Wei Jizhong, president of the International Volleyball Federation (FIVB), said during the Volleyball World Cup in Japan that the overall level of the women's game had declined.

"There are few new elements in the women's World Cup," said Wei, who became president of the sport's governing body in 2008. "Brazil is becoming soft, the Americans are no longer as stable as before and the Italian team is facing aging problems.

"The performance in women's volleyball around the world has come to a standstill or even declined, while the men's side has improved quite significantly," the 75-year-old said after the China men's team suffered its third 3-0 straight loss at the World Cup. "Though the China men's team has made progress in recent years, it is still hard for it to play international counterparts, while it should be comparatively easier for women's side."

The China women's team finished third at the World Cup with eight wins, three losses, and was the only team to take points from all of its matches under the new scoring system. Wei said he was surprised by the team's "refreshing" performance, which was a result of its improved defense.

"China women's volleyball improved because we have enhanced our defense. Nothing has changed in the attacking part, but our attack will be effective as long as we are defensively good," Wei said. "But the London Olympic Games will be tougher than the World Cup, because all the powerhouses will make adjustments after discovering their weaknesses at the World Cup."

The Chinese women were on top of the world when they won gold at the Athens Olympics in 2004.

Lang Ping, who used to be a player and a coach with the national team, said that to get back to the peak, China needs to revive the sport in schools.

"Take America as example, children in America normally starts to play volleyball at nine, and they have teams for each age at school until they graduate from university," Lang said. "Volleyball is widely popular in America. More than 2,000 universities have their own volleyball teams, some of them also offer full scholarships, which to a great extent promotes the sport's development in middle schools and high schools.

"I think there are at least 20,000-30,000 people playing volleyball in America thanks to that foundation, and it is quite easy for them to find outstanding players," Lang said.