Gong Xiangyu

Gong Xiangyu (simplified Chinese: 龚翔宇; traditional Chinese: 龔翔宇; pinyin: gōng xiáng yǔ; born 21 April 1997)^[1][2] is a Chinese volleyball player. On club level, she plays for Jiangsu.

Gong Xiangyu
Personal information
Nickname	Little Universe (小宇宙)
Nationality	Chinese
Born	(1997-04-21) 21 April 1997 (age 26) Lianyungang, Jiangsu
Hometown	Lianyungang, Jiangsu
Height	1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Weight	67 kg (148 lb)
Spike	320 cm (130 in)
Block	315 cm (124 in)
Volleyball information
Position	Opposite hitter (2014–present) Setter (before 2014)
Current club	Jiangsu
Number	16/14/6
Career
Years Teams 2015– Jiangsu
National team
2016–  China
Honours Volleyball Olympic Games 2016 Rio de Janeiro Team World Championship 2018 Japan Team FIVB World Cup 2019 Japan Team World Grand Champions Cup 2017 Japan Team Volleyball Nations League 2023 Arlington Team 2018 Nanjing Team 2019 Nanjing Team Asian Games 2018 Jakarta-Palembang 2022 Hangzhou Team Asian Cup Championship 2016 Vinh Phuc Montreux Volley Masters 2016 Switzerland 2017 Switzerland Team

In this Chinese name, the family name is Gong.

Personal

She was born in Lianyungang to a P.E. teacher mother who was once a national épée champion, and a policeman father who used to play for the Jiangsu U23 basketball team. Her given name Xiangyu means "flying in the universe." She started attending Nanjing Normal University in 2016.

Career

Junior

Before 2014, she was a setter. As a substitute player, she participated in 2012 Asian Youth Girls Volleyball Championship and 2013 FIVB Volleyball Girls' U18 World Championship.^[3]

In 2014, because the former main opposite hitter, Ju Wanrong's injury, she began to be an opposite hitter and had success. During 2014 Asian Junior Women's Volleyball Championship and 2015 FIVB Volleyball Women's U20 World Championship, she showed her power.

Senior

She was promoted by Coach Cai Bin from the Jiangsu U23 team to Jiangsu Women's Volleyball Club in the 2015-2016 season. Following a successful debut season at the Chinese Volleyball League, she was selected by Coach Lang Ping for the national team in 2016. She represented China at the 2016 Summer Olympics and won the gold medal. She participated at the 2016 Montreux Volley Masters, 2017 Montreux Volley Masters, 2018 Montreux Volley Masters,^[4] and 2019 Montreux Volley Masters.^[5]

Awards

National Team

• 2016 Olympic Games   - Gold medal
• 2017 World Grand Champions Cup   - Gold medal
• 2018 FIVB Volleyball Women's Nations League：  - Bronze medal
• 2018 Asian Games：  - Gold medal
• 2018 FIVB Volleyball Women's World Championship:   - Bronze medal
• 2019 FIVB Volleyball Women's World Cup：  - Gold medal
• 2023 FIVB Volleyball Women's Nations League：  - Silver medal
• 2022 Asian Games：  - Gold medal

References

1. . Rio 2016. Archived from the original on 26 August 2016. Retrieved 21 August 2016.
2. . Jiangsu Sports Bureau. Archived from the original on 2016-11-26. Retrieved 2016-11-26.
3. http://www.fivb.org/vis_web/volley/GU182013/pdf/P2-078.pdf ^{[bare URL PDF]}
4. . Team Roster. 2019-02-01. Archived from the original on 2019-02-01. Retrieved 2020-03-30.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
5. . 2019-05-16. Archived from the original on 2019-05-16.

Awards
Preceded by   Lonneke Slöetjes	Best Opposite Spiker of Montreux Volley Masters 2016 2017	Succeeded by TBD