China's beach volleyball future may be in doubt

By Guo Shipeng

BEIJING (Reuters) - China put a lot of time and money into winning their first beach volleyball medals, but the sport's future might be in doubt unless more people take it up, their head coach said on Thursday.

Top seeded Tian Jia and Wang Jie won a silver and Xue Chen and Zhang Xi took bronze in Beijing, both against top teams from beach volleyball powerhouses America and Brazil.

It was a big breakthrough for China, whose previous best was when Tian and her former partner made the last 16 in Athens.

"The sports administration has poured a lot of resources in to helping our training and giving us opportunities to take part in international competitions," coach Miao Zhihong told Reuters.

The team now spends about three months a year in Sanya, a resort on the tropical island of Hainan, in a training base opened last year with government and corporate money.

"It's good to have a permanent home," Miao said. "But the popular base of beach volleyball in China is still not very good and we are short of elite players."

"Europeans and Americans love sunshine and the beach. It's a natural thing for them, but the sport was only introduced into China some 10 years ago," he said.

"If its popularity does not rise, I'll be a little worried."

Chinese, especially women, do not like to tan. It is associated with poor laborers who have to toil under a hot sun.

While Miao cited China's average income level -- low by Western standards -- as a factor for beach volleyball's sparse popularity, the booming economy, better standards of living and a new taste for recreational sports bode well for the sport.

The natural talent pool should grow and the way athletes are fostered will change from the current scouting method, although that has worked well for the Beijing Games.

"I did not choose beach volleyball. It chose me," said 23-year-old Wang, who hails from the landlocked region of Xinjiang in China's far west.