Yao Ming ready to roll

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BEIJING: The broken foot of China's giant basketball centre Yao Ming has healed and the NBA All Star is aching to get back on court and lead his nation at next month's Beijing Olympic Games.
Yao began full contact scrimmaging with the national team last week and is expected to see action at the Stankovic Cup that begins tomorrow with China facing European powerhouse Serbia, team manager Hu Jiashi said yesterday.
China's Lithuanian coach Jonas Kazlauskas is hoping to get the Houston Rocket centre on court as soon as possible so that the towering superstar can better mesh with the team before the Olympics, he added.
The seven-foot-six-inch (2.26m) Yao broke his foot while playing for the Rockets in February and has not played since.
“Right now he has no pain, he is just getting a bit tired and his muscles are sore ... but he is not feeling any discomfort in the area where he was injured,” Anthony Falcone, Yao's personal trainer, told Titan Sports Weekly.
Bigger than life: A Chinese man walking past an Olympic promotion showing basketball star Yao Ming and the National Stadium at the