CHIANG MAI, Thailand, Aug. 22 (Xinhua) -- China captain Gong Xiangyu says she is focused on enjoying the game and fine-tuning the details as she prepares for her third appearance at the FIVB Women's Volleyball World Championship.

"I am really excited to take part in my third World Championship. I will enjoy the game and pay attention to all the details to help my team," said the 28-year-old opposite hitter after Thursday's training session. She took bronze in Japan in 2018 and finished sixth at the 2022 edition in the Netherlands and Poland.

"It is the first major competition of the new Olympic cycle. All of the team members are looking forward to the campaign and doing our best to prepare," she added.

China, which finished fifth in this year's Women's Volleyball Nations League, will open its Pool F play against Mexico on Saturday, before taking on Colombia on Monday and the Dominican Republic on Wednesday.

"We have three tough opponents in the group phase, and every match is really important," Gong said. "We will try to show the improvements we have made in recent training."

32 teams will compete across eight groups in the single round-robin preliminary stage, with the top two from each group advancing to the knockout stage. ■