Zhu Ting helps VakifBank ease past Zhejiang in Club V'Ball Championship

Reigning champions VakifBank Istanbul of Turkey kicked off their title defense at the FIVB Women's Volleyball Club World Championship on Tuesday with a comfortable 3-0 win over host team Zhejiang.

VakifBank's Chinese star Zhu Ting was the focus of the game and received a warm welcome from the local fans.

Zhu Ting interacts with audience during the opening game of the FIVB Women's Volleyball Club World Championship between VakifBank Istanbul and Zhejiang on Dec 4, 2018 in Shaoxing. [Photo: IC]

The captain of the Chinese national team hit 16 points for her club.

VakifBank head coach Giovanni Guidetti said Zhu Ting's popularity brought a lot of support to the team in China.

"We are lucky to have Zhu Ting because she is a great player and, probably, the best player in the world, and we are lucky because Zhu brought us a lot of Chinese fans with her. They are so nice to us. This is a difficult competition and there are some teams which are very, very strong. But if we can have support from the fans, we may play even better. So we are happy about it," the coach said.

Zhu has played for the Istanbul side for the past three seasons.

This is also her maiden appearance in her home country representing the Turkish club.

Eight teams are taking part in this year's club tournament, which comprises the champions of each continent amongst others.

This is the first time that China is hosting the event.