Team China captain Zhu Ting unleashes a spike against Team USA during the 2016 Rio Olympic Games, where China won gold and Zhu was crowned the tournament's Most Valuable Player. [Xinhua]

China's Olympic champions resume relentless quest to improve amid prolonged preparations for delayed Games.

China's all-conquering women's volleyball team is refusing to let uncertainties over the delayed Tokyo Olympics distract from its mission of retaining gold.

With anxiety mounting over the feasibility of the postponed Games, the much-loved national heroes are embracing the prolonged preparation time as a chance to hone their skills and fitness levels, and — as ever — are braced for whatever challenges the future might hold.

Due to the sport's coronavirus-enforced competition shutdown, the 18-woman roster, led by legendary coach Lang Ping, has spent the past four months training in isolation at the national base in Beijing. Lang's demanding program has put particular emphasis on strength conditioning, fundamental skills and defense drills.

Working for so long without a battle in sight has mentally worn out her charges, but Lang insists that only by going the extra mile when everybody else slows down can a champion become stronger.

"Of course, everybody is a little bit tired after sticking to the routine for so long," Lang told media after an open practice session last week in Beijing.

"But whatever challenges the uncertainty might bring us, our strategy is and will always be the same — and that is to focus on wherever we can improve and just go for it," added Lang, a world-famous spiker known as the "Iron Hammer" during her prime as a player in the 1980s.

Lang has built the Chinese team into the dominant force in the women's game, boasting a packed trophy cabinet that includes Olympic gold from the 2016 Rio Games and back-to-back World Cup titles (2015, 2019).

Young talents handpicked by Lang to the national program, such as team captain Zhu Ting, middle blocker Yuan Xinyue and wing spiker Zhang Changning, have rose to international stardom, with the influence of Zhu and Zhang even expanding to the political realm after the pair joined China's top legislature.

Team China coach Lang Ping issues instructions to her players during a World Cup match against the Netherlands in Osaka, Japan, last September. [Xinhua]

Aiming Higher

However, having been conditioned to doing the country proud, Lang's group just keeps aiming higher.

"We still have potential to improve, such as our fitness, strength and defensive shift," said Lang. "We need to be a more balanced team."

Matching its main Western rivals for height and power, Team China has identified ball handling and defensive coverage as its weaknesses, and is endeavoring to learning from Asian neighbors Japan and South Korea in those areas as Lang bids to craft a "team without vulnerability".

The perfectionist coach also craves greater strength in depth in the squad, and is especially keen to sharpen secondary attack choices, as backup to Zhu, and more reliable defensive support in the back row.

"We need to put everyone in the position where they can do what they are good at and help them do it better," said Lang, who is the only person to win Olympic volleyball titles both as a player (1984) and as a coach (2016).

The long competition hiatus has offered the team enough time to not just improve but to heal.

As one of the key veterans in the squad, 33-year-old blocker Yan Ni is making progress recovering from a shoulder injury, while Zhu and Yuan are also taking regular rehab sessions to return to 100 percent strength.

As one of the game's superstars, spiker Zhu is China's biggest threat, yet conversely carries a target on her back, prompting Lang to keep asking more of her.

"There has never been a best player but only a better one," said Zhu, a prolific and powerful 1.98-meter (6-foot-6) scorer, who has collected MVP trophies at almost every major international event.

As a representative of the country's sports sector, Zhu addressed the public while attending the annual session of the National People's Congress, China's top legislature, last month, pledging to do her utmost to help China retain its title in Tokyo. "The postponement of the Games also has a bright side, which gives us another year to improve together," Zhu said in a recent CCTV interview. "We are not at our best technically and psychologically at the moment ... we know we can be better."

Following the Rio Olympics, Zhu was signed by Turkish club Vakif-Bank on a reported $1.2 million contract－becoming one of the world's highest-paid volleyball players in the process.

Zhu returned to China's domestic league to play for Tianjin last year and prepare for the Olympics with the national team.

The 25-year-old native of Central China's Henan province revealed in the TV interview that she's set her sights beyond Tokyo.

"Personally, I would like to be able to do this (to compete at the 2024 Paris Olympics), but it will take another five or six years so I hope I can maintain my competitiveness as long as I can," said Zhu.

Team China celebrates winning its fifth World Cup title with an unblemished record of 11 straight wins in Osaka, Japan, last September. It also won in 1981, 1985, 2003 and 2015. [Xinhua]

Biggest Challenge

Meanwhile, one of Zhu's former teammates, Xu Yunli, says China's biggest challenge in Tokyo is themselves.

"The postponement of the Tokyo Olympics could be a positive thing for all teams since they have a whole extra year to prepare," Xu, who won gold in Rio before retiring in 2018, told Xinhua.

"I have faith in our Chinese team since many young talents have emerged in the last two years, while key players such as Zhu Ting are still in their best form.

"Of course, there are no underdogs at the Olympics. Italy, Serbia, Brazil and the US are all strong contenders.

"However, I believe our team has a good chance to win the title if they can do things right."

A three-time Olympian, Xu claimed a bronze medal in Beijing in 2008 and staged a remarkable injury comeback in Rio to contribute the second-highest points tally behind Zhu for the championship team.

"Because of injuries, I could do nothing but sit on the bench, watching my teammates doing contact drills by March 2016. All of a sudden, I made remarkable progress. I did not know why. I think it was just my hard work paid off," Xu recalled.

After retiring as a player, Xu remained with the national team as an assistant coach at the 2018 world championships and Tokyo Olympic qualifying matches.

"I felt that I had a responsibility to teach the young players all the things that older players taught me when I was young," she said.

In addition, the 33-year-old has worked as a volleyball teacher at Fujian Normal University since June 2019. "I really enjoy what I am doing. I want to help more young students who love the sport."

(Source: China Daily)