China starts Sitting Volleyball World Cup with comfortable win over India

CAIRO, Nov. 12 (Xinhua) -- China's men's team scored a 3-0 win over India on Sunday in their opener in the 2023 World ParaVolley (WPV) Sitting Volleyball World Cup held in Cairo.

The Chinese team demonstrated an outstanding performance and was in the leading position throughout the match, ending in straight sets 25-4, 25-8, 25-12.

The competition in the Egyptian capital offers a ticket to the 2024 Paris Paralympic Games per gender for the winner or the highest-placed non-qualified team of the tournament. Unlike their women's counterparts who have already qualified earlier this year, the Chinese men's team eyes the Paris spot at the World Cup this time.

"We trained a lot this year, even during weekends, as this World Cup is our third tournament this year after the Asian Zone Championships and the Asian Para Games," China's captain Wang Qiang told Xinhua.

"We all hope that we can make it to the semifinals and even get higher ranks so we can get the available ticket to Paris," the 32-year-old added.

China, placed in Group C, is scheduled to confront Brazil on Monday. The 13-team men's competition consists of four groups. Among the participating teams who have already secured their tickets to the Paris Paralympics are world champions Iran and Brazil.

China's head coach Ye Jing said that the World Cup is "a good chance" for her squad to get the ticket to Paris. "Iran is a powerful team but they already got a spot in Paris. We need to achieve a high place in this tournament to make it to Paris. The higher rank we achieve, the better chance we have," she explained.

Ye pointed out that China's strong opponents include Iran, Brazil, and hosts Egypt, adding that the World Cup is a chance for China to compete and exchange expertise with some of the world's strongest teams.

The 2023 WPV Sitting Volleyball World Cup is held from November 11 to 18, featuring 23 teams, 13 in the men's competition and 10 in the women's.

"China's men's team has demonstrated a very good show," said Howayda Mondy, director of the organizing committee of the competition.