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Basketball star Yao to bow out due to injury
July 10, 2011, Sunday
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YAO Ming and his management team yesterday announced that the Chinese giant would hold a news conference in Shanghai on July 20 about his "personal future development plan."
Yao would have only one plan - he was retiring.
Sources close to the Houston Rockets center said Yao had planned to announce his retirement in August, but several American media preempted his decision by revealing the news on Friday.
Those reports left Yao with no choice and Zhang Mingji, director of Yao Team, confirmed the date of the deadline after a series of emails and phone calls from Shanghai to Beijing with Xinhua.
Yao's retirement may have been unveiled yesterday, but his decision was made months ago.
He played only five matches over the past two National Basketball Association seasons and had two surgeries on his left foot, which was broken during the 2009-2010 postseason and in a regular-season match against the Washington Wizards in 2010-11.
He was recuperating on his own during the past two offseasons in China, spending four hours a day on rehabilitation and workouts, to prepare for a comeback in the NBA.
But he did not devote much time to his recovery after returning from Houston in May. He spent most of the summer travelling around China for numerous fund-raising charities and promoting the Special Olympic Games.
The two surgeries, which were conducted in the United States, inserted a half-kilogram anatomical plates into his left foot, making it hard for the 2.26-meter-high Yao to maintain his balance.
He made a trip to Beijing to have a personal meeting with Xin Lancheng, vice president of the Chinese Basketball Association, two weeks ago. Xin did not release any details of their meeting but sources said Yao told Xin about his future plans. His continuing health problems forced Yao to take a decision even as his growing social responsibilities have dragged him away from the basketball court.
After nine seasons in the NBA, Yao became an icon for Chinese youth. He averaged 19.0 points and 9.2 rebounds in his NBA career, and was selected into the starting line-up of the All-Star Game every season, even when he was injured.
The NBA is one of the most popular sports leagues in China and the viewing rates for NBA matches on Chinese Central Television always topped the charts for the sports channel after Yao joined the Rockets in 2002.
Many of Yao's teammates, or former teammates, at the Rockets signed endorsement contracts with Chinese companies. Some of them, including All-Star guard Steve Francis, even played in the Chinese domestic league.
NBA China's CEO David Shoemaker said Yao's retirement would not diminish the league's booming popularity in China.
Yao would have only one plan - he was retiring.
Sources close to the Houston Rockets center said Yao had planned to announce his retirement in August, but several American media preempted his decision by revealing the news on Friday.
Those reports left Yao with no choice and Zhang Mingji, director of Yao Team, confirmed the date of the deadline after a series of emails and phone calls from Shanghai to Beijing with Xinhua.
Yao's retirement may have been unveiled yesterday, but his decision was made months ago.
He played only five matches over the past two National Basketball Association seasons and had two surgeries on his left foot, which was broken during the 2009-2010 postseason and in a regular-season match against the Washington Wizards in 2010-11.
He was recuperating on his own during the past two offseasons in China, spending four hours a day on rehabilitation and workouts, to prepare for a comeback in the NBA.
But he did not devote much time to his recovery after returning from Houston in May. He spent most of the summer travelling around China for numerous fund-raising charities and promoting the Special Olympic Games.
The two surgeries, which were conducted in the United States, inserted a half-kilogram anatomical plates into his left foot, making it hard for the 2.26-meter-high Yao to maintain his balance.
He made a trip to Beijing to have a personal meeting with Xin Lancheng, vice president of the Chinese Basketball Association, two weeks ago. Xin did not release any details of their meeting but sources said Yao told Xin about his future plans. His continuing health problems forced Yao to take a decision even as his growing social responsibilities have dragged him away from the basketball court.
After nine seasons in the NBA, Yao became an icon for Chinese youth. He averaged 19.0 points and 9.2 rebounds in his NBA career, and was selected into the starting line-up of the All-Star Game every season, even when he was injured.
The NBA is one of the most popular sports leagues in China and the viewing rates for NBA matches on Chinese Central Television always topped the charts for the sports channel after Yao joined the Rockets in 2002.
Many of Yao's teammates, or former teammates, at the Rockets signed endorsement contracts with Chinese companies. Some of them, including All-Star guard Steve Francis, even played in the Chinese domestic league.
NBA China's CEO David Shoemaker said Yao's retirement would not diminish the league's booming popularity in China.
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