China

Women's volleyball coach defends rigorous training

By Yan Weijue (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2010-04-02 15:21

Wang Baoquan, head coach of the Chinese women's volleyball team, denied that he put the newly grouped players under too much intensive physical exercise despite his four-hour morning training sessions.

The volleyball team had its first class open to the media in the training base in Zhangzhou City of Fujian Province. The training programs ranged from defense, attack, block to first pass, serve and various techniques.

Wang, famous for being strict and rigorous, personally punched the ball over and over during the training, forcing leading attackers like Wang Yimei to roll over on the ground to save the balls.

"We should inherit the fighting spirit of the former volleyball players," said Wang. "It is essential to make painstaking efforts to achieve our goal."

Wang also admitted that some players need time to adjust to the current training intensity. However, he said, he is far away from being called "devil coach."