China NT 2022

    Quote from fire_cai_bin

    Yeah that's my hope too at this point.

    but why would she want him to be fired? He’s going to get her to WCH…


    Also, how horrible (but expected) to be using your connections like that. Anyone with vision can see that she’s not up to standard. I’ve been so much more impressed with WYF & ZYS in the u20 competition than JY/WYL. They both don’t have that explosiveness which makes their attacks highly readable. Now I’m wondering if WYL’s family also influenced AJJ to give her a shot in 2017. Does anyone know if ZCN & GXY are well connected too? Makes me love ZT even more to know that she got to the top against all odds.

    Quote from benchwarmer

    How was WYL performance in the CVL? She must have been selected because of connection? JLP was the only coach whom power play could not influence her selection. Remember there was an article that one of JLP taking up the coaching position was she should have the absolute authority.

    Lang Ping didn’t play around! I often wonder how tough it must have been for her to be at the centre of all the politics. Perhaps she got used to it? I side-eye pretty much anyone in that coaching staff now because we all know that you have to play games to get to where they are… But seems like there are no other options who can make the same demands as LP just yet.


    side note, when i saw those coaches in person what stood out to me was how scrawny they were, and i thought, no wonder the girls are weak AF, look at those coaches 😂

    Quote from Ollie

    but why would she want him to be fired? He’s going to get her to WCH…


    Also, how horrible (but expected) to be using your connections like that. Anyone with vision can see that she’s not up to standard. I’ve been so much more impressed with WYF & ZYS in the u20 competition than JY/WYL. They both don’t have that explosiveness which makes their attacks highly readable. Now I’m wondering if WYL’s family also influenced AJJ to give her a shot in 2017. Does anyone know if ZCN & GXY are well connected too? Makes me love ZT even more to know that she got to the top against all odds.

    ZCN is, GXY is not. ZT is (quite obviously) not, except she got to where she is and built the connections herself -- you can see every media outlet in China, even the non-volleyball ones, reporting on her return.


    I don't think WYL influenced AJJ for 2015 WGP. she was a legitimate talent. Unless there's something else in 2017 that I don't know about.

    According to ivolleymagazine.it,


    Scandicci doesn't even care about the first two months, just give Zhu time to recover.


    As long as in the crucial later rounds she can help the team win, that is enough for her to show her value as an ace.


    Hope she can actively recover in a relatively calm environment.


    edit: very nice of scandicci.


    Quote from Julian Chow

    It must have been few years ago, when she was slimmer and before she joined Beijing ......maybe she found the Peking Duck北京烤鸭 irresistible !


    Sorry for being sarcastic, I'm not normally like that :rolll:

    I won’t comment on her physique bc women’s bodies still continue to change in their 20s, and many are naturally stockier/heavy set. We see many of that body type in the West and it actually is an advantage to their performance, but I think the Chinese team has yet to understand that this is completely natural and to work it TO your advantage (more conditioning!!!!) instead of starving yourself to be thin to reduce the weight on your ankles (a la LYY) at the expense of your stamina and strength… Whatever her size, WYL is not up to par… I remember seeing her in WGP 2017 and thinking she was so much worse than everyone else on court 😂

    wow she must feel a lot of pressure to get back to form… but I think everyone thinks that she is a star no matter what and will draw eyeballs. I for one am definitely going to watch all her games

    Quote from Ollie

    What is ZCN’s connection? Is it bc her dad is a former Jiangsu basketball player?

    Her father, Zhang You-sheng, was a volleyballer.

    Her older brother, Zhang Chen, was a volleyballer.

    Her husband's father, Wu Wei, was also a volleyballer.

    Her husband, Wu Guan-xi, chose basketball because in China, male volleyball is lack of good environment from 2000s to 2010s.

    My favourite roster of Chinese (in 2022)
    male NT:
    S - Yu Yao-chen, Chen Lei-yang
    OP - Jiang Chuan, Dai Qing-yao
    OH - Zhang Jing-yin, Yu Yuan-tai, Liu Li-bin, Fu Hou-wen
    MB - Zhang Zhe-jia, Peng Shi-kun, Li Yong-zhen, Jiang Zhen-yang
    L - Yang Yi-ming, Yang Tian-yuan


    female NT:
    S - Yao Di, Diao Lin-yu
    OP - Gong Xiang-yu, Sun Xiao-xuan
    OH - Li Ying-ying, Wang Yi-fan, Wu Meng-jie, Zhuang Yu-shan
    MB - Yuan Xin-yue, Wang Yuan-yuan, Zheng Yi-xin, Liu Yu
    L - Ni Fei-fan, Xu Jia-nan

    There's nothing I dislike more than using connections to get where you are. Always work hard to stand on your feet no matter what, and prove yourself.

    Going into the Final 8 next week, my hope is only this: No more talking, no more BS, no more finger pointing. If there's a reason why players are chosen for the starting team over others or why coaches are still around, then it better be shown. It's the QF, every team is going to push hard af. I hope we can see improvements and the fulfilment of whatever promises and assertions were made.


    Of course, whatever happens, I'll still support the team, and whether win or lose, I hope they play with all their spirit, strength, and sportsmanship. That's all we fans can ask for.

    This just shows how the western clubs / leagues treat their athletes. The athletes are well taken care of and treated like humans not robots.

    Quote from fire_cai_bin

    Well she was also a child, if you want to go after someone, go after her dad.

    ZCN was a beach volleyball player before switching to indoor volleyball. She did not want to be in the sun. The connection she probably used was the switch - she got kinda criticized or something. No problem using connections as long as one proves / shows that one is deserving of the spot.

    Quote from benchwarmer

    ZCN was a beach volleyball player before switching to indoor volleyball. She did not want to be in the sun. The connection she probably used was the switch - she got kinda criticized or something. No problem using connections as long as one proves / shows that one is deserving of the spot.

    I heard other way around, she really wanted to stay in the beach volleyball but federation kinda forced to make the switch 🤔

    Quote from benchwarmer

    ZCN was a beach volleyball player before switching to indoor volleyball. She did not want to be in the sun. The connection she probably used was the switch - she got kinda criticized or something. No problem using connections as long as one proves / shows that one is deserving of the spot.

    I understand a girl in China not wanting to be in the sun all day. But I disagree -- using connections is wrong regardless if you're "deserving" or not. It just doesn't apply to ZCN because she was 16 when it happened and societies generally don't have expectations for children to know right from wrong.


    With the way she was rumored to leave the beach team, the normal procedure is a 4 year ban. Now, I don't agree with the ban itself either, but another, equally talented girl would not have been given this special treatment.

    Quote from serdar

    I heard other way around, she really wanted to stay in the beach volleyball but federation kinda forced to make the switch 🤔

    She hated beach and even left the national beach team without informing the leader/coach.


    In fact, her mother recalled a conversation with her, worrying that she wouldn't be able to be a starter on the national team (this was 2013-14 and zhu came out in 2013), but she said that even if zhu's there, there's still another outside spiker position.