(XINHUA)

Lang Ping, head coach of the Chinese Women's Volleyball Team, guided her players to a second-place victory in the FIVB (International Federation of Volleyball) World Championship on October 11, after a 1-3 loss to the United States in Milan, Italy. The result provided a much-needed morale boost for the team, which had been through a string of poor performances.

Lang, 54, played a central role in the Chinese team's winning of its first three world titles: at the World Cup tournament in Japan in 1981, the World Championship in Peru in 1982 and the Los Angeles Summer Olympic Games in the United States in 1984. Nicknamed the "Iron Hammer," she is regarded as one of the most respected athletes in modern Chinese sports history.

Lang coached the Chinese team to win an Olympic silver medal in Atlanta, the United States, in 1996. She also led the U.S. women's team to a silver at the Beijing Olympic Games in 2008. Lang started her second tenure as head coach of the Chinese team in April 2013.