Zhang Changning will miss Volleyball World Championships, but denies retirement

BEIJING -- China women's volleyball spiker Zhang Changning said she will not return to the national team soon.

Zhang's announcement quashed speculations that she would come back to the national team as soon as late August and play in September's World Championships.

But the core player in China's Rio 2016 Olympic victory also denied that she would retire.

Writing on Weibo, a Chinese social media platform, the 26-year-old spiker revealed she has long been plagued by injury problems.

"Both my physical and psychological condition mean I am unable to compete in high level competitions right now. Compared to physical pain, I'm more afraid of the feeling of powerlessness," read Zhang's post.

Zhang led Jiangsu to second in China's National Games in September 2021 before she had surgery on her meniscus in November the same year. She has also suffered pains in her left ankle, shoulders and waist. She has not competed since then.

"Being a professional athlete is not easy. I hope the public can give us more patience rather than doubt, more encouragement rather than complaints," Zhang's Weibo article continued.