Beijing (China) Sep 18: China announced a 12-player roster for the upcoming FIBA Women's Asia Cup late on Friday, with Yang Hengyu and Li Yifan being called up for national duties for the first time.
The Chinese squad is made up of Yang Liwei, Li Yuan, Wang Siyu, Wu Tongtong, Zhang Ru, Li Meng, Pan Zhenqi, Huang Sijing, Yang Hengyu, Li Yueru, Han Xu and Li Yifan.
Veterans Shao Ting and Sun Mengran will not travel to Amman, Jordan for the FIBA Women's Asia Cup Division A competition slated between September 27 and October 3.
"We aim to offer young players more experience and chances of playing in continental tournaments," explained Xu Limin, head coach of the Chinese team.
After crashing out in the quarterfinals at the Tokyo Olympic Games, Chinese national team players won the 14th National Games title under the name of "United Team".
China is bracketed with Australia, Chinese Taipei and the Philippines in Group B of the Asia Cup.
"Our biggest goal is to do well in every match, adjust everyone's shape to their best and showcase what we had in training," commented Xu.
"Firstly we will try to reach the last four at the tournament, and then lay a good foundation for the FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup qualifiers next February and the finals at a later stage," he added.
Source: Xinhua
