkey, the Chinese team narrowly won 56-51 with a low team shooting percentage, relying mainly on Han Xu’s efforts in the paint to create an advantage. It was a hard-fought victory.

In the following game against Spain, the Chinese team found themselves on the back foot throughout, suffering a scoreless stretch of six and a half minutes in the fourth quarter, leading to a humiliating 24-point defeat (24-6), thus ending their training camp in Spain.

Against Belgium, attention will be on Han Xu’s continued dominance, the form of Yang Liwei and Wang Sisi, as well as the return plans for Huang Sijin and Li Meng. With the countdown to the Paris Olympics already underway, the time left for the Chinese team to fine-tune their squad is limited.

Coach Zheng Wei needs more victories to boost morale, especially after a 2-5 record in their last seven friendly matches, losing to powerhouses like Japan, Australia, and Spain.

Though Belgium’s roster is yet to be confirmed, they are also bound for the Paris Olympics, placed in Group C alongside the USA, Germany, and Japan. For Belgium, contests against Asian teams like China, with the majority of their core players present, hold significant value, particularly since this squad forms the nucleus of China’s Olympic team. Belgium is expected to give their all in preparation.

According to previous reports, the China Women’s Basketball team’s preliminary Olympic selection includes:

Wang Sisi, Li Yueru, Li Meng, Li Yuan, Zhang Ru, Wu Tongtong, Luo Xinyu, Jin Weina, Tang Ziting, Tang Yu, Sun Mengran, Huang Sijin, Han Xu, Yang Liwei, Yang Shuzi, and Pan Zhenqi.

As per regulations, the Olympic roster consists of 12 players, so adjustments to the Chinese team’s lineup can still be expected in the coming days.