Women's hoops team healthy and hungry

China's women's basketball coach Tom Maher believes his players finally have what it takes to shine at the Beijing Olympics - a healthy roster.

The team, which hopes to enter the semifinal round of the Olympics in August, has been hampered by injuries over the past three years, forcing out many of its leading players. But with four months to go before the sporting fiesta begins, all players are back in action and are playing together for the first time in a long time.

"We have a healthy roster, it is very important for us," Maher said. "Our starting players made some great rehabilitation, now everybody is fit. The healthy roster really gives me a lot of confidence."

Former WNBA player Sui Feifei returned to training camp after aggravating a left-ankle injury in the WCBA Finals in January. She played through the pain and averaged 21.6 points and 2.6 assists to help Bayi beat Liaoning to win the WCBA title, but had been recovering since her return in late March.

Sui was joined at training camp by two other newly recovered stars, WCBA Playoff Most Valuable Player Chen Nan and regular season MVP Miao Lijie.

"The return of these talented players brings great changes to the team," Maher said. "I will add some intensity to their training."

Maher, 55, is entering his fourth season as China's coach.

He was recruited by the Chinese Basketball Association after the women's team finished ninth in the Athens Olympics in 2004 following its failure to qualify for the Sydney Games in 2000.

The former Australia and New Zealand national coach said China lost its best player - star defender and rebounder Ye Li - soon after he arrived in March 2005.

Ye, sidelined with illness, has since married Houston Rockets star Yao Ming and retired.

"One great talent has left but more good players have come out," Maher said. "With the comeback of our starting players, we will be a competitive force in the world."

Maher, with experience of coaching a former underperformer - the Australian national women's team - to a bronze medal in the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games and a silver medal in the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games, announced during the Asian Games in 2006 that entering the semifinals in August is a "realistic hope".

But China will have its work cut out. The US, Russia and Australia are the undisputed top three teams in the world, while the next seven teams, including China, are all pretty even.

But through the difficulties and pressure, Maher remains upbeat.

"Whoever gets into the top four can win games," he said. "Would it be a big upset to beat one of the big three? Yes. That would be fantastic, but it is not impossible.

(China Daily 04/16/2008 page23)