China's hopes for a medal in women's volleyball rest on the fragile legs of Zhao Ruirui who was put back on the team's roster just a day before the huge Chinese Olympics delegation headed to Athens at the weekend.
Zhao, a 1.96-metre (6' 4") spiker, was a driving force in China's rise to global dominance in 2002 and 2003 and powered the team to victory at the 2003 world championships, China's first world title in 17 years.
But she suffered a double fracture of her right leg during training in March and was sidelined for several months.
In her absence, the Chinese team has slumped badly, finishing a disappointing fifth at the 2004 Grand Prix finals last week and sliding to third in the world rankings.
"Zhao has been recovering faster and better than I expected, but she is still on the way to her best," head coach Chen Zhonghe told the Xinhua news agency from Poland.
"I will be very happy if she can play at 70 to 80 percent of her best at the knock-out stage of the Olympics."
The "glass beauty," as Zhao has been dubbed by the Chinese media for her lanky, injury-prone frame, began training again in July and returned to international competition five days ago when China beat Poland 3-0 in an Olympic warm-up match.
"I have been waiting so long for this day. I always thought that when I could finally soar again on the court, I was going to cry. But in the actual match, there was no time for tears and I was filled with joy," she said.
The Chinese women will face a tough preliminary pool that includes the United States, Cuba and Russia.
They, along with the rest of China's massive squad of 407 athletes, arrived in Athens on Sunday.
Meanwhile, Chinese officials said on Monday that leading basketball player Yao Ming would carry the national flag at Friday's opening ceremony. The volleyball starts on Saturday.
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