TOKYO— Lang Ping, China’s “Iron Hammer” who made Olympic history by winning gold as both a player and a coach, heads to Tokyo and back into the Games spotlight as her team looks to defend the women’s volleyball title they won in 2016.
Lang was the subject of the 2020 documentary “The Iron Hammer” which detailed her four-decade career in the sport, including her 1984 Los Angeles gold as a player and the team’s win in Rio under her guidance as head national women’s coach.
Defending gold, however, will not be easy for China, even with Zhu Ting, the 26-year-old ace regarded as one of the best volleyball players of all time.
The United States is currently No. 1 in the Internati…
Keep on reading: China’s ‘Iron Hammer’ aims to defend women’s volleyball gold in Tokyo