Facing the Gap and Awaiting Growth: A Valuable Lesson for the Chinese Women's Basketball Team

News report.

On the evening of September 10 Beijing time, the Women's Basketball World Cup quarterfinals concluded, with China losing 61-90 to France and missing out on a semifinal place. For the young Chinese women's basketball team, this World Cup journey was a difficult test of facing the gap and gaining experience.

Speaking about the loss to France in the final game, Han Xu said frankly: “We played very well in the first quarter, but ultimately failed to stay in the game. Besides the heavy physical toll from playing back-to-back games, the bigger issues were details and confidence. We can be more patient on offense, and our ability to read defenses still needs improvement. Going forward, we will use video review and game experience to gradually address our weaknesses.”

At this World Cup, China faced the United States and France, the world's No. 1 and No. 2 ranked teams. Han Xu believes such opportunities to compete were extremely valuable. “It is rare to face such strong teams in an official world competition, and we should cherish these opportunities.” Han Xu encouraged the team in the locker room. “They have outstanding physical abilities and strong defensive intensity. We need to use these games to identify our problems, clarify our improvement direction, and find our own style in the future. This is a necessary path for a team to mature.” Han Xu concluded.

After the game, Gong Luming also objectively acknowledged the gap and shortcomings between the team and the top teams. “France is very strong. We prepared many things before the game, but their defensive intensity caused us significant disruption. Against the United States and France, we both showed a considerable gap. Young teams have limited major tournament experience and struggled under high-intensity competition, playing without enough determination.” He said the team needs to compete against strong opponents more often and improve its physical confrontation, confidence, and mental stability through real games.

Looking at the entire tournament, the young Chinese women's basketball team was not in poor form throughout, but continued to improve by correcting mistakes. In the final group-stage game against Italy, the team learned from the lessons of the game against the Czech Republic and bounced back strongly with a 71-51 victory. Turnovers dropped from 29 against the Czech Republic to 13, while free-throw and three-point shooting percentages also improved significantly. “Against Italy, we played our best game since the start of the tournament,” Gong Luming said. “After the groups were confirmed, we focused on studying our opponents and conducted thorough preparations on both offense and defense.”

Two narrow victories also became valuable assets for the team. Facing strong challenges from the Czech Republic and Puerto Rico, the young players withstood pressure in difficult situations. Gong Luming commented: “The knockout stage competition was intense. Puerto Rico was well prepared and fought aggressively. We made plans for difficulties in advance and held on until the end.” Reviewing the Czech Republic game, he admitted: “The opponent showed strong fighting spirit and caused us great trouble.” The comeback victories also strengthened team unity. Han Xu said: “The games against the Czech Republic and Puerto Rico were very difficult, but we did not give up. We focused on defense, fought for rebounds, made key shots, and eventually secured victories.”

Among the 12 players on China's roster at this World Cup, only Han Xu, Wang Siyu, and Li Yuan had previous World Cup experience, while the rest were newcomers to top international tournaments. Han Xu developed from a young player at the previous World Cup into a core player on both offense and defense, averaging a team-high 18.8 points over five games. Zhang Ziyu, standing 2.23 meters tall, made her World Cup debut and gave her all for the team. Han Xu also objectively recognized the challenges facing newcomers. “Against European and American teams, Ziyu does not have an absolute height advantage.” Wang Siyu and Li Yuan played through injuries and provided veteran leadership, helping younger players gain experience in major competitions.

“The experience from these games is extremely valuable for our young team,” Gong Luming summarized. “The players worked together and produced some good performances at this World Cup. Through the experience of the World Cup, the players supported each other, became more united, and recognized the gap with strong teams. In the future, we will continue to do a good job in training and competition.”

The high-intensity World Cup campaign has come to an end, but the journey of the Chinese women's basketball team continues. After a brief rest, the team will head to the Asian Games. This World Cup was a crucial lesson on the growth path of the Chinese women's basketball players. By facing the gap, consolidating what they have gained, and turning tournament experience and lessons into motivation for improvement, the team will continue to prepare and wait for future growth.

Image source: Xinhua News Agency