Volleyball’s ‘Ronaldo and Messi’ on collision course when Zhu Ting’s China meet Paola Egonu’s Italy in Hong Kong
- Italy coach Davide Mazzanti describes rival spikers Zhu Ting and Paola Egonu as ‘Superman vs Batman’
- China coach Lang Ping thinks Italy good enough to field two different teams as they prepare to resume rivalry at Hong Kong Coliseum
Volleyball’s two superstars Zhu Ting of China and Paola Egonu of Italy will clash when the two heavyweights meet in their last match of the women’s Nations League Hong Kong leg on Thursday.
Italy coach Davide Mazzanti described the encounter between the two great spikers – the first time they will meet since last year’s World Championships semi-finals in Yokohama – as “Cristiano Ronaldo vs Messi” or Superman versus Batman.
Egonu overshadowed Zhu in that match by scoring a staggering 45 points, the highest ever in a world championship game, helping Italy beat China 3-2 to reach the final.
And the 20-year-old Egonu, who can jump to a spiking height of 3.44 metres, played her first match in Hong Kong against Japan on Wednesday, scoring a team-high 20 points, 17 of which came from her “monster spike”.
Mainlander Zhu, the world ‘s highest paid volleyball player, made her second consecutive appearance in Hong Kong when they defeated the Netherlands 3-0 (25-16, 25-19, 25-19) in the other match. Zhu had 18 points, also the highest of the team, 16 from her attack.