A group of foreign coaches are hoping to raise China's sporting level and help the athletes strike gold at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.

For the first time in the nation's history, over a dozen overseas coaches are guiding teams from all sporting spheres.

"With the rapid development of the economy China has become more international and open in many ways. It is the same in sport. It is common to hire quality foreign coaches," said Xiao Tian, deputy director of the State General Administration of Sport.

Basketball and football are the most popular sports, but they too need improvement to reach international gold standard.

Under the helm of Lithuanian head coach Jonas Kazlauskas and Australian coach Thomas Maher respectively, the men's and women's basketball teams have their eyes on podium finishes in 2008 after dominant performances at the Doha Asian Games in December.

In Doha, without NBA superstar Yao Ming, Kazlauskas relied on the returning Wang Zhizhi and the nation's top NBA prospect Yi Jianlian to win their sixth gold in the competition.

Kazlauskas and his staff now orient their focus on the 2008 Olympics in Beijing and how best to integrate Yao into the team without breaking the growing partnership between Wang and Yi.

A top four or podium finish is likely more achievable for the women than the men.

"I have a realistic hope that we can be in the final four. We are not far behind the top eight," Maher said after China, the defending champions, beat Chinese Taipei 90-59 to win their fourth Asian title.

For the Australian mentor, who began his stint as China coach after their disappointing ninth-place finish at the 2004 Athens Olympics, the Asian Games was just "part of the journey to Beijing".

"If we didn't win this tournament it would have been a total failure. We have another two years and we need that because we are not ready for a medal yet," Maher said. "We can improve in many ways."

The sport's governing body is happy with the performance of both coaches.

"Basically we see them as being ambitious, having almost no other hobby but basketball. They are serious and strict with the team, they are clear on world basketball trends and we appreciate their abilities on the court," said Hu Jiashi, deputy director of the Basketball Administrative Centre.

Soccer style

China men's Olympic soccer team failed to reach the quarterfinals in Doha, but veteran Ratomir Dujkovic's won plaudits from home fans appreciative of his tactics.

Taking over the job two months ago, Dujkovic focused immediately on alleviating pressure on his players, who are notorious for losing control, mentally and tactically, in big matches.

"I have discovered that our team has talented players with a lot of potential," said the 60-year-old Serbian, who is set to lead the under-23 squad into the semifinals at the Beijing Games.

In comparison, Ma Liangxing's women's team fared less well, losing to Japan in the group and getting eliminated in the semifinals.

Ma's slump opened the door for German Krautzun Eckhard, the former Chinese U-20 head coach, who has just been appointed as women's football adviser.

The football governing body is anxious to see the women regain their position as a dominant global force and win a medal in 2008.

It is believed that if Ma is unable to get the team to a convincing level soon, he will be replaced by Eckhard.

A tale of two Kims

China's field hockey teams are both spearheaded by South Korean coaches and are heading in the right direction as 2008 rolls around.

Kim Chang-back helped the women's team successfully defend their Asian Games title while Kim Sang-ryul inspired the men to a historic second-place finish in Doha, ironically losing to his home country South Korea 3-1.

The two Koreans' tough training methods have sparked criticism, but their achievements silenced all doubters and won over the players.

"Before the match and at the end of the match, I am Korean. They (Korean players and coaches) are my students and also my friends. But during the match, they are my opponents," said Sang-ryul. "My duty is to coach. I try to beat every team. It is the same."

Chang-back's women's team is under even more pressure as expectations are high.

"The Asian Games gold is very important to us. We know the coach is under pressure and sometimes under fire. We hope the gold medal will make him stay with us," said player Ren Ye.

Other foreign coaches earning success in China include Frenchman Sebastien Dulcus, who guided young women's cyclist Guo Shuang to two golds in Doha.

Under his guidance, Guo has made significant progress over the past two years, collecting two national titles in half a year and winning two gold medals in the World Cup series.

"I have been training Guo in Switzerland over the past four months and I know her tactics well. She is such a talented girl, and an expert in sprinting," said Dulcus. "Winning a medal for the motherland is every cyclist's dream."

"The coach changed me a lot. I have been improving all the time," said 20-year-old Guo, who has been tipped as a medal contender in Beijing. Apart from technical skills, he also helps me a lot in life. He is like an older brother and a good friend. I've also begun to learn French from him!"

