China announces 16-player squad for women's volleyball worlds

BEIJING, Sept. 17 (Xinhua) -- China Volleyball Association announced Saturday a 16-player squad for the upcoming 2022 FIVB Women's World Championship, with Yuan Xinyue and Li Yingying being called up.

The Chinese women's volleyball team, captained by middle-blocker Yuan, is set to leave for the quadrennial event on Sunday Morning.

With star spikers Zhu Ting and Zhang Changning sidelined by injuries, Wang Mengjie returns to action while veteran Ding Xia also earns a spot. The final list will be cut down to 14 players ahead of the kickoff.

The women's volleyball worlds is co-hosted by the Netherlands and Poland and slated on September 23-October 15, with 24 teams being divided into four groups.

China has been drawn in Group D alongside with Brazil, Japan, Colombia, Argentina and the Czech Republic, and will start the campaign by taking on Argentina on September 25.