2 FIVB X-Press No 124

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VOLLEYBALL DRAWING OF LOTS COMPLETED FOR MEN’S WORLD OLYMPIC QUALIFICATION TOURNAMENTS The Drawing of Lots for the three Men’s World Olympic Qualifying Tournaments to be held in Japan, Portugal and Spain in May was completed in Tokyo in February under the supervision of FIVB Executive Vice-President Dr. Saleh A. Bin Nasser from Saudi Arabia and FIVB Executive Member Professor Hiroshi Toyoda from Japan. The World Olympic Qualifying tournament in Japan from May 22-30, which also doubles as the Asian Continental Olympic Qualifying tournament, will see the hosts entertain Algeria, Canada, France, Korea, China, Australia and Iran with one Olympic ticket going to the winner and then a second Olympic ticket being awarded to the top Asian team. In the event an Asian team wins the tournament, the next best-Asian team will claim the second ticket as the Continental Olympic qualifier. The World Olympic Qualifying tournaments in Portugal, from May 21-23, and Spain, from May 28-30, sees Kazakhstan, 2 FIVB X-Press No 124 March 2004 Venezuela and Poland join Portugal, and Spain host Cameroon, Cuba and the Netherlands. The winners of each tournament will claim an Olympic ticket to Athens. The four tickets on offer across the three tournaments will complete the men’s Volleyball Olympic Games qualification process with a total of 12 teams. The eight men’s teams already qualified for the 2004 Athens Olympics are Greece, Brazil, Italy, Serbia and Montenegro, Russia, USA, Argentina andTunisia. Meanwhile, the final four teams to complete the women’s Volleyball Olympic Games qualification process will be found at a World Olympic Qualification tournament in Japan from May 8-16, which also doubles as the Asian Continental Olympic Qualification tournament, with the hosts playing off with Korea, Thailand, Chinese Taipei, Italy, Russia, Puerto Rico and Nigeria for the final four tickets. Men’s teams competing at the Olympic Qualification Tournaments Portugal (May 21-23): Portugal, Kazakhstan, Venezuela, Poland Japan (May 22-30): Japan, Algeria, Canada, France, Korea, China, Australia, Iran Spain (May 28-30): Spain, Cameroon, Cuba, the Netherlands. Women’s teams competing at the Olympic Qualification Tournaments Japan (May 8-16): Japan, Korea, Thailand, Chinese Taipei, Italy, Russia, Puerto Rico, Nigeria Women’s Teams already Qualified for the 2004 Olympics in Athens Greece (Host) China Brazil USA Dominican Republic Germany Kenya Cuba Men’s Teams already Qualified for the 2004 Olympics in Athens Greece (Host) Brazil Italy Serbia & Montenegro Russia USA Argentina Tunisia France name squad for Tokyo The President of the French Volleyball Federation Jacques Shaw, on the proposition of the national coach Philippe Blain and national Technical Director Michel Cogne, announced France’s 18-strong squad for the Men’s World Olympic Qualification Tournament to be held in Tokyo from May 22-30. France will play Japan, Algeria, Canada, Korea, China, Australia and Iran with the winner and the best Asian team claiming tickets to Athens 2004. The 18-man squad will be trimmed to 12 prior to the tournament. France: Yohan Cohen, Hubert Henno, Dominique Daquin, Andy Ces, Frédéric Gibert, Jean Charles Monneraye, Stéphane Antiga, Laurent Capet, Frantz Granvorka, Vincent Montmeat, Loïc De Kergret, Loic Lemarrec, Marc Schalk, Philippe Barca-Cysique, Guillaume Samica, Mathias Patin, Oliver Kieffer, Sébastien Frangolacci. Portugal coach says group is “difficult but beatable” Following the Drawing of Lots ceremony held in Tokyo, Japan in February for the three Men’s World Olympic Qualification tournaments (to be held in Portugal, Spain and Tokyo), head coach of the Portuguese side Juan Diaz says his team has a difficult yet beatable group, which includes favourites Poland, Venezuela and Kazakhstan, ahead of them to claim Olympic Games qualification when they face off in Porto from May 21-23. “It is a difficult group, but at the same time beatable,” he said. “We know Poland well and the Venezuelan team, while although we do not know Kazakhstan’s Volleyball, the fact that it is an old Russian republic implies that, by tradition, they have great Volleyball skills.” “It’s important that we are playing Poland because, theoretically, they are more beatable than France or the Netherlands (who were the other two European sides drawn to play in Tokyo and Madrid respectively).” Venezuela, ranked 11th on the FIVB World Rankings (nine places better than Portugal and two places behind Poland), pose as one of the biggest threats to Portugal’s hopes. (continued on page 2) www.fivb.org/ For more information on other teams go to: www.fivb.org
