Zhu hopes to help China qualify for Paris as she ends national team exile

Former captain Zhu Ting will make her first national team appearance in more than two years when she returns to the court at the FIVB Volleyball Women’s Nations League in Macau.

The Olympic champion, who won gold in Rio in 2016, will also take part in the third and final event of the season in Hong Kong next month, as China battle for a place at the Paris Games this summer.

Having guided club side Pallavolo Scandicci to second in the Italian Women’s Serie A1 last month, Zhu is expected to resume national team training in Beijing soon before joining her teammates in Macau later this month.

“I won’t be able to make it to the first leg in Brazil,” Zhu said. “The General Administration of Sport of China and the team will let me recover at home, and be prepared for the second leg.”

China came ninth at the Tokyo Olympics, the country’s worst result in 10 appearances at a Games, and Zhu was heavily criticised for her performance, despite the fact she was injured.

After an operation on her right wrist in April 2022, the two-time World Cup winner moved to Italy and has been out of the national team since then.

“It has always been my wish to play for the country, and it is also a responsibility on my shoulders,” she said. “My main goal now is to adjust my condition [before the Macau and Hong Kong leg].

“In sports, it’s never easy for an athlete to step onto the podium, but we have an old saying on the team, ‘focus on the process’, so I’ll just pay attention to those things that I should be doing.”

The 1.98-metre outside hitter, who will play for Italian champions Imoco Volley Conegliano next season, said her long-standing wrist injury could eventually end her career.

“It’s almost recovered now but I need to prevent further injuries,” she said.

“If the injury occurs again and it is in the same spot, no surgery will be possible again.”

The 29-year-old said she hoped to help China qualify for the Paris Games, with the Nations League the country’s last chance to do so, after they finished fourth at a qualifying tournament in Ningbo last September.

Still, China are presently the top-ranked Asian team, which would get them to France.

However, should Japan overtake them, China would still qualify if they remain among the top three teams in the world rankings not qualified via the Olympic qualification tournament, which is where their performance in the Nations League becomes vital.