体坛英语新闻：China gearing up for Hong Kong leg of 2019 Volleyball Nations League

HONG KONG, April 15 (Xinhua) -- The Hong Kong leg of the 2019 FIVB Volleyball Nations League will be held from June 4 to June 6 at the Hong Kong Coliseum. China, Italy, Japan and the Netherlands will send their strongest-ever delegations to compete for the title.

In order to allow nations to prepare for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, the Nations League, which replaced the World Grand Prix in 2018, is considered a valuable opportunity for preparation and training. As women's volleyball gold medalists at the 2016 Rio Olympics, China will face challenges from 2020 host nation Japan, along with Italy and the Netherlands, who ranked first and fourth respectively in the FIVB Volleyball Women's World Championship in 2018.

"The Hong Kong fans have always been very passionate. With their support, we will have an outstanding performance," said former Chinese national team player Zhang Lei.

China's four host cities in the FIVB Volleyball Nations League are Macao, Hong Kong, Jiangmen and Beilun. This year's Nations League will be contested by 16 national teams.