After just three months in Italy, Zeng Chunlei has parted ways with Pomi Casalmaggiore.
The move to Italy was the first time that Chunlei had left China to play and was not able to fully adapt to the European style of play. In China, Chunlei played with two clubs in Beijing and Guangdong. It is reported that Chunlei is in talks with clubs in China to pick up immediately in the season.
Chunlei was the captain of the Chinese squad that won the 2015 FIVB Women’s World Cup in Japan but was absent from Team China as they won the gold medal in Rio. Despite this, Chunlei was back on the Chinese squad that took part in the 2017 Women’s Grand Champions Cup.
Pomi Casalmaggiore has had a down season this year, going just 2-8 to open up the season and ranking eighth in the league through the 10 matches. This comes following a second place finish in the 2016 season and a 16-6 record on the year. In the finals, they were knocked off by Novara in the semifinals – to which they went on to win the title in four matches over Liu Jo Nordmeccanica Modena.
The main reason was because the opposite from Beijing Volleyball Club, Rachel Rourke sustained an injury and had to go back home to Australia to recover. Rourke’s absence led to Beijing Volleyball Club requesting for Zeng’s return to China, to play in the Chinese Volleyball League.