Chinese women's national volleyball team head coach Lang Ping Photo: Lu Wenao/GT

Chinese women's national volleyball team is aiming high  for the Tokyo Olympics, head coach Lang Ping said Wednesday, after the team ended a training session earlier in March. 

"We have been preparing for the major competition for more than a year," Lang told reporters, referring to the delayed ­Tokyo Olympic Games. 

"The second training session of the national team has culminated and the players are back to their provincial teams to prepare for the National Games preliminaries."

The national team has been preparing for the Tokyo Olympics in a "lockdown" training center in Zhangzhou in East China's Fujian Province, after domestic volleyball league ­ended 2020 season behind closed doors.

"We are used to this lockdown­ training mode," Lang said of the team's training session, which the team is isolated from the public in the training center. 

The mental health of the ­athletes during the lockdowns has been brought to the spotlight during the pandemic, which Lang believes that family members' support will do a long of help.

"What we have achieved today cannot part with the support of our family members," Lang said. "It is vital to have their understanding and our team members have become like a family more or less, we train every day and care about each other every day."

The 2016 Rio Olympics gold medalists are now the most esteemed sports team in China, thanks to their convincing performances at international stage, including a World Cup  win in 2019. 

Many have pinned their hopes for the team of defending their title at the Tokyo Olympic Games, which is expected to be held from July 23 to August 8 later this year.

The coronavirus pandemic has halted international competitions, making it unavailable for the team to learn the progress of their potential opponents. But as the conditions have eased this year, national team tournaments seem possible to be held.

A test event for the Olympics will take place in Tokyo on May 1 and 2, with Team China is invited to play at Ariake Arena - the venue for the volleyball games at the  Olympics.

China is also among the teams that will compete at the 2021 FIVB Volleyball Women's Nations League, which is scheduled to be held from May 19 to June 21. 

It remains unclear how will the event get underway in Italy as planned due to the impact of COVID-19, but Lang has taken the chance as "the third and fourth training sessions" for the national team.

The national team will gather again in Ningbo, East China's Zhejiang Province after concluding their provincial team duties.