Ex-China volleyball captain Hui Ruoqi backs team to shine, as Hong Kong prepares to welcome return of Nations League
- 2016 Olympics gold medallist urges fans to give new team “time and tolerance”
- China will play four games, including one against defending champions Italy, in Hong Kong in June
Ex-China captain Hui Ruoqi is backing her country’s women’s team to shine when the new Nations League begins this summer.
At a press conference to launch the return of the competition to Hong Kong after a four-year break, the Olympic gold medallist also said she missed the “good old days” of playing in playing in the city and would be watching when the tournament was played in June.
Hui, who retired in 2018, said the women’s team was in the process of rebuilding and should be given time to gel, with the Paris Olympics little more than a year away.
“I am sure the coaches are doing things step by step to help the team,” she said. “As a fan now, for sure I want the team to play well and get the best results, but we need to give the young team enough time and tolerance.”
China finished ninth at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, their worst results in 10 appearances since winning gold on their debut in Los Angeles in 1984.
That was followed by a sixth-place finish, their worst result since 2010, at the World Championship in the Netherlands and Poland last October.