China women’s volleyball team nearly lose match playing with face masks, win after removing masks

China’s national women’s volleyball team nearly lost a match while playing with face masks on but won after getting rid of the masks.

The team sparked a social media storm on Thursday for wearing face masks in their Asian Cup match against Iran.

China lost the opening set while wearing the N95 masks. They then removed them — and won the three subsequent sets to claim victory.

Many online posters accused authorities of sacrificing the players’ health in an overzealous pursuit of the country’s zero-Covid policy.

Following the backlash, China’s volleyball association apologized Friday for “causing widespread attention and concern in society.”

It said the team had required all players to wear masks while entering the court as a precaution against Covid-19.

“Due to our lack of experience on the field, we did not remind the players to take off their masks in time,” it said in a statement.

“We realized wearing masks was bad for athletes’ health in the second half of the first set, and the team promptly reminded the players to take off their masks and finish the rest of the game,” the association said. Read more.

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