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No longer an all-conquering force, China's celebrated women's volleyball team is battling against challenges on and off the court, with its Olympic qualifying hopes hanging by a thread. ▲ Coach Cai Bin reacts as outside hitter Wu Mengjie falls to the ground during China's straight-sets loss to Italy in the FIVB Women's Volleyball Nations League on Sunday in Macao. [Photo/Xinhua] Even with superstar spiker Zhu Ting back on the roster, the Chinese women's team still struggled to bring out its best at the second leg of the Volleyball Nations League last week. Two losses at the second stop in Macao, particularly the defeat to direct Asian rival Japan on Friday, have dragged Team China out of the driver's seat in the continental race to Paris, with its East Asian neighbor having leapfrogged to No 4 in the league's overall ranking. China has to settle for 7th following a rout by 3rd-ranked Italy on Sunday. The remaining five Olympic participants, in addition to six already qualified teams
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