体坛英语新闻：China looking for foreign coach for men's volleyball

BEIJING, March 7 (Xinhua) -- China is looking for a foreign coach for its men's volleyball team, said Li Quanqiang, director of the volleyball department of China's General Administration of Sport, here on Monday.

Li expressed his hopes for both the women's and men's volleyball teams (as well as China's beach volleyball teams) to qualify for the 2020 Olympic Games.

As China's men's volleyball team missed both the London and Rio Olympics, Li vowed to make big changes in the coming years through deepening reforms.

"The search for a high-level foreign coach is ongoing," he added.

China will expand its domestic volleyball league by adding more qualified teams, Li said, adding, "with more professional players, the national teams can have more choices."

On the women's side, which brought home gold from the Rio Olympics, Li said that they must also work hard to make improvements.

"After the girls stepped down from the top podium in Rio, they need to start from scratch, as more powerful rivals will show up at the Tokyo Olympics," said Lai Yawen, deputy director of the volleyball department and the leader of the women's team in Rio.

"The Netherlands and Serbia are becoming stronger, so we need to practice as hard as we can for the Tokyo Olympics," said Ding Xia, setter for the women's team.