香港女子成年排球代表隊出戰亞洲女排挑戰盃

香港女子成年排球代表隊昨晚 (21日) 啟程前往泰國參加第三屆亞洲女排挑戰盃，今次比賽為女子隊自2019年亞洲錦標賽後首次參與國際比賽，期望能夠衝擊港隊於國際賽上首面獎牌。

受疫情影響，訓練場地自年初起關閉，港隊恆常訓練亦被逼暫停，但球員在體育館關閉期間仍然有定期鍛鍊體能，在場地重開後亦加緊操練。加上有專業體能訓練團隊及中大運動醫學團隊協助下，令球員狀態在短期內得以提升。

隊長詹穎琳表示今次比賽以頭四為目標、希望衝擊獎牌：「今次比賽的參賽隊伍實力較為接近，希望賽果能夠肯定球隊的實力，並為延期之杭州亞運作準備。」

副隊長余映姿感謝總會支持，能於體育館重開後安排眾多場地予球隊恢復訓練，以及提供多方面支援讓球隊準備賽事：「訓練時間雖然有限，但球員們都希望盡力做到最好，在短時間內提升實力，包括隊友間的配合，以及個人能力的提升。經過兩個月密集式訓練後，球員狀態都大致上回復，惟實戰經驗較少，期望比賽時發揮到應有水準。」

主教練郭建全指因疫情影響，兩年多未有正常訓練及比賽，打亂球隊部署：「疫情前計劃的戰術及體能訓練都未達到理想效果，但經過4月及5月的強化練習，球員在各方面有一定程度的恢復，基本上能滿足比賽需要。」他表示球隊仍然以亞運為終極目標，希望在這次比賽中檢視球隊訓練成果，從而作出改善，並爭取好成績。他認為球員現時對比賽的渴望超乎想像：「她們近期在訓練中表現十分積極，令戰術水平有所提升，球員對比賽有清晰目標，對成績有強烈的追求，有信心、有能力去面對任何挑戰。」

今屆賽事共6支隊伍參賽，除了港隊及東道主泰國 (U20)，其他隊伍有新加坡、馬來西亞、印度及烏茲別克。賽事將會以單循環形式進行，以決定最終名次。因為挑戰盃以提升亞洲次一級球隊水平為目標，然而泰國屬亞洲前八位球隊，所以泰國U20只能以表演性質參賽，與其餘五隊的對賽成績不會計算在內。首場賽事於6月24日 (五) 展開。

比賽賽程 (香港時間)：
6月24日 (五) 18:00 對 泰國U20
6月25日 (六) 15:30 對 馬來西亞
6月26日 (日) 15:30 對 新加坡
6月28日 (二) 15:30 對 印度
6月29日 (三) 13:00 對 烏茲別克
*最終比賽賽程以大會公布為準

港隊出賽名單：
領隊：石徐惠芬
主教練：郭建全
助理教練：黃應紅、蘇嘉諾
隨隊裁判：林嘉慧
隨隊職員：方家儀
球員：
張曉諾
羅可楓
馮芷茵
易穎芯
劉顥婷
楊秀美
詹穎琳 (隊長)
盧鎂淇
彭泳琳
余映姿 (副隊長)
陳明慧
黃思詠
杜詠雯
倪桂婷

圖片一：

香港女子成年排球代表隊已飛抵泰國參加第三屆亞洲女排挑戰盃，自2019年後再次出戰國際賽。

圖片二：

港隊今次比賽以衝擊獎牌為目標。

圖片三：

港隊會與其餘五支隊伍以單循環形式作賽，首場賽事將於6月24日展開。

Hong Kong Senior Women’s Volleyball Team
Are All Set for the 3rd AVC Women Challenge Cup

Hong Kong Senior Women’s Volleyball Team left for Thailand last night (21 June) to participate in the 3rd AVC Women Challenge Cup. This will be the first international competition since the 2019 Asian Women's Volleyball Championship. They aim to book the top four spot or even claim their first-ever medal at an international competition.

The COVID pandemic earlier this year forced Hong Kong Team’s training to pause since the sports facilities were closed. Even so, players remained in fitness training to maintain their fitness level and prepare for facilities reopening. Since relaxing the disease prevention measures in April, they've been back to training in full. The support from the Fitness Coach Team as well as CUHK Sports Medicine Team has facilitated players to improve their condition in a short period of time.

Captain CHIM Wing Lam has set a target to reach the final four in the Challenge Cup and has eyes on the medal, “The level of teams is really close; hopefully, we could achieve the best result to prove we are in a certain level and build confidence for the postponed Asian Games in 2023.”

Vice-captain YU Ying Chi appreciated the support from the Volleyball Association of Hong Kong, China, which arranged many training courts and provided various assistance once training resumed. “We will do our best to improve our ability and chemistry among teammates even though time is limited. After the intensive training these two months, we are back to a competitive level but, indeed, we were lack of competition in the past two years. Hopefully, we could show our opponents what we’ve got in Challenge Cup.”

Due to the impact of the pandemic, there were no regular competitions and training last two years. Head coach KWOK Kin Chuen claimed that his plan was disrupted, “We planned some tactics and fitness training before COVID, but it did not go as expected. Fortunately, players have got back in condition after intensive training since April. They are now able to compete.” He emphasized the final goal is still the postponed Asian Games. KWOK hopes to review the performance from the Challenge Cup in order to adjust his training plan in the future and also strive for the best result in this competition. He had never seen the players as desperate for competition as they are right now, and he is delighted about it, “They are so aggressive in training these days. We could see they have a clear objective: to become the final four in the Challenge Cup. I am sure that our players are confident of overcoming any challenges.”

Six teams will participate in the Challenge Cup, including the host Thailand (U20), Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, India and Uzbekistan. Starting on 24 June (Friday), the teams will play in a round-robin format to decide the final position. The Challenge Cup aims to elevate the volleyball level of second tier teams in Asia. Yet, Thailand is the top 8 teams; the host will only join the competition as performance and the result will not be taken account for the eventual Challenge Cup winner.

Match Schedule (Hong Kong Time):
24 June (Friday) 18:00 vs Thailand U20
25 June (Saturday) 15:30 vs Malaysia
26 June (Sunday) 15:30 vs Singapore
28 June (Tuesday) 15:30 vs India
29 June (Wednesday) 13:00 vs Uzbekistan
*All schedules should be relied on the announcement by the Organizer.

Hong Kong Team Roster:
Team Manager: SHEK TSUI Wai Fun Marina
Head Coach: KWOK Kin Chuen
Assistant Coach: WONG Ying Hung, SO Ka Nok
Referee: LAM Ka Wai
Team Official: FONG Ka Yee
Players:
CHEUNG Hiu Nok Michelle
LAW Ho Fung Thyllis
FUNG Tsz Yan
YICK Wing Sum
LAU Ho Ting
YEUNG Sau Mei
CHIM Wing Lam (Captain)
LO Mei Kei
PANG Wing Lam
YU Ying Chi (Vice-Captain)
CHAN Ming Wai
WONG Sze Wing
TO Wing Man
NGAI Kwai Ting

Photo 1:

Hong Kong Senior Women’s Volleyball Team has arrived Thailand last night to participate in the 3rd AVC Women Challenge Cup. This will be the first international competition since 2019.

Photo 2:

Hong Kong Team has eyes on a medal in the Challenge Cup.

Photo 3:

Hong Kong Team will play against the other five teams in a round-robin format. The competition will start on 24 June.