Zhu Ting: I haven't decided to return to the national team, and my health is not particularly good
Chinanews.com, Beijing, February 6 (Reporter Xing Rui) On the 4th local time, the Italian Women's Volleyball League ended the 19th round of competition. Chinese player Zhu Ting's Scandicci team defeated Trentino 3:0. Zhu Ting started the game and scored 7 points.
Zhu Ting in the competition (data map Image source: ICphoto)
According to media reports, in the post-match interview, Zhu Ting responded to questions about where she will go after the end of this season and whether she will return to the national team. She said it needs to be considered in a comprehensive way, "and it hasn't been decided yet." ”
At the same time, Zhu Ting revealed the injury to her wrist: "Recently, my physical condition and physical function are not particularly good, and I have been playing more intensively recently, and I feel tired." The wrist is still recovering step by step. ”
Fans who are familiar with the Chinese women's volleyball team know that Zhu Ting's wrist injury has been around for a long time. It is reported that as early as 2017, during her stay in the United States, Zhu Ting accidentally "pestle" on the ground caused a wrist injury, which left the root of the disease. During the 2019 Club World Cup, Zhu Ting's wrist injury showed signs of recurrence.
With the postponement of the Tokyo Olympics, Zhu Ting's wrist treatment has also been put on hold. It wasn't until after the Olympics that she underwent surgery. In April 2022, Zhu Ting shared the news of the successful surgery through her personal social media. Soon after, she announced her joining the Serie A women's volleyball club Scandicci.
Zhu Ting in the competition (data map Image source: ICphoto)
This is the second time in Zhu Ting's career that she has chosen to stay abroad. In 2016, she traveled to Turkey to play. In the three seasons she played for the Turkish Super League giants Wakifu Bank, Zhu Ting led the team's performance with her personal ability, and won 8 championships in various competitions, becoming the "ZHUper" praised by foreign media.
After switching to Serie A, Zhu Ting's performance is still remarkable. In the regular season last season, Zhu Ting played a total of 24 rounds and won the MVP of a single game many times. In the Europa League, she took her team all the way to the final and scored 30 points in the first leg of the final, paving the way for Scandic to be crowned at home.
In May last year, Scandic announced that he had renewed his contract with Zhu Ting until 2024. This also means that Zhu Ting has spent most of her time overseas in the past two years.
Zhu Ting carried an ice pack on her head during the game. (Photo by China News Service reporter Han Haidan)
Since the Paris Olympic cycle, Zhu Ting has missed a series of major competitions of the Chinese women's volleyball team, including the World Championships, the World Women's Volleyball League, the Hangzhou Asian Games, and the Paris Olympic Games Qualifying Tournament.
After last season, Zhu Ting returned to China to recuperate. She visited the Chinese women's volleyball team, which was training at that time, and said that she would fly to Spain to start a new round of rehabilitation training.
Although Zhu Ting is currently in good competitive form, she has said more than once that the impact of the old wrist injury still exists.
Last year, Chinese women's volleyball coach Cai Bin said that he and the Volleyball Sports Management Center of the General Administration of Sports of China had contacted Zhu Ting separately, hoping that she would come back to participate in the national team's training and competitions after the Italian season. However, Zhu Ting responded that her current physical fitness and injury status are not suitable for the training volume of the national team and the intensity of the game.
As the world's top main attacker, Zhu Ting's role in the Chinese women's volleyball team is self-evident. Especially in recent years, the Chinese women's volleyball team is experiencing the pain of replacing the old with the new, and its performance in international competitions is lacking. If Zhu Ting can return, the strength of the team will not only improve, but also inspire more young players.
With less than half a year left before the opening of the Paris Olympics, the Chinese women's volleyball team has not yet qualified for the competition, and Zhu Ting is not sure whether she will be able to return to the national team.
It is difficult to have evergreens in the arena, and the return of veterans is certainly an unexpected joy, but the future of the Chinese women's volleyball team still needs to rely on the new generation to write a new journey. (ENDS)