Yao hopes to excel in new avatar

By Ma Zhenhuan (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-12-19 11:50

SHANGHAI: If you still believe in the adage, busy as a bee, you sure didn't see Yao Ming on the first day of his return to China.

NBA star Yao Ming and Liu Wei, a member of Yao's basketball team, at a press conference in Shanghai on Friday. [Xinhua]

Flashlights began bouncing off the NBA All-Star center as soon as he landed in Shanghai on Thursday night with wife Ye Li. They were back within hours - Friday morning - when he walked with the support of a crutch into Shanghai Sharks' press room.

After a 30-minute program to celebrate the club getting a tire company's sponsorship, he moved to a hotel nearby to do his duty as the image ambassador of WildAid, an environmental protection agency fighting to protect sharks.

Yao has returned to the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) league after seven years. But his return is not as a player, but the owner of Shanghai Sharks. He bought the club for 20 million yuan ($2.93 million) in July.

Dressed in a black business suit, Yao said he was still learning the tricks of club ownership. "It's a pretty interesting process. To me, it's not something like an overnight shift (from player to owner)."

"I maintain good communication and friendship with Shanghai Sharks players through the phone we all know how to distinguish our jobs from our daily life."

The NBA star conceded, though, that he and the club management (called Team Yao) are still undergoing a "gearing-up process". It's a different matter that they are quite confident of making Shanghai Sharks a success in the CBA league.

Yao the player had helped the Shanghai Sharks to win its only CBA national championship in 2002, before flying to the US to start his NBA career.

"I myself played for this club from the age of 14 I am inextricably tied up with the club. That's why I came back to do my part of the job for the club," he said.

Yao's presence has spread the basketball fever in Shanghai. All the 3,000 tickets for Saturday's opening match were sold out within 5 hours, according to the club's general manager Lu Hao.

"Such bullish ticket sales was beyond our expectations," Lu said.

Yao's dream began in Shanghai. And he hopes that his second association with Shanghai Sharks would help the club emerge out of the doldrums and fund crisis, and inject NBA-style business operations and coaching.

Back into the US, Yao spent his injury break to collect information and materials on Shanghai Sharks even after getting a report from Team Yao. The one month he is expected to spend in his hometown of Shanghai to recover from his injury, he said, would help him dedicate more time to the club. He will attend the opening match of Shanghai Sharks and other events related to the club.

The one-month stay will offer him a chance to talk to the club coach, players and the management team, too. Plus, he expects to meet his fans and survey the Shanghai basketball scene.

"Now I have to have clear knowledge about many, many things."

The new CBA season will start at the Yuanshen Stadium on Saturday, with Shanghai Sharks playing Zhejiang Guangsha.