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on the early morning of july 31st beijing time, the women's rugby sevens competition at the paris olympics concluded, with huangshan native zhou yan and her teammates securing 6th place, setting a new best record for the chinese women's rugby team in olympic history. 
the women's rugby sevens event featured 12 teams divided into three groups. according to the rules, the top two teams from each group, along with the two best third-place teams, advance to the quarterfinals. china was placed in group a, referred to as the "group of death," which included the tokyo olympic champions new zealand, bronze medalists fiji, and the strong canadian team. in the group stage, china lost 5-43 to new zealand in their first match, secured a significant 40-12 victory over fiji in their second match, and lost 17-26 to canada in their third match. despite finishing with a 1-2 record, china advanced to the quarterfinals as the second-best third-place team, marking the second consecutive time the chinese women's rugby team reached the olympic quarterfinals. 
in the quarterfinals, china faced new zealand again and unfortunately lost by a large margin, moving them to the 5th to 8th place ranking matches. china then strengthened their offensive play and defeated the uk 19-15, proceeding to compete for the 5th and 6th place against france. ultimately, china lost 7-12 to host nation france, finishing in 6th place, one position higher than their tokyo olympics performance. new zealand, canada, and the usa claimed the gold, silver, and bronze medals respectively. zhou yan, known for her fearless and relentless playing style, previously helped the chinese women's rugby team win the gold medal at the 2023 hangzhou asian games and the 2024 paris olympic rugby sevens repechage tournament. for the 26-year-old zhou yan, the paris olympics served as a valuable training and growth opportunity. throughout the six matches china played, zhou yan, wearing the number 4 jersey, consistently took the field as a forward. her solid technical skills, speed advantage, and proactive support for her teammates in creating scoring opportunities contributed significantly to the impressive performance of the chinese "iron roses" on the parisian turf. 
source: anhui daily
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