VOLLEYBALL OTHER VOLLEYBALL NEWS (continued from page 2) It will be the third consecutive time that Portugal disputes an Olympic Qualifying Pool with Venezuela. In the two meetings to date, both sides have won one match with Portugal beating Venezuela in 1996 (3-1) and Venezuela beating Portugal in 2000 (3-2). The meetings with Poland, who have a gold medal and 11 top-10 finishes to their name in 13 World Championship appearances, are more recent. In the 2002 World League the first two matches were split (3-2, 2-3) in Portugal before Poland won both clashes at home 3-1 and recorded a similar victory at the 2002 World Championship. “It is necessary to prepare well, especially mentally, so that we will be able to reach our objectives and gain qualification for the Olympic Games of Athens,” Diaz said. “The players have the notion of what they are capable of and they’ll gain confidence with a lot work, therefore like this we will achieve our objectives. It is that which is found inside the players: the necessity to fight for qualification.” Horstink, Kooistra and Cristina back for the Netherlands Netherlands national coach Bert Goedkoop announced his 18-man squad in Febraury for the final Olympic Qualification tournament for the Athens Games in August and pulled off three surprises by recalling the experienced trio of Albert Cristina, Robert Horstink and Wytze Kooistra in place of youngsters Gerjan Huisken, Joram Maan and Dennis van der Veen. Of the 18 players in the squad only 12 will actually travel to Madrid, Spain to contest the tournament with the hosts, Cameroon and Cuba from May 28-30. Only the winner earns a ticket to the Games. The Netherlands squad: Dirk-Jan van Gendt, Marko Klok, Allan van de Loo, Rob Bontje (ORTEC.Nesselande), Nico Freriks, Jeroen Trommel, Erik Schuil, Desi van Waaijen, Joppe Paulides, Albert Cristina (VC Omniworld), Mike van de Goor, Wytze Kooistra, Robert Horstink (Piet Zoomers/D), Erik Siebers (AA Drink/Capelle), Kay van Dijk (VC Zwolle), Reinder Nummerdor (Milano, ITA), Guido Görtzen (Perugia, ITA) and Richard Schuil (G.del Colle, ITA). China aim for gold Women’s Volleyball World Cup champions China are setting their sights on further success at the forthcoming Olympic Games in Athens this summer. The athletes arrived in Zhangzhou, in Southeastern China earlier this month for an intensive month-long training regime which has been taking place behind closed doors. Asked if the World Cup winners would settle for a place among the top three in Athens, team manager Li Quangiang responded, “That’s the priority, but at the same time, we will make every effort for the gold medal.” “The players have been steadily improving since this team was established in 2001, and the World Cup victory last year boosted our confidence,” Li Quangiang continued. “We are also very aware of the capabilities of our rivals. All of the players and coaches here have set a goal which is to win in Athens.” China, who dominated the sport between 1981 and 1986, are under immense pressure to deliver in the Olympics due to their tremendous victory at the World Cup which took place in Japan last November and their title winning performance in last year’s World Grand Prix. The team have become heroines in their native land and along with the knowledge of the strength of their opponents, this will add to the pressure within the team according to Li Quaniang. “China is on a par with the United States, Russia, Italy and Brazil,” he said. “No team can be certain of victory. The competition in Athens will be very tough and hard.” Although confident in their ability, head coach Chen Zhonghe told reporters he was slightly worried his players weren’t yet displaying their full capabilities. “We will have a tough year in 2004 because our players have not yet reached their peak despite all of the team training we have done over the past three years.” Yet despite Chen Zhonghe’s slight reservations, China will enter the Olympic Games this summer as many people’s favourites. Indeed, according to Li Quangiang, the current intensive training schedule China is undergoing will only help to enhance the team’s chances. “The training is very important for the Olympic Games. I think they (the players) will be in their best shape in one month’s time.” Top honours for Chinese women’s head coach The head coach of the Chinese Women’s Volleyball team Chen Zhonghe was selected as one of China’s 10 Inspirational Persons of the Year in 2003 in an annual campaign organized by China Central Television in February to select people who have inspired the country and moved its people during the year. Chen Zhonghe has been selected as one of China’s 10 Inspirational Persons of the Year in 2003 The 10 people up for the award are selected from various walks of life, some of them well-known, others less famous. But what they have done must be an inspiration to China and its people. Zhonghe led the national women’s team to an eye-catching victory at the 2003 World Cup in Japan, which completed a remarkable year for the Chinese women where they had already collected the 2003 World Grand Prix title. 2003 also marked the completion of a triple crown for the Chinese women, which has seen them win three major Volleyball tournaments, namely the World Cup (2003), the World Championship (1986) and the Olympics, since 1984, when China claimed gold at Los Angeles. The national women’s Volleyball team is widely acclaimed as a source of great sporting pride amongst ordinary Chinese people and Zhonghe has become renowned for his perseverance, working his way up slowly through the coaching ranks since starting his career as an assistant coach 22 years ago. www.fivb.org/ For team and player profiles go to: www.fivb.org FIVB X-Press N o 124 March 2004 3
Page 1: N o 124 March 2004 English edition
Page 5 and 6: VOLLEYBALL TWO IMPORTANT AND SUCCES
Page 7 and 8: BEACH VOLLEYBALL USA CLAIM MEN’S

2 FIVB X-Press No 124

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