Where is Zhu Ting? China’s women’s volleyball coach Cai Bin addresses Nations League flak
- Calls for Cai to quit continue ahead of Hong Kong leg, after Zhu sat out much of previous round as China struggle to seal Olympic spot
The under-pressure coach of China’s women’s volleyball team has promised fans they will see more of superstar spiker Zhu Ting in the Hong Kong leg of the FIVB Women’s Nations League in the coming week.
Head coach Cai Bin was heavily criticised by Chinese fans and former professionals last week after his side lost two out of four games in the Macau leg, leaving the national team facing the possibility of missing out on qualifying for the Olympics for the first time in 40 years.
Little was seen in Macau of outside hitter Zhu, who is regarded as one of China’s greatest players but has battled a long-term wrist injury. Zhu started in the third game against Thailand, scoring 17 points, but was hardly used against the Netherlands, Japan and Italy.
“In Macau, she was able to get used to the rhythm of the game,” Cai said in a video shared on Chinese social media platform Weibo.
“She’s been slowly regaining her stamina … In Hong Kong, we will arrange for her to take to the court more and play more games to make the team stronger.
“I am confident we will qualify for the Olympics.”