Volleyball coach Lang Ping is even bigger in China than NBA superstar Yao Ming. Like Yao, she also plies her trade outside its borders.

Lang, a former national team player and coach, has joined the mass exodus of Chinese coaches.

She currently trains the US women's team, which booked its place at the Beijing Games by finishing third at the 2007 World Cup and now poses the biggest threat to Olympic favorites China.

"I am sure my team and I will receive the second-biggest applause after the home squad," Lang said after the US defeated Japan to secure its Olympic ticket in the recent World Cup.

The 47-year-old Beijing native seemed relieved at the warm welcome she still enjoys from Chinese fans.

She said she initially hesitated to accept the offer to coach the US team when it was put on the table two years ago.

At the time, debate raged in China on how this could potentially handicap China's chance of winning.

However, a poll showed more than 80 percent of local fans felt she should take the job.

"I am Chinese and I believe the fans here will be very proud of me because I am bringing a great team here," she said.

It was tough for Lang, known as Jenny Lang in the US, to book her trip home.

The US team has consistently underperformed since her arrival due to a spat of injuries and a paucity of talent.

But Lang, who raised China up from underdog to silver medalist at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics and again at the 1998 World Championships, put on another magic show for the US.

The team defeated powerhouses Cuba and Brazil to keep a clean sheet in the first eight matches of the World Cup and seize the bronze medal.

The Beijing Games will be Lang's third Olympics.

At Los Angeles 1984, she won gold with the Chinese team as an ace spiker and captured the hearts of a generation of budding Chinese sports fans.

In Atlanta in 1996, she won silver as a coach and practically saved China from dropping out of the world top 10.

"For an athlete or a coach, the desire to take part in the Olympics is very strong," she said. "I am glad that I will have such an experience again."