Chinese water polo team staying low key

The young and improving Chinese women's water polo team surprised the world last year by winning the silver medal at the World Championships.

However, the team is playing down its chances at the London Olympics.

"Take a look at the Netherlands, they won the Beijing Olympic Games gold medal, but they did not even make it to the London Games," said China's team manager, Liu Qinlong.

"The Greek team, who beat us to win the world championship last year, also failed to get an Olympic ticket this time."

Europe boasts most of the world's top-level teams, which makes Olympic qualification extremely competitive there; while China won the Asian Championship (and also Asian zone qualification) easily thanks to less competition in the region.

"Due to the breakthrough last year, people are expecting us to achieve more in London. But we have no reason to be upbeat. We are drawn with Hungary, the US and Spain. All are strong rivals," Liu said.

"We are now training hard physically and are focused on techniques. Our coaches are also paying extra attention to counter-attack tactics."

One major positive for the team is unity and a highly-regarded head coach.

Coach Juan Jane Giralt joined the national program in 2007, only two years after China had set up its first women's team.

The Spanish coach guided the squad to a surprising fifth-place finish at the Beijing Games a year later.

He left the team after the Olympics, but is now back in the fold.

"Our team has great unity as they have known each other for many years," said Liu.

However, he also pointed out that water polo does not have a strong base in China and the team has been struggling to inject new blood into the squad.

"Eleven of the current squad played in Beijing four years ago. After that, some veterans got too old or suffered injuries, and we have since struggled to find young guns to bolster the national team," Liu said.

Coach Giralt is also aware of the gap between China and Europe in terms of professionalism and hopes more cities will start water polo clubs.

"European countries have a high degree of professionalism in managing and promoting the sport. But it's still new in China," Giralt said.

"China did not have water polo clubs until 2006. I think these clubs should be open to more people and I also hope more Chinese cities can get involved in developing the sport."

chenxiangfeng@chinadaily.com.cn