Chinese coaches and officials are panicking that meat-free diets imposed on Olympic athletes outside their training camps are hampering their performances in the lead-up to the London Games.

Chinese athletes have been ordered to minimise the risk of accidental doping from clenbuterol-tainted meat this year by steering clear of pork, lamb and beef. The coach of China's women's volleyball team, however, has blamed three weeks on a vegetarian diet for his team's four straight defeats at the recent world grand prix tournament in Ningbo.