Volleyball legend Lang Ping shows her trophy after being awarded the Best Coach of the Year at the China's Central Television (CCTV) Sports Awards gala in Beijing, Jan 15, 2017. [Photo/IC]

Playing for Vakifbank Club in Turkey, Zhu didn't attend the ceremony, but made up a short video for the audience.

"The year of 2016 was full of happiness and unforgettable for me. I wanted to say thanks to our coach, our team and our fans. I will be better in 2017," Zhu said in the video.

The Chinese national diving team received two awards as Ren Qian, the women's 10-meter platform winner at Rio Olympic Games was honoured the Best Rookie and his teammates Wu Minxia and Shi Tingmao got the Best Pairing award.

The two-time Olympic gold medalist Zou Shiming, who lifted WBO flyweight world title in 2016, won the Best Non-Olympic Athlete award. Wheelchair fencer Rong Jing, who won three gold medals at 2016 Rio Paralympic Games, was named the Best Disabled Athlete. The Best Breakthrough award went to Gong Jinjie and Zhong Tianshi, who won China's first cycling Olympic gold at the Rio Games.