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The 26th Asian Women's Basketball Championship kicks off in Wuhan

Xinhua, August 28, 2015 Adjust font size:

The 26th FIBA Asian Women's Basketball Championship kicks off in southern China's Wuhan here on Friday, with 12 teams fighting for the only ticket for Rio Olympic Games in 2016.

Wuhan once hosted Asian Men's Championship and FIBA Asian Cup in 2011 and 2014 respectively.

"Memories are fresh when Wuhan hosted Asian Men's Championship and FIBA Asian Cup. I'm sure that we will have such a similar unforgettable experience once again," said Hagop Khajirian, secretary general of FIBA Asia.

Li Jinsheng, deputy head of Chinese Basketball Association, declared the opening of the tournament.

"It will strengthen the communication between coaches, players and referees from different countries and regions in Asia, and also make contributions to promoting basketball here," said Li.

China, Chinese Taipei, India, Japan, South Korea and Thailand are in level 1. Japan and South Korea are undoubtedly the main obstacles on China's path to title. Only the titleholder in this tournament will secure the ticket to 2016 Olympics.

During the past 25 editions, the Chinese have claimed the titles 11 times, just one shy of their South Korean peers, with the other two gone to Japan.

China will face Thailand on Saturday. Endi