Zhu Ting proves she is China’s biggest athlete at Hong Kong Volleyball Nations League

To say that Zhu Ting towers over everyone else in her sport is not quite true. China teammate Yuan Xinyue has three centimetres on her skipper – 2.01 metres to 1.98m – but this is only in the literal sense. Figuratively, Zhu towers over everyone else in volleyball, and by a distance larger than the 3.27m which her hands get above the net for one of her trademark spikes. She was quiet by her own standards in the 2019 Volleyball Nations League in Hong Kong on Tuesday night, letting teammates shine on court, at least to start with. Her first point was China’s 17th of the first set against regional rivals Japan. But once she got going, Zhu was as clutch as ever. She took her team to set point, then levelled it at 25-25 after Japan had gone ahead. She became the one her team looked to. And she scored the point that won the set. That was a quiet set from Zhu but her five points joint top-scored for her team, along with Yuan. Zhu started the second set more intensely and continued to dominate. The third set was more of the same, spiking down the line several times to pull away from Japan. She did not hit match point but she had hit a third of her teams attacking points (16 of 44) and a quarter of their block points (2 of 8), the same as the Japan team. Those in the Hong Kong Coliseum were not disappointed with China’s superstar captain, but they were always going to be impressed. #16 Xia Ding gets crafty with the reverse to #2 Zhu Ting China vs Japan set 2 underway in #VNLWomen Hong Kong Keep watching: https://t.co/RQp8h4Ny7A#VNL #InGame#BePartOfTheGame #Volleyball @JPN_Volleyball pic.twitter.com/VC0eYtJ17g — Volleyball World (@FIVBVolleyball) 4 June 2019 The cheer that greeted Zhu when her face appeared on the jumbotron was louder even than the one that greeted China’s anthem, March of the Volunteers. The one that greeted her when they introduced the teams was louder still – only matched by coach and bona fide volleyball legend Lang Ping, someone Zhu has described to Fivb.com as “my idol”, who will soon be immortalised in film starring Gong Li. “She helped me a lot,” Zhu said of Lang. “She has been my biggest influence in volleyball and in life. She made me who I am now and she is my greatest mentor.” That comment is typical of someone who constantly plays up her teammates and coaches, despite her on-court dominance. The truth is that the 24-year-old is China’s biggest sports star. She has won medals with both club and country at all main international competitions – and taken the MVP awards at them too. Zhu has won 12 MVP awards and countless individual awards. This is also not in a sport that China has its own way – which takes away from Ma Long’s dominance in table tennis and Lin Dan’s in badminton. To some degree, she has also transcended her sport, being named one of Forbes “30 Under 30 Asia” in Entertainment & Sports for 2017, the second year of the region specific awards. Zhu was in the class of 2017 alongside Chinese gymnast Chen Long, swimmer Fu Yuanhui and diver Chen Ruolin. They followed snooker star Ding Junhui and swimmer Ning Zetao in the inaugural list. NBA hopeful Zhou Qi made it in 2018, but has since been released and is back home but not playing yet because of a registration issue and chess player Hou Yifan followed this year. It’s not an exact science but no other Chinese athlete on the list has lived up to the billing. Zhu was the best paid volleyball player in the world at Vakifbank Istanbul but she was worth the money. Not many other Chinese athletes are plying their trade overseas. In football, Wu Lei is flying the flag with Spain’s Espanyol and Wang Shuang has been with PSG ahead of the Women’s World Cup, but neither is their side’s superstar. Yao Ming was long the most high profile Chinese athlete but his playing days are long gone. Arguably, Zhu is the closest thing since. She also has an international appeal, not just in Hong Kong where the fans come out in force to see her, but she has also become the most searched player on volleyball websites. For Chinese sports authorities, she’s also clean cut. There are no visible tattoos to lead the youth astray, nor are there drugs bans to incite international outrage. Animatedly speaking with officials after a contested point on Tuesday is the closest she has come to controversy. One official, South Korea’s Kan Joo-hee, was booed by the crowd for then going to the officials’ desk. Zhu’s first point afterwards saw the crowd erupt – then more points followed. The match may have been won but after a quick high five Zhu was back remonstrating with the officials. That will to win means she might be China’s biggest athlete for some time to come.

Zhu Ting proves she is China’s biggest athlete at Hong Kong Volleyball Nations League

.css-1mniedq{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;}Star spiker dominates on court as team beat Japan at Hong Kong Coliseum National team skipper has won with club and country, taking MVP titles along the way

Star spiker dominates on court as team beat Japan at Hong Kong Coliseum

National team skipper has won with club and country, taking MVP titles along the way