China's 27-player training camp roster loaded with stars and prospects in preparation for Victoria
BEIJING (China) - China have announced a 27-player training camp roster ahead of the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Victoria as they take aim to make a tenth straight appearance in the Summer Games.
BEIJING (China) - China have announced a 27-player training camp roster ahead of the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament (OQT) in Victoria as they take aim to make a 10th straight appearance in the Summer Games.
China had hosted the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 and earned the right to play in the OQT in Victoria, which will be completed from June 29 until July 4.
The winners in Victoria will join the other triumphant teams from the tournaments in Croatia, Serbia, and Lithuania to fill in the four remaining spots of the playing field at the Tokyo 2020 Men's Olympic Basketball Tournament. The teams that are currently qualified are Spain, Argentina, France, USA, Australia, Iran, Nigeria and Japan.
Du Feng will be taking over the coaching duties for China, replacing Li Nan who headed the team through the World Cup.
The majority of China's familiar stars are listed whether it is Guo Ailun, Zhou Qi, Wang Zhelin, Wu Qian, and Zhou Peng. Also named to the roster is Yi Jianlian who missed the entire previous Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) season with an injury, but has been returning back into action in training sessions.
| China's 27-player training camp roster for FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament | ||||
| YI Jianlian | Zhou Peng | Ren Junfei | Hu Mingxuan | Xu Jie |
| Du Runwang | Han Dejun | Guo Ailun | Zhao Jiwei | Zhang Zhenlin |
| Wang Zhelin | Wu Qian | Lu Wenbo | Yu Jiahao | Zhou Qi |
| Qi Lin | Yu Dehao | Sun Minghui | Zhao Yanhao | Shen Zijie |
| He Xining | Gao Shiyan | Liu Chuanxing | Zeng Fanbo | Wang Shaojie |
| Zhu Mingzhen | Wang Quanze | |||
Other notable players who are called up include many promising youngsters who are expected to be the future core of the team. Zhang Zhenlin, Yu Jiahao, Wang Quanze, and Zeng Fanbo have all had the chance to hone their crafts in the US at a young age and are raring for the opportunity to make their senior national team debut.
Zhang, in particular, is soaking up the spotlight after returning to play in the CBA and winning the Rookie of the Year award. Xu Jie, Hu Mingxuan, Wang Shaojie, and Zhu Mingzhen are also promising prospects who have shined in the local league.
In order to claim their ticket to Tokyo, China will have to work their way through formidable foes in Canada. They are grouped with the Canadian hosts and Greece in Group A and could possibly find themselves in tough do-or-die games against Uruguay, Czech Republic, and Turkey.
China will play on consecutive days against Canada (June 30) and Greece (July 1). If they finish in the top two of that round-robin, China will advance to the Semi-Finals, with the top two sides also advancing from Group B (Uruguay, Czech Republic, and Turkey).
FIBA