TOKYO (Japan) - China is a basketball-crazed country and the fans have seen them prove that with much success over the years at the international stage. It hasn’t only been the men’s side that has been piling up glory for the nation either. The women’s basketball team of China have had their fair share of victories as well.

It’s been a while since China have won a medal in Women’s Basketball at the Olympics, and that’s what they’ll be playing for here in Tokyo.

Top Notch

China are without a doubt one of the best teams in Asia.

They’ve won a medal in all but one FIBA Women’s Asia Cup in all of their 23 appearances, marking the highest ratio of winning a medal per appearance among all teams.

Team China are consistently playing at a high level as they had displayed at Women’s Asia Cup 2019 when they beat Australia in the Group Phase before making it to the championship round.

The team has always had a nice blend of skill and talent which is a reason why they can never be counted out of any game.

Going Global

In the early 1990s, China were one of the best teams in the world.

Basketball at the Olympics in Barcelona 1992 was mainly focused on the “Dream Team” on the men’s side, but that was also the year that the women’s team of China played their way to their first ever gold medal game, eventually ending up with a historic silver medal.

Two years later at the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup 1994, China made it to their first championship game in that competition and won the silver medal once again.

It was certainly a high time for women’s basketball in China, preceding the accomplishments of the men’s team with Yao Ming a decade later.

While it was definitely a team effort that allowed them to reach that level of success, the standout from those teams was undoubtedly MVP of the 1994 Women’s World Cup and FIBA Hall of Famer, Zheng Haixia.

Next Generation

Zheng was dominant and globally recognized in her time, but now is the time for the next wave of Chinese ballers to make some noise.

This current squad has plenty of notable names that will be interesting to follow through the Olympics.

Team veteran Shao Ting has been one of the most respected stars for China in these recent years. However, it’s the trio of youngsters Li Yueru (22), Han Xu (21), and Li Yuan (21) that is the highlight of this young squad.

This has already been showcased as both Li Yueru and Han Xu recorded double-doubles in China’s big win over Puerto Rico. They’ll be looking forward to keep that momentum going into their next game against Australia in search of a Quarter-Finals berth.

FIBA