Chinese President Xi Jinping on Sunday sent a congratulatory message to the Chinese national women's volleyball team, after the team cemented their victory in the FIVB Volleyball Women's World Cup with a perfect run of 11 straight victories. 

The Chinese team defeated Argentina 3-0 on the last game day of the tournament held in Japan on Sunday, a day after they were crowned champions, defending their title after sealing their 10th consecutive win on Saturday. 

Xi congratulated the team and their head coach, noting that their streak of 11 wins at the tournament had brought glory to the motherland and the Chinese people, the Xinhua News Agency reported.

Players of the Chinese women's volleyball national team pose for a picture on Sunday, after defeating Argentina 3-0 and completing the FIVB World Cup with a perfect run for 11 straight victories. Photo: IC

The women's volleyballers didn't fear any opponents and fought hard with both style and skills, demonstrating superb teamwork and a hardworking spirit, Xi said. 

The team's head coach Lang Ping, known as the "Iron Hammer" and one of the most dominant players in the country's volleyball history, told media after the Sunday game that "It was a difficult game, especially when the team already knew that they had claimed the championship. And the team struggled to focus in the first half."

Lang, who burst into joyful tears during the interview, said that "the team did not expect to win the tournament with straight wins. And they made it through hustling."

Lang grew up in the Chinese state-run sports system and became a successful player. She started coaching the US team in 2005 and helped the US beat China in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, with the team eventually placing in silver medal position. In 2009, Lang returned to China to coach Guangdong Evergrande Women's Volleyball Club in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, and in 2013 she started coaching the national team.

Chinese netizens also tipped their hats, writing online that "our national favorite, the Chinese women's volleyball team once again stand on the top of the world, renewing their tradition of glory."

Some also wrote that "the 11 wins and the championship title are the best tribute to the motherland," as the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China (PRC) on October 1 (the date sounds the same as the number 11 in Chinese) is right around the corner.

The perfect display at the World Cup once again reminds people of the "Women's Volleyball Spirit," and the unique inspiring influence the team has held throughout history, sports observers hailed on Sunday.  

The spirit means "teamwork, never giving up, respecting sportsmanship," and such a spirit never dies, they said. 

At a grand exhibition of achievements in commemoration of the PRC's 70th anniversary at the Beijing Exhibition Center, the trophy of the 3rd World Cup in 1981 won by the women's volleyball team, a first in the country's history of the sport, is on display.

The exhibit represents how the women's volleyball team encouraged people to contribute to the country's reform and opening-up, the victory coming just three years after the implementation of the policy in 1978. 


Newspaper headline: Xi congratulates women's volleyball team