China volleyball star Zhu Ting has always put country above everything else as she looks forward to playing at next year’s 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
The world’s highest-paid volleyball player recently give up earning millions playing in the Turkish league to recommit herself with the Chinese national team so she can get the reigning Olympic champions in their best shape for Tokyo.
“The Olympic Games is the most important competition there is for any player,” said Zhu, who is in Macau for the Nations League, where she will lead China against Thailand in the opening game on Tuesday. “After the Turkish league finished this month, I returned to China to prepare for the Olympics. Although we won the gold medal at the 2016 Rio Games, we still want to do well in Tokyo next year.”
Zhu, however, refused to say if she had sacrificed big money when she left Turkish champions VakıfBank to return to China. “Playing in the league in Turkey and playing for Team China in the Olympic Games are both important but are two separate things,” she said.
The 24-year-old is reported to have earned €1.5 million (US$1.68 million) in her last season with VakıfBank after making €€2.4 million during her first two years with the club she joined after steering China to gold at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games.
During her three-year spell in Istanbul, Zhu twice helped her club clinch the league championship, scoring 2,150 points over 125 matches. She also led VakıfBank to two FIVB women’s Club World Championship titles and two European Champions League titles.
She won six MVP titles in different tournaments, easily making her the club’s best player. Turkish Volleyball Federation president Mehmet Akif Ustundag said he considered Zhu a sporting ambassador between China and Turkey.
National coach Lang Ping praised Zhu for her professionalism on court and for making the decision to return to help the team out.
“She has been in Turkey for three years and has gained a lot of international exposure,” said the coach. “She is now more experienced especially with her ability to adapt to changes at international competition. Zhu is now a senior member of the squad and she has to take up more responsibility with the team.”
Lang brought the more experienced players direct from Beijing to Macau as several stars, including Zhu, Zhang Changning and Gong Xiangyu did not start in the first week of the Nations League in the Brazilian capital of Brasilia.
“This is an important year for our team and we hope to show our worth in Macau especially as the tournament is considered a buildup towards the 2020 Olympic Games,” said Lang. “We still have a number of matches in the Nations League to play and we will try out different players in different tournaments with Hong Kong up next week.”
