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Li's husband takes over coaching reins(Reuters)Updated: 2007-01-05 18:10 BEIJING, Jan 5 - Li Na is to be coached by her tennis-playing husband in a bid to bolster the Chinese number one's "weak mentality", the China Daily reported on Friday. Jiang Shan was officially appointed to the post by the China Tennis Association (CTA), the newspaper said. The 24-year-old Li has a reputation for being temperamental but is also highly talented and became the first Chinese to reach a grand slam singles quarter-final at Wimbledon last year and is currently ranked 21st in the world. Her husband Jiang is a former player in Li's home province of Hubei with no previous experience of coaching but was credited with persuading his then girlfriend to return to tennis after she quit the sport in 2002. "I think Jiang is able to give Li what she needs most over the coming years," CTA chief Sun Jinfang told the paper. "For sure, Li is one of the most talented players in China but her weak mentality hampers her improvement. Jiang is exactly the right person to help her psychologically in training and competition." Li, who was knocked out of the Australian Open warm-up tournament on the Gold Coast on Tuesday, has been through five coaches in the last three years. "BIG HEADACHE" "Finding her a good coach has been a big headache for us," Sun added. "I think this is the best decision we could have made right now." Romantic associations are not always encouraged by China's sports administration and two women table tennis players have been kicked off the national team for having relationships with top men players in recent years. "It is very common that girls have romances," national team tennis coach Jiang Hongwei said. "Of course we do not interfere with their private lives, but we will help the players find a boyfriend when needed. "I think romance is a kind of motivation for them. "It's totally normal for top players to come to a tournament with their families." Li remains China's best hope of a singles gold medal at the Beijing Olympic tennis tournament in less than two years time. "Li is obviously a big part of the Beijing Olympic Games next year so we want her to play solid tennis and not be disturbed by other factors," CTA vice director Gao Shenyang told the paper. "Now Jiang is there, hopefully he can calm her down and help her keep on winning."
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