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1. China was the 1990 World Championship runners-up (champions Soviet Union, were already qualified as 1988 Olympic champions).
2. Japan was the 1991 Asian Championship runners-up (champions China, were already qualified as 1990 World Championship runners-up).
3. The Netherlands was the 1991 European Championship runners-up (champions Soviet Union, were already qualified as 1988 Olympic champions).
4. The United States was fourth at the 1991 World Cup (champions Cuba, runners-up China and third place Soviet Union were already qualified through other tournaments).
Compared to four years earlier, the format of the tournament underwent some changes.The tournament was played in two different stages. In the Preliminary round (first stage), the eight participants were divided into two pools of four teams in a single round-robin format was played within each pool to determine the teams position.
At the Final round (second stage) the first placed teams in each group qualified directly for the semi-finals, while the second and third placed teams in the Olympic crossover system would face each other in an extra round consisting of a single elimination round with the winners advancing to the semi-finals and those eliminated playing a game to define fifth place. The winners of these two games faced those already qualified for the semifinals and while the winners played in the final, the losers played in the bronze medal match.
Lausanne
Spain
Seoul
Soviet Union
Beijing
Bangkok
Japan*
Regina
Cuba
Osasco
Rome
Netherlands*
United States*
Unified Team
Unified Team
Japan
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