Golden girls back on glory trail

'Great honor'

As the team's inspirational leader, Zhu has long been a household name in China. Following her heroics in Rio, where she was named MVP of the tournament, Zhu joined Turkish club VakifBank to become one of the world's highest-paid volleyball players. She won a host of major honors in Europe before returning to China to play for Tianjin in 2019. Now, Zhu is confident she can once again wow the world on the biggest stage.

"The big match is coming, and we need to stay calm. We will try our best and our goal is to raise the national flag and let the national anthem be played in the stadium in Tokyo," said Zhu, who along with taekwondo athlete Zhao Shuai will be China's flag-bearers at the opening ceremony.

"Being chosen as the flag-bearer is a great honor and it shows the Chinese delegation's trust in the women's volleyball team and myself. That's an honor, and it's also a responsibility, which motivates me to try harder each day and take each step forward correctly."

Like Zhu, Zhang Changning has also won the nation's hearts, with the 24-year-old something of a superstar on social media. It's clear, though, that Zhang first and foremost craves victories, not the spotlight.

"Instead of myself, I just want the team to be trending news on social media more often," Zhang said before flying to Tokyo.

"Before, I just played a supportive role on court, and didn't think too much about shouldering too much responsibility. However, in Italy last month, I felt more comfortable taking on more responsibilities, and I really cherish that feeling. I hope the experience I gained in Italy will help me in Tokyo."

China's production line of elite volleyball talent shows no signs of slowing down, with youngsters like Li Yingying seizing their chance to shine on the biggest stages.

"Yingying's game has been developing very fast in recent years. We are really glad to see we have more firepower in our attack line. She's a sort of secret weapon for us," said Lang. "I hope with the help of the veterans, Yingying can enjoy the Olympics and show her potential."

Held in the very highest esteem by the nation's sports fans, the squad is being inundated by messages of support, on and offline, in the leadup to the Games.

Among the well-wishers is former national team head coach Chen Zhonghe, who led China to gold at the 2004 Athens Olympics.

"The strength of our women's volleyball team is strong now, and I think they are even stronger than the Rio Olympics. So, I'm very confident that our team can defend the title in Tokyo," Chen told Chinanews.com.

"Players like Zhu Ting are very experienced now. We encountered many setbacks the last time we won Olympic gold. In that final, I think our players delivered a great performance, with a great mentality. This time they are even stronger. But to win this time, we need to overcome many difficulties to eventually stand on the highest podium."