Chinese women's coach confident in new job for Turin

The newly appointed China's short track speed skating coach Yi Min said he was confident as the former coach of Olympic champion Yang Yang (A) is leading the Chinese women skaters in the build-up for the Winter Olympic Games in Turin next year.

Appointed the coach for the women's national team early in January, Yi faces a herculean task of living up to Chinese' expectations. The summer Games Asian giant broke the winter Games gold medal jinx four years ago when Yang clinched the 500m and 1,000m titles in the Salt Lake City.

"No one set goals for me at next year's Winter Olympic Games. Yet, the job is a brain straining one," said Yi, who is here for the three-day short-track world speed skating championships that started on Friday.

"For a coach, the national team is his or her ultimate goal and it is the same for me," said the 45-year-old. "There will be much difficulty and pressure ahead but I am confident."

Yi arrived in Beijing eight days after his appoitment for the job.

"I felt rather abrupt when the skating association informed me of the appointment," said Yi, who was previously coach of the provincial short-track speed skating team of Heilongjiang.

"I coached Yang Yang (A), Wang Meng and Fu Tianyu before in the provincial team and now what I do is to know them better," he said.

Yi coached Yang during 1994-1995 and Wang, finishing third in the 1,500m Friday night at the world championships, during 2000-2002 and Fu, 1995-2001.

Born in Inner Mongolia, Yi became a speed skating teacher in a physical education institute in Harbin, Heilongjiang, where he graduted in 1985.

He was called into the provincial team for training research four years later before took over the team as coach in 1994.