The head coach of the United States women's volleyball team Lang Ping says Tuesday coaching the team was a challenge because of cultural and methodical differences. She has set two targets for her team in the upcoming Beijing Olympics. Our reporter Shuang Feng has more.

Reporter:

Nicknamed "iron hammer", Lang Ping took the helm of the US women's volleyball team in 2005. The former Chinese star player is now leading the US against home team China. She says she has set two targets for the US team.

"Our first target is to finish among the top four in the preliminaries so that we can book a ticket for the quarterfinals. And our second goal is to try our best in every game. But there are many strong teams in the competition, so it's hard to say who will be able to grab the gold medal."

Lang Ping used to be backbone of the Chinese volleyball team and helped China record its first world cup title in the 1980s.

After an early retirement in 1985, Lang Ping once played for an Italian team before leading China to a silver at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. She then went to coach two club teams in Italy before heading to the US three years ago.

However, she said coaching the US team is a tough job.

"It is a big challenge as they have a completely different system in terms of sports. There are also many differences in the competition seasons. I have to adapt to their style and arrangements. The physical condition of the US volleyball players, their understanding about the sport, are both different. I need to find a training method that suits the US team."

Lang Ping and her team arrived in Beijing last Saturday. She said the trip was something like a homecoming. She said she was not nervous, but curious about the tremendous changes the city has undergone.

Regarding the upcoming clash between the two teams, the head coach believes the well-trained Chinese team can do well.
Her team is going to meet China in the fourth round of the preliminaries.

Shuang Feng, CRI news.