China bids fond farewell to cage hero Yao Ming

SHANGHAI – Chinese fans lamented the retirement of their biggest sports star Yao Ming on Wednesday, but said his departure could pave the way for the next homegrown basketball icon to emerge.

“Let’s send our applause out to the big guy for he did something that no one else has done before,” said Gao Tian, a photographer. “What he achieved in the NBA is remarkable and deserves the applause of fans.”

A beloved figure in China, the towering 2.29m (7ft 6in) centre for the Houston Rockets announced his widely anticipated retirement at a press conference in his hometown of Shanghai.

His exit brings an end to a highly successful career leading China’s national squad and a trailblazing eight years in the NBA, all of which made him China’s best-known athlete abroad and helped spur the game’s global growth.

Yao, 30, cited his most recent in a string of injuries — a stress fracture in his left foot — as a key factor and Chinese fans agreed it was time to step down.

“Every sportsman has his or her prime, so did Yao Ming,” said Gao.

“So many great players retired, so how could Yao be the one exception? His retirement just told us he is a normal human being, not god.”

Yao’s future has been a source of national sporting angst as his injury woes escalated in recent years, and his retirement dominated China’s media.

News portals set up special pages on Yao, while state-run CCTV and other broadcasters ran hours of reports on his retirement and retrospectives on his glittering career.

Fans thanked him for deepening the country’s love of basketball and bringing China success on the court — he led China to three Asian basketball championships, although the team struggled in the Olympics and World Championships.

“Thank you, Yao Ming, for growing with us over the past nine years,” a user identified as Tian Junfeng said in a posting on the popular microblog service of Internet portal Sina.com.

“Tears filled my eyes throughout your farewell briefing. It is you who reintroduced me to the NBA. Thank you, Yao Ming. Don’t cry.”

But amid the praise, some also expressed concern over whether Yao’s contribution in raising basketball’s popularity in China would melt away in his absence from the court.

“Yao’s exit will take many fans away from the NBA, especially Chinese fans,” said Mike Qian, a software engineer.

“Lots of people know the Houston Rockets only because of Yao and support the team only because of Yao. So I guess such support will be gone with Yao’s departure.”

Yao was not the first Chinese national to play in the NBA but he was easily the best and most popular, revered for his humility off court and his class and ability on it.

“Every time people saw Yao Ming playing on the inside, shooting baskets or dunking over the heads of American players, it encouraged domestic basketball fans,” said Jason Zhu, a Shanghai civil servant.

“For basketball fans, it is a pity.”

But the photographer Gao and other admirers expressed hope that his legacy would endure.

“In China, we have a good saying: ‘The waves behind ride on the ones before, and the new generation exceeds the old’. So his era is over and we are looking forward to new talent.”

NBA commissioner David Stern released a statement praising Yao as “a transformational player and a testament to the globalisation of our game.”

Yao said he planned to focus on his role as owner of the Shanghai Sharks, the team where he started his professional career and which he bought in 2009.