Former Chinese national volleyball player Lang Ping is looking forward to leading her girls at this summer's Atlanta Games, although she knows things are not going to be easy. Lang, regarded as one of the best players in the world, returned home from the US last year to take over as coach of the national team. China qualified for Atlanta last October by winning bronze at the Asian Women's Volleyball Championships. 'In the past four months, we have been training very hard to prepare for the Olympics. We are to participate in a couple of tournaments in the next three months to gain international experience,' Lang said. The Chinese team is comprised of mostly young players who have not competed at an Olympics.
'There are only three players - Lai Yawen , Sun Yue and Wang Yi - who participated in the Barcelona Olympics four years ago,' said 34-year-old Lang. 'The other players do not have much international experience, although they have been improving very quickly in the past few months.' Lang said the most difficult thing for the squad was to improve any more in such a short time. China was once the world's strongest volleyball nation.
They won gold in Los Angeles in 1984, but then failed at Seoul in 1988 and at Barcelona. Lang said it would be very difficult for them to win a medal in Atlanta. 'The US, Cuba and Brazil are much stronger than us. Russia, Croatia, South Korea and Japan are of a similar standard to us.' Lang said the Chinese had to improve their physical strength before leaving for Atlanta. 'As the US, Cuba and Brazil are the top three in the world, we have been training with the male players who try to play with the style of the Americans. This helps us improve our strength, though the training is very tough for us.' Lang admitted she was under pressure as national coach.
'We have had one of the strongest volleyball teams in the world. And as a former national captain, I have the responsibility to help the young ones do their best to maintain the reputation of our country.
'Our players are under great pressure too. However, I hope people can give us some time.' Chinese national basketball player Li Xin will retire after the Atlanta Olympics. Li, 27, has been playing basketball for 15 years and is the point guard of the national women's team. 'I have been playing the sport for more than half my life,' said the Shenyang Army player. 'I have been suffering from various injuries as I get older. I think it is time I retired.' Li, who broke the ligament in her left knee in a domestic match last year, hopes she can achieve a perfect end to her career by winning a medal in Atlanta. 'I know it is not going to be easy for us this time since we have so many young and inexperienced players in the squad. But we will try our best, not only for ourselves, but also for our country.'