Shanghai swept Shandong in the playoff final to win their sixth title in the Chinese Women’s Volleyball Championship, whose edition this season lasted very short – only eight days.
After only eight competition days, the 2021 China Telecom National Championship ended in Jiangmen. Shanghai swept Shandong in three straight sets in the single-game playoff final and won the title, the first after 20 years. The result of the sets was 25-12, 25-16, and 26-24. This was Shandong’s first defeat of the competition and, generally speaking, Shanghai’s coronation is quite surprising given they showed not so convincing display in the regular season (three wins and two defeats in the first stage). Liu Zhening top-scored Shanghai in a decider with 16 points. Du Qingqing notched 11 points for Shandong.
In the bronze medal encounter, Jiangsu took revenge on Tianjin for losing the last season’s playoff final and beat them 3-1.
This Chinese Championship was marked by the refusal of most of the big names of the country’s volleyball to participate. Due to the tight schedule and the fact the league was played soon after the end of the National Games, almost all teams chose to give chance to the backups and players from their youth squads, and some of them really stood out, such as Chen Boya (Tianjin), Gao Yi (Shanghai), Liu Zhening (Shanghai), and Ni Feifan (Jiangsu).
2021 China Telecom National Championship – medal day:
