Despite having been retired from professional volleyball for seven years, former Team China captain Hui Ruoqi has not strayed too far from the sport that brought her an Olympic gold medal.

No longer a lethal outside hitter, Hui shows up on the court these days in a different role — to promote volleyball and forge global connections through the sport she loves.

In the past, Hui found fulfillment in winning, but now, her joy comes from building a platform where more people can share the game she loves.

The latest example of this is the Volleyball Amateur League (VAL), a tournament initiated by Hui, which held its finals in the coastal city of Xiamen, Fujian province, last month.

Hui felt a strong sense of achievement when a player from New Zealand approached her after one of the games to say that she will come back to China to play in the tournament again, and would bring her friends next time.

"Before we started this year's tournament, honestly speaking, I was nervous about many things. In the past, our tournament was just for the domestic volleyball scene, but this year it's open to international teams," said Hui, who won gold at the 2016 Rio Olympics, during an exclusive interview with China Daily.

"What's reassuring is that I felt the same love of volleyball from all participants across the world. And that love is a motivation for us."

While the event has long been a crucible for China's amateur volleyball players, this year marked a key turning point, as the league began expanding from a grassroots domestic initiative into an international platform.

A total of 350 athletes across 16 teams from nine countries and regions, including Singapore, Australia and New Zealand, competed at the event.

The participation of foreign teams added fresh momentum and broadened the league's cultural reach, transforming the event from a competition into a shared stage for volleyball communities from all over the world to meet and engage.