Zhu Ting to visit Spanish doctors as wrist injury persists, with Chinese volleyball star set to miss Asian Games and Olympic qualifying
- The 28-year-old visits team’s training base in Beilun for first time in two years to give coach Cai Bin an injury update
- Zhu has not played for national team since Tokyo Olympics, and looks set for further absence with more rehab required
The wait for Zhu Ting’s return to the Chinese women’s national volleyball team is set to go on further, with the star spiker confirming she will undergo more rehabilitative training on her wrist injury.
The 28-year-old, who was part of the side that won gold under Lang Ping at the 2016 Rio Games at what was her debut tournament, returned to the squad’s Beilun training base in Zhejiang on Wednesday to give coach Cai Bin an update on her injury.
She has never played for Cai, who succeeded Lang after China’s Tokyo exit in 2021, but indicated she could be ready to feature in Paris next summer should the team qualify.
“It’s been two years since I last came to the Beilun training base,” Zhu wrote in a post on Weibo, China’s Twitter-like social media platform.
“This time I made a special trip to visit my coach and my teammates, and I also talked about my injury recovery process with coach Cai.
“Soon, I will set out to meet my Spanish doctors and my rehabilitation therapists, and I will start a new round of rehabilitation training. I thank the leaders and the coaches for their concern and support.”
Zhu also wished the national team “all the best”, and hoped they could seal Olympic qualification as soon as possible, saying she was “looking forward to the coming year”.
Zhu, who underwent surgery on her right wrist last year, returned to action in Italy with her club side Scandicci and won the CEV Volleyball Cup, as well as taking third place in the Italian Serie A1 league.
“I played OK in Italy this season,” she told Xinhua. “But the condition of my wrist was not very satisfactory, and I am still far from a full recovery.
“Returning to the national team has been my greatest motivation in my recovery after surgery, but the progress was not as quick as I had expected,” added Zhu, who also won the 2015 and 2019 World Cups with China.
“The national jersey represents not only honour but also responsibility. If I return to the national team, I should try my utmost in training and matches and set a good example for the young players.
“However, I am not able to do that right now due to my physical condition. I will try my best with rehabilitation so that I can return to the team with much better form as soon as possible.”
