The "three big balls", soccer, basketball and volleyball, are seen as important indicators of a country's sporting strength. China, who topped the 2008 Beijing Games gold medal tally, faces the embarrassment that it is struggling in these sports. Photo/Agencies

Sports powerhouse China still has lots of work to do in lifting its overall strength as soccer, basketball and volleyball have hit lean times, Tang Yue reports

The Year of Tiger saw China roar at the Vancouver Winter Olympics and the Guangzhou Asian Games as the nation collected record golden hauls at both events.

However, it was a different story when it came to the "three big balls", soccer, basketball and volleyball, which are also important indicators of the country's sporting strength.

At the Asiad on home soil in November, the men's soccer team disappointed local fans by losing to Japan 3-0 in its opening group match and then falling to South Korea by the same scoreline in the round of 16.

Three months later, in Qatar, China failed to advance to the knockout stage of the Asian Cup after losing to the host in its group match.

These results have convinced fans it will be extremely difficult for China to win its early qualifying matches for the 2014 World Cup, which kick off in June.

The once-mighty women's team also disappointed. By finishing fourth at the Asian Cup, China, the runner-up at the 1999 World Cup, failed to qualify for this year's World Cup for the first time. Its fourth-place finish at the Asiad was also its worst performance at that event.

On the basketball court, without Yao Ming, China's men's team managed to finish a lowly 16th at the FIBA World Championships last July and recorded only one victory - over Cote d'Ivoire in a group match.

The performance of the women's squad was even worse. It lost all three of its group matches and finished 13th at the Worlds, its worst result in the past 27 years.

However, compared to the disappointments of soccer and basketball, Chinese fans found it far harder to swallow the failure of the once glorious women's volleyball team.

The side, which dominated the world by winning World Cup, World Championship and Olympic titles in the 1980s and also the 2004 Olympic gold medal, hit rock bottom at November's World Championship when it failed to reach the quarterfinals.

On a positive note, it did convince fans of its never-say-die spirit by fighting back from 0-2 down after two sets and 12-14 in the fifth to defeat South Korea in the final at the Asiad.

The biggest tournament this year is November's World Cup in Japan, where the top three teams will earn berths at the London Olympic Games.

However, while the national teams failed to deliver on the world stage, the domestic leagues have been undergoing some changes that bode well for the future.

In a nationwide clampdown on soccer gambling and match-fixing, a number of leading officials, including then sport's chief Nan Yong and his predecessor, Xie Yanglong, as well as the man dubbed "Golden Whistle", referee Lu Jun, were arrested for allegedly taking bribes.

Insiders say the moves have helped create a healthy environment for the professional soccer league and investors are now keen to show faith in the competition.

Shortly after Guangzhou was relegated to the second division in March for its role in match fixing in 2006, the Evergrande Group, which already owned a women's volleyball team in the domestic league, bought the club.

It then put together an expensive lineup by signing a lot of national team players, foreigers and South Korean coach Lee Jang-soo.

The side won the League One title and is now aiming for a top-four finish in the top-flight league this season.

Meanwhile, Evergrande's women's volleyball team, which is considered the first truly professional club and starkly different from the other mainly local government-funded sides, also advanced to the top league after one year in the second-tier competition.

Under the guidance of legendary player and coach, Lang Ping, and with talented foreign players, including renowned Logan Tom from the US and Jovana Brakocevic from Serbia, the team is currently second in the on-going top-flight league and is expected to challenge seven-time champion Tianjin for the championship.

On top of the team's good run, Lang, who led China and the US to Olympic silver medals as well as coaching in the Italian and Turkish leagues, said big corporate investments, like Evergrande's, could lead to a more professional league, which would then provide the base for a stronger national squad.