China's newly appointed national swimming coach thinks his wards can one-up the squad's Olympic achievements when the World Championships roll round in July.

"The situation now is even better than it was during the Olympics in August," said Yao Zhengjie. "We are aiming to win at least one gold medal (at the worlds).

"We have an advantage in the women's relay as well as in the men's freestyle, where Zhang Lin has showed great potential. From my point of view, there are five to seven events we have a chance of winning."

The appointment of Yao, who replaced Zhang Yadong as head coach yesterday, marks the start of a new cycle of Olympic preparation for the 2012 London Games.

Zhang, who will serve as the vice-president of a sports academy in Zhejiang province, achieved success at the last two Olympics but he does not appear to have exhausted China's winning potential.

He mentored Athens Olympic breaststroke champion Luo Xuejuan then steered China's swimmers to one gold, three silver and two bronze medals at the Beijing Games last summer.

"Based on what he has achieved so far, I plan on taking Chinese swimming to a whole new level," said Yao, Zhang's long-serving former assistant.

"I have been involved in the sport for over 30 years and I am very familiar with how it has developed. I'm confident I can meet people's expectations."

This means avoiding a repeat of the 2007 World Championships in Melbourne, which yielded China its worst medal crop in 17 years with a meager one silver and one bronze.

Yao pointed at successful high-plateau training as one of the immediate goals of his time behind the wheel.

"We will stick to the high-plateau training and figure out the best program for the athletes," he said. "Many Chinese coaches still don't have advanced or systematic training programs so we will provide a platform for them to exchange ideas with other top coaches."

There will also be a new emphasis on swimmers training abroad, one of several re-thinks that has gained Yao the support and confidence of the sport's governing body here.

"He has rich experience and much knowledge of the sport. Combined with his strong reputation and coaching ability, we think he is the best man for the job," said Shang Xiutang, deputy director of the Swimming Administrative Center.

(China Daily March 3, 2009)