China

Wang replaces Cai as Chinese women's volleyball head coach

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-03-25 14:58

BEIJING - Former national assistant coach Wang Baoquan will replace Cai Bin as the head coach of the Chinese women's volleyball team, the Chinese Volleyball Association (CVA) announced here on Thursday.

"Cai expressed his willingness to resign on February 18 and we have decided to accept his resignation after thorough consideration," said Xu Li, vice-president of the CVA. After one year and two days in charge, Cai stepped down following a series of disappointing results of the Athens Olympic champions and bronze medallists at the 2008 Beijing Games.

Last year, the Chinese women lost to arch-rivals Japan twice in a row in June before managing only one victory in the World Grand Prix final round in Japan two months later. While the worst came in the Asian Championships where China fell to Thailand for the first time in history to surrender the title to the much shorter Thais.

"Cai has tried his best, but the results were not satisfactory at all," Xu said, noting that the 33-11 win-loss record of Cai's side and the losses to Japan, Germany and Thailand were "a record low" in team history. "I think he has made a responsible and respectful decision to resign."

As Cai's successor, the 49-year-old Wang enjoys a proud history in club coaching, taking his Tianjin Club to the top of the podium in the Chinese women's league in seven of the last eight years. "I would like to devote myself to the rebuilding of a successful national team," he said at the press conference. "This year we will try to make top four in the World Championships and win the title at the Guangzhou Asian Games."

"We are very confident, I wish my friends from media could kindly be patient to us and allow us more time," he added. The CVA also announced the most updated roster of the Chinese team, which features ace spiker Wang Yimei, captain and setter Wei Qiuyue and other Beijing Olympians including Xue Ming, Ma Yunwen, Xu Yunli. The training camp of the Chinese team will start on Sunday in Zhangzhou of southeastern Fujian province.