The national women's volleyball team of China has paid scant attention to the docile nature of China's astrological sheep symbol during the early days of the new year, as they kept their festive period short in the interest of training.
The dedicated athletes understand that nothing less than an exceptional performance at the World Cup in Japan will ensure them one of the two open placements for the Rio Olympic Games next year.
China's national volleyball coach, Jenny Lang Ping, spoke with reporters on Sunday while her team was engaged in their first day of training at a location in the nation's capital city. The team members had arrived the day before from their respective home towns, where they spent time with family members and loved ones like millions of other compatriots, after a three-day break.
According to Pang, the current national team consists of young players with "great potential," but there is still "a lot of work to do." The team's manager continues to shape the continually evolving team since overseeing their unexpected runner-up placement at last October's women's World Championships.
She explained that "the training over next two months is of great importance to us" and that the team seeks to "make good use of the time" to improve themselves "physically and technically."
Although a hectic calendar awaits China's female volleyball team in the Year of the Sheep, especially between May and September, the World Cup event is the "holy-grail" event in 2015. Pang told a Xinhua reporter:
"We will have the Asian Championships, the World Grand Prix events and some international invitationals to play, but the World Cup will be the most important for us this year."
A Saturday announcement revealed that Iran will play China in Pool A of the 18th Asian Senior Women's Volleyball Championship, which will be staged in Tianjin and Beijing between May 20 and 28.