Former head coach Gong Luming was replaced by New Zealand national coach Tom Maher, who guided Australia to the bronze medal in the 1996 Olympics and the silver in 2000, China's Basketball Association said in a statement.

Maher will be the first non-Chinese coach to lead the women's team, said Li Jinsheng, vice secretary of the Chinese Women's Basketball Association. Maher was also the first non-American to coach in the WNBA, but lasted just one season with the Washington Mystics in 2001 before heading to New Zealand.

"The women's basketball team's failure in the Athens Olympic games made us very aware of the serious shortcomings of the team in comparison with many European and American teams," the statement said. China finished ninth place in the 2004 games.

The association decided to hire a "high-level foreign coach," and asked Maher to join the coaching staff, the statement said. No details of his contract were provided.

"It would have to be the most sought-after position in world basketball," Maher said. "Coaching a foreign team at their home Olympics is a gigantic step."

The 2008 Summer Games are in Beijing.

Under Maher, New Zealand reached the quarterfinals at the Olympics last summer before losing to Australia.

"The Chinese team at the last Olympics were very young, the facilities there are the best I've ever seen and I will have the opportunity to spend a great deal of time working with the players," Maher said.

Maher was expected to arrive in China on March 18, Li said. Gong took over as coach after the 2000 Games.

(Xinhua News Agency March 16, 2005)