China: Championship resumed, but without foreigners. Today’s results.

After 7 months, the Chinese men’s championship resumed today, interrupted last January 19 (immediately after the first round) due to the Covid-19 epidemic. It will be a short championship that will end on September 2 and in which the teams (reduced to 13 after the forfeit of the Bayi) will compete behind closed doors at the Qinhuangdao Training Base (in Hebei province) without the possibility of fielding foreign players.
All as predicted for the reigning champions of Shanghai, a team in which several members of the Chinese national team play such as Dai Qingyao, Zhang Zhejia, Chen Longhai and Tong Jiahua (the expert setter Zhan Guojun absent due to knee injury), who won in Pool A in 4 sets against Cui Jianjun’s Henan. Surprisingly, Beijing was defeated in four sets by Zhejiang, despite the 26 points of the opposite of national Jiang Chuan. The victories of Jiangsu and Hubei in Pool C close the picture of the day’s matches.

Formula: 1st phase (January 19, and August 20/22) with 13 teams divided into 4 pools. The best 2 teams from each pool qualify for the quarter-finals. Semi-finals on August 29. Final 1st-2nd place best-of-3 games (August 31, September 1, September 2).

| August 20, 2020 |

| Pool A |

Henan — Shanghai 1-3 (25:22, 10:25, 25:27, 18:25)
Top Scorers: Cui Jianjun 23, Li Yize 13, Jiang Zhengyang 9;
Wu Peng-zhi 21, Dai Qing-yao 19, Zhang Zhejia 15, Chen Longhai 10.

Dayoff: Tianjin

| Pool B |

Beijing – Zhejiang 1-3 (26:24, 23:25, 19:25, 18:25)
Top Scorers: Jiang Chuan 26, Liu Libin 15, Gu Jiafeng 9, Wang Dongchen 8;
Zhang Jingyin 19, Zhang Guanhua 19, Li Yongzhen 13, Jin Zhihong 7.

Dayoff: Guangdong

| Pool C |

Jiangsu – Sichuan 3-1 (25:15, 19:25, 25:22, 25:21)
Top Scorers: Yu Yuantai 20, Liu Xiangdong 16, Zhang Chen 11, Yuan Huilong 10;
Li Rui 14, Du Haixiang 12, Peng Shikun 12, Wang Zhaorui 10.

Hubei – Liaoning 3-0 (25:16, 25:16, 25:21)
Top Scorers: Zhang Enqi 12, Hao Jiawen 11, Song Yang 10;
Wang Shaobo 14.

| Pool D |

Dayoff: Fujian, Shandong, Hebei

| Standings |

| Pool A |
Shanghai 3
Henan 3
Tianjin 0

| Pool B |
Zhejiang 6
Beijing O
Guangdong O

| Pool C |
Jiangsu 6
Sichuan 3
Hubei 3
Liaoning O

| Pool D |
Shandong 3
Hebei O
Fujian O