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May 23, 2010

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Home » Sports » Basketball

It's a girl for China's NBA hero

BASKETBALL star Yao Ming is the proud father of a baby girl after his wife, Ye Li, gave birth in the United States on Friday.

Yao's daughter, whose name has not been revealed, was born naturally in a hospital in Houston, Texas, on Friday afternoon.

She weighed 3.6 kilograms and both mother and daughter are doing well, said Larry Zhang, Team Yao's press officer in Shanghai.

"Happy to announce the arrival of our baby daughter," the 29-year-old father said on his Facebook page.

"This is a very special moment in our lives and we thank everyone for the kindness and support."

But Yao also expressed the hope that his daughter could grow up in an atmosphere without too much media attention.

As the baby was born in the US, she automatically gains US citizenship, but she could claim Chinese citizenship as the child of Chinese nationals.

Chinese law does not recognize dual citizenship.

The nationality of Yao's daughter is a controversial topic but thousands of online comments on China's major portal Websites expressed understanding and support for the girl's US citizenship.

Many of Yao's teammates, including Liu Wei and Yi Jianlian from China's national team, sent congratulations and blessings for the new arrival.

Luis Scola, power forward of the Houston Rockets, even congratulated Yao in Chinese on Twitter.

The child has been a hot topic, with fans estimating that, as Yao was 2.26 meters tall and Ye 1.9 meters, she could grow to 1.99 meters, a height which would make her a potential basketball star.




 

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