Injury-plagued women's volleyballers Zhao Ruirui and Feng Kun have been recalled to train with the 14-member Olympic squad and look set to help China defend its title next August in Beijing.
At the 2004 Athens Games, China staged a remarkable come-from-behind win over Russia to net its second women's gold medal at the event.
But the team was dealt a savage blow when pivotal members Zhao and Feng took on a new role as benchwarmers due to chronic injuries.
The inexperience of the youngsters only added to the team's woes as it embarked on a losing skid, falling to one lowly ranked teams after another over last 12 months.
The team's loss to the improving Netherlands, and its poor head-to-head records against Italy and Brazil over the last year, have sounded a clear warning to China that it needs to step up or forget its dream of blazing another golden trail next summer
"I feel so happy to be back. I cannot wait to resume training and compete again," said Zhao, a powerful spiker who has been sidelined for over three years since hurting her knee in the opening match of the Athens Olympics.
"I will work harder and find my game again as soon as possible."
Former captain Feng has been out of action for about a year after major knee surgery but is upbeat about the future.
"I am feeling good now. I will leave 2007 behind and look forward to 2008," she said. "A healthy team is hard to beat."
Under-pressure head coach Chen Zhonghe said he is relieved by the pair's return.
"IThey are still the best players in China," he said.
Zhao and Feng will be asked to guide their younger teammates at future tournaments, but first they have to spend some time getting to know the new faces.
"Neither of us have played for a long time, so there are a lot of new faces," Feng said. "We definitely need some time to get to know them better and get more involved."
The duo, together with Yang Hao, Zhou Suhong and Liu Ya'nan, are the only players on the team with Olympic experience. Young stars like Zhao Yanni and Hui Ruoqi have no international experience.
"The returning veterans, together with our newer players, will only enrich our style," Chen said. "They will push each other and make the closed-door training more competitive."
Chen said it will be more difficult to defend the title next year given the rise in recent years of emerging powerhouses like Italy and the United States.
"But our fate is in our own hands. As long as those key players are back on track, and the younger ones show signs of improvement, we are still one of the best teams in the world," he said.
"We have nothing to fear."
