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Friday, May 29, 2020, 18:15
Coach: Chinese women's basketball team mentally stronger
By Xinhua
Friday, May 29, 2020, 18:15 By Xinhua

Xu Limin (R), head coach of the Chinese team, taps a high five with players during women's basketball final between China and the unified team of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and the Republic of Korea (ROK) at the 18th Asian Games 2018 in Jakarta, Indonesia, Sept 1, 2018. (HUANG ZONGZHI / XINHUA)

BEIJING - Xu Limin, head coach of Chinese women's basketball team, says his team is mentally stronger in preparation for the postponed 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

"We have stayed together for two months, working on improving our weakness, especially some fundamentals," Xu said here on Friday, "We trained six hours per day, sometimes we held scrimmages, or invited the men's team of Beijing Sports University to play training matches with us."

We have stayed together for two months, working on improving our weakness, especially some fundamentals

Xu Limin, Head coach, Chinese women's basketball team

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The team returned to China in early March after they had qualified for the Tokyo Olympics, where they would train in isolation at Beijing Sport University instead of their familiar training base at the General Administration of Sport.

The 54-year-old revealed that they had even held reading parties and calligraphy competitions to help the players grow stronger mentally. According to Xu, he and his team are looking forward to playing at the Olympics next summer, when they will be physically and mentally stronger.

READ MORE: China coach Xu upbeat amid Olympic qualifiers upheaval

Looking back on his team's Olympic qualification journey, where they had to play 'home' games in the Serbian capital of Belgrade rather than on their usual home court in Foshan, Xu said: "The coronavirus outbreak changed everything. At that time, the team was very young and under huge pressure; however, we managed to find a way to turn disadvantages into advantages, so the whole qualification journey had a special meaning for us."

China's head coach Xu Limin (second right) gives instructions during the women's basketball 5x5 Group B match between China and Thailand at the Asian Games 2018 in Jakarta, Indonesia on Aug 15, 2018. (DING TING / XINHUA)

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