Jonas Kazlauskas

Sport: Basketball

Nation: Lithuania

With international caliber players like Yao Ming and the talented Yi Jianlian, the pressure is on Kazlauskas to put together a medal-winning team in time for the Beijing 2008 Olympics.

Kazlauskas, 52, joined the team in 2004 as assistant to veteran NBA coach Del Harris. They reached the last eight at the Athens Olympad, but since then progress has been tough as Kazlauskas has sought to find the winning blend. While Yao, Yi and former NBA player Wang Zhizhi form a solid front court, the back court has been more of a problem.

The team reached the last 16 of the World Championships in Japan in September, when they lost to eventual runners-up Greece. The team underlined their regional dominance by winning the Asian Games in Doha in December, a performance that pleased the coach: "The team started playing defense and realised that defense is very important and that it can bring us to another level."

Kazlauskas is a controversial figure, and his criticism of his players has drawn a backlash from the fans. During the Asian Games he accused Yi Jianlian of "not showing his talent on the court", and said his team as a whole "was not tough enough".

Tom Maher

Sport: Basketball

Nation: Australia

Maher, 54, the first foreign coach for the country's women's basketball team, was hired in 2004 to turn around the dwindling fortunes of a team that had gone from silver medal heroes in Barcelona 1992, to zeroes.

With talented young players including WNBA stars Sui Feifei and Miao Lijie, and the 1.97 meter center Chen Nan, Maher believes his team's inside attack can be a deadly ace against international powerhouses like the United States.

Maher came into the job with a proven track record: he coached seven championship winning teams in the Australian domestic league, and led Australia to an Olympic bronze in Atlanta and silver in Sydney. He has also worked as a head coach in the US WNBA league.

His first tournament was a bust, as China crumbled to a worst-ever 12th place at the World Championships in Brazil last September. However, the youthful make up of the team means Maher is still confident of success.

Of his aims for the next 12 months, he said "I have a realistic hope that we can be in the final four. We are not far behind the top eight."

Ratomir Dujkovic

Sport: Soccer

Nation: Serbia

Dujkovic, 60, is a journeyman international coach similar as compatriot Bora Milutinovic, who guided China to the World Cup Finals in 2002. The task facing Dujkovic is immense, as China has performed consistently poorly since 2002, failing to qualify for the World Cup in 2006 and sliding down the world rankings.

Olympic soccer is a different ball game however, with age restrictions an advantage for teams like China whose strength lies at youth level.

At the Doha Asian Games, the team played a refreshing, attacking style, showing determination and motivation to win all three of their group games. They eventually lost to Asian behemoth Iran, fighting hard with 10-men before suffering heartbreak in a penalty shoot-out.

Dujkovic coached Ghana to the last 16 of the 2006 World Cup in Germany, and he has also coached Venezuela, Myanmar and Rwanda.

His aim now is a medal in 2008: "It's a great challenge because I have an opportunity to bring something to the country. In every country I have worked, I have moved the team between 25 and 30 places up the rankings."

Kim Chang-back

Sport: Field Hockey

Nation: South Korea

Kim, 51, has been heralded as one of the most successful foreign coaches in China after lifting the nation's women's field hockey players from obscurity to world acclaim.

He led the South Korean women's team to a string of successes in the early 1990s, and his impact on the Chinese team upon his 1999 appointment was instant.

Coming out of nowhere, the team grabbed 5th place at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, and they then took gold at the 2002 Busan Asian Games. They won the Champions Trophy in the same year, and finished 4th at the 2004 Athens Olympics.

The team's fortunes slipped as Kim sought to rebuild after Athens, culminating in an embarrassing 10th place finish at the World Cup this year. But with calls for his resignation clamoring, the team bounced back to win the Asian Games in Doha in December.

"So far Kim has done an excellent job and accomplished almost everything he promised to the team," said the sport's chief Hu Jianguo.

Kim Sang-ryul

Sport: Field Hockey

Nation: South Korea

Another Korean, another miracle? Kim Sang-ryul, 51, is hoping to perform a similar feat to Kim Chang-back's, turning the men's field hockey team from nobodies into world beaters. First impressions seem good: The team went into the Doha Asian Games as underdogs, but upset big names including India and Pakistan to reach their first-ever final.

They lost 3-1 to favorites South Korea, but the message is clear: this team can and will be competitive in time for Beijing 2008.

"In the past two years, he has led us to achieve results we thought were impossible. I hope he can stay with us longer," said team captain Song Yi.

