Volleyball Nations League in Hong Kong: China start with win to keep Olympic hopes alive
- The Chinese needed to improve on their recent poor showing in the Macau leg as they took on Bulgaria with a place in Paris at stake
China returned to winning ways at the Volleyball Nations League in Hong Kong with a commanding performance against Bulgaria on Tuesday.
Needing to improve on their patchy results in the league’s previous leg in Macau to keep their Olympic qualifying hopes alive, they got off to the start they wanted at Hong Kong Coliseum with a 3-0 victory.
Star player Zhu Ting, who was used only sparingly in Macau after fighting back from injury, was handed a start, to the roars of the spectators.
And the returning outside hitter wasted no time in leading the charge early on, chipping in three points in an opening set that China, the world No 7 side, took 25-15.
China’s dominance continued as they picked up the next two sets 25-12, 25-17.
Olympic champions three times, the last of those occasions coming in Rio de Janeiro in 2016, China are fighting for their place in Paris this year.