China Daily Global Edition (USA)
Zhu to miss VNL openers
Olympic champion China will begin its FIVB Volleyball Nations League campaign without captain and star player Zhu Ting, head coach Lang Ping confirmed.
The 23-year-old is being afforded a rest period following another glorious season with Istanbul-based club VakifBank.
“Zhu just completed her season with Turkey’s VakifBank on May 6,” said Lang, who helmed China to the Olympic title in Rio two years ago.
“It has been a very long and tough season. She must be tired ... even though she came back to China and reported for duty with the national team in Beilun.”
The 23-year-old Zhu scored a team-high 15 points to help VakifBank beat Romania’s CSM Alba Blaj 3-0 in the European Champions League final in Bucharest last week.
“She’ll skip the Beilun tournament, go for some medical checks, get some rest and maybe also pay a visit to her family since she’s got a vacation of around 10 days,” Lang said.
“I hope she can do some physical training during this period and I expect her to come back in two weeks. It will also depend upon her mental and physical status whether she’ll be sent on court at that time.”
The Volleyball Nations League (VNL), previously known as the FIVB World Grand Prix, sees China drawn against Belgium, the Dominican Republic and South Korea for the first week of the preliminary round in Beilun from May 15-17.
A total of 16 teams will contest the new-look tournament at various venues around the world over a five-week period before six countries, including host China, battle it out in the final round in Nanjing, Jiangsu province.
“The VNL will take place over six weeks. We’ll try to improve the physical strength of our players, and to push their skills to a new level throughout the competition as well as to test the squad’s rookies,” said Lang.
“Also, we want to have a better understanding of the present women’s volleyball world, to see how our opponents’ techniques have improved and how their newcomers play.”