Women volleyball team's spirit hailed

President Xi Jinping called for carrying forward the fighting spirit that the Chinese women's volleyball team has shown to build the nation into a sports power.

Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, made the remark in a meeting on Monday with the representatives of the players and coaches of the Chinese women's volleyball team. On Sunday, the team retained its crown with 11 straight wins in the FIVB Volleyball Women's World Cup in Osaka, Japan.

Xi congratulated the team on its victory and said it had brought glory to the motherland and the people.

The team's outstanding achievements have inspired enthusiastic patriotism in China, he said, and also enhanced national confidence and the sense of pride of all Chinese people.

Xi recalled the first world championship won by a Chinese women's volleyball team 38 years ago.

He said people love the women's volleyball team not just for the champions' victories, but for the unyielding spirit the team demonstrated in fighting for the glory of the motherland through united and coordinated efforts.

The spirit of the Chinese women's volleyball team represents the spirit of the nation in an era that strongly resonates with the utmost efforts made to fight for the rise of the Chinese nation, Xi said.

He stressed that building a modernized socialist country calls for overall strength in various sectors, and to secure the goal of turning China into a sports power, the fighting spirit of the Chinese women's volleyball team in the new era must be carried forward.

Xi expressed the hope that the team would keep fighting to make outstanding achievements in the Tokyo Olympic Games in 2020.

The Chinese women's volleyball players won their first major title at the Third World Cup in 1981 and went on to claim more top honors at the Olympic Games, the World Championships and the World Cup.

They won acclaim through the indomitable spirit they demonstrated in the match.