Michael Bastian

Sport: Softball

Nation: United States

Bastian began coaching China's women's softball team in early 2006, but a fourth-placed finish at the World Championships in September and a bronze medal in Doha have been seen as only modest returns.

Bastian, 44, is trying to find a winning balance of power hits and short plays. In Doha, they proved their hitting ability with a slew of homers but defensively, the team was a mess, causing them to lose to Chinese Taipei in the semifinals.

This defeat has put his future in doubt, and he will have to wait until later this month to find out if he will coach the team through to 2008.

Speaking after the World Championships, Bastian said his players needed to lighten up: "They are the most hard-working and unselfish people in the world, but they need to have more fun. That's the reason I try to persuade them to hug me. I hope I can bring happiness to them like a Teddy Bear."

Jim Lefebvre

Sport: Baseball

Nation: United States

The former Major League Baseball (MLB) player and manager, 63, was assigned in 2002 by the MLB to help China improve its baseball level and win a medal at the 2008 Beijing Games.

After China slumped at a club team tournament in Japan, the under-fire coach did not show up in Doha, where China was crushed by Asia's top trio of Japan, South Korea, and Chinese Taipei, settling for a familiar fourth place.

Speaking after the Tokyo debacle, where the team were heavily beaten by club sides from Japan, South Korea and Chinese Taipei, a frustrated Lefebvre rounded on his players, accusing them of being lazy: "They think an Asian cannot get strong. They just think they are weak. Getting strong is easy if you are willing to work hard."

Christian Bauer

Sport: Fencing

Nation: France

Bauer was invited to instruct China's sabre team in August. Success was instant, as China swept gold at the Doha Asian Games.

Bauer, 55, was a world champion fencer and used to coach the French national and youth teams. He helped his students to win a group silver medal in Sydney 2000 before moving to coach Italy. At 2004 Athens Games, he led the Italian sabres to a gold medal haul.

Chinese hopes suffered a blow when men's foil and women's epee were struck off the Olympic roster, so now hopes rest on Bauer's fast-improving sabres to secure medals on home soil.

Sebastien Dulcus

Sport: Cycling

Nation: France

Sebastien Dulcus is the man charged with lighting a fire under China's dimmed Olympic cycling dream.

The abrupt removal of the women's 500 meter time trial from the Beijing Games (Jiang Yonghua won a silver at Athens in the event) appeared to end the team's gold hopes. However, Dulcus guided prodigy Guo Shuang to a podium finish in the Individual Pursuit at the World Championships last year, as well as two gold medals at the Doha Asian Games.

Josef Capousek

Sport: Canoeing

Nation: Germany

German canoeing great Capousek headed to China full of grit and determination, spelling out his intention to help the team win at least two golds at the Beijing Games.

At the Athens Olympics Meng Guanliang and Yang Wenjun won the country's first gold medal, in the men's C2 500m event, but the added pressure has not flustered Capousek at all. His professional achievements to date are unprecedented: A 13-year stint as head coach of the German national team saw 17 Olympic golds, eight silvers and four bronzes.

Capousek's high-profile appointment had an instant impact on China's canoeists -- they won one silver and three bronzes at the World Championships and six golds and 13 silvers at the World Cup series. They also notched a dominant six golds at the Doha Games.

"Take a look at our results. You'll find everyone is able to win gold," he said.

Igor Grinko

Sport: Rowing

Nation: Lithuania

China's rowing team is familiar with foreign coaches -- they hired Polish-American Kris Korzeniowski in 1993, and he coached the team to gold medals at the following World Championships. Grinko, a close friend of Korzeniowski, is the former US and Soviet Union Olympic rowing team coach. He helped China win three golds and a silver at the World Rowing Championships in August, their best ever results, and raised great hopes for the future.

Having coached dozens of medal-winning boats in more than ten Summer Olympics, Grinko, 60, is optimistic he can help China win its first rowing gold in 2008.

Masayo Imura

Sport: Synchronized Swimming

Nation: Japan

Imura, 55, is the latest foreign coach to sign up to help China's 2008 Olympic efforts. She will coach the nation's synchronized swimming team, a move that rocked Japan, a traditional power in the sport.

Japanese fears look justified, as the team has already begun to improve. They beat Japan into second place in duet and team synchronized swimming at the Doha Asian Games, for the first time in history.

Imura has guided Japan to podium finishes in each of the last six Olympic Games and she will lead the Chinese to the World Championships in the spring.

(China Daily January 4, 2007)