Haiyang, China, July 19, 2018 – After recording a three-set win against Israel in the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour Haiyang Open on Thursday, China player Wang Fan said there was still room for improvement in her team's game.
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“It’s nice to be back in China after playing four events in Europe,” Wang said. “We still have a lot to improve on and our goal is to reach a higher level of play in the next matches.”
Wang and Xia had a shaky start in their first match in Haiyang on Wednesday morning. After leading the first set, rivals Noy Chorin/Anita Deev came from behind to snatch victory in the opening stanza. The Chinese pair, however, rapidly made adjustments to turn the game around in their favour.
“Israel played better towards the end of the first set. We felt some pressure probably because we were playing in front of our home crowd, but we managed to make some adjustments in the next two sets to win the match.”
Wang was delighted to win in front of the Chinese fans and expressed her satisfaction with the number of beach volleyball events held in her country this year.
“It’s always nice to play on your home court,” Wang said. “China is still learning about beach volleyball, not like in European countries where beach volleyball is very popular. I am happy my country hosted a lot of tournaments this season and that helped us a lot to promote beach volleyball and our athletes as well.
“I hope for more recognition in beach volleyball and I hope my younger compatriots will have the confidence it takes to make it big in future competitions.”