Chinese women basketballer welcomed home after securing Olympic ticket

Four days after claiming a spot in the Rio Olympics through qualification, the Chinese women's basketball team received a warm welcome when they returned home on Tuesday.

China paved its way to Rio with a 84-70 win over Belarus last Friday in last eight contest of Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Nantes, France. Placed in Group B with Canada, Spain, the United States, Senegal and Serbia, the team will kick off its campaign against Canada on Aug. 6.

"The big thing is to try to win the first game against Canada, so we need to concentrate on the tournament's first game," said Thomas Maher, China's head coach.

"Every game we play, we get better and better. This team is still young, and I think this team's age group is usually proper for the next Olympics in Japan," he added.

In a must-win matchup against Belarus, China showed its hunger for an Olympic ticket, with Shao Ting and veteran Chen Nan shining on the offensive end.

"In this tournament, Shao Ting was super, Chen Nan played a wonderful game against Belarus, so we have a lot of good players that played pretty well all the way," commented Maher.

For Maher, Shao Ting may make mistakes on the court, while using her effort to make amends for that.

"Even though she makes some technical mistakes, she is becoming a good defender just by her effort, so she is always a good player," he said. Endit