Photo: Cui Meng/GT

The Chinese women's volleyball team will look to keep their qualifying hopes alive as they take on Italy on Saturday.

Troubled by the lack of variety in attacking, the defending champions are yet to win a game after three group-stage games at the Olympics. 

Italy, currently the top team in Europe, dropped only one set in three matches, a sharp contrast to China, who have only won two sets.

China's captain Zhu Ting - considered the major contributor to China's glories in the last five years - is beleaguered by a wrist injury. 

The outside spiker is likely to be on the sidelines for Saturday's game, head coach Lang Ping indicated after Thursday's defeat to the Russian Olympic Committee team. Lang said that she may have to use whoever is healthy and fit to play in the next two group-stage games.

Team China is no stranger to three defeats in the group stage: The 2016 champions faced a similar scenario in the group stage before they managed to win the Rio Olympics title.

But currently the team needs to drop as few sets as possible to win against Italy as well as in Monday's game against Argentina if they want to keep their qualifying hopes alive.

Fans have poured their support into the defending champions, saying the team's glorious past will help them to bounce back.

Global Times