Courting a deeper connection

Despite having been retired from professional volleyball for seven years, former Team China captain Hui Ruoqi has not strayed too far from the sport that brought her an Olympic gold medal.

No longer a lethal outside hitter, Hui shows up on the court these days in a different role — to promote volleyball and forge global connections through the sport she loves.

In the past, Hui found fulfillment in winning, but now, her joy comes from building a platform where more people can share the game she loves.

The latest example of this is the Volleyball Amateur League (VAL), a tournament initiated by Hui, which held its finals in the coastal city of Xiamen, Fujian province, last month.

Hui felt a strong sense of achievement when a player from New Zealand approached her after one of the games to say that she will come back to China to play in the tournament again, and would bring her friends next time.