More Olympic Draws Completed

If you've walked around Beijing or turned on a tv in China, you know how important the Women's Volleyball team is to the country. Volleyball is extremely popular here and the women's team have been followed very closely ever since they started their winning ways in the early 80s, including PR China's first ever team sports gold medal at the 1984 Olympics. The Chinese women will be defending the gold they won in Athens, but have a rough road to gold. Groups were drawn after completion of the Qualifiers in Tokyo and the Chinese women are paired with the US, Cuba, Poland, Japan, and Venezuela in Group A. Group B will contain Brazil, Italy, Russia, Serbia, Algeria, and Kazakhstan.

The groups for basketball have also been drawn (though that took place about a week ago), on the men's side Group A will be Iran, Lithuania, Argentina, Russia, Australia, and one qualifier to be determined later. Group B will be China, Angola, Spain, the US, and 2 qualifiers.

For the women it will be Korea, Australia, Russia, and 3 qualifiers in Group A, while China, Mali, New Zealand, the US, and two qualifiers will face off in Group B.

While the Chinese are rabid about men's basketball and a lot of pressure will be placed on NBA stalwarts Yao Ming and Yi Jianlian, the Chinese team will have a tough path to advance having to go head-to-head against sides like Spain and the US in opening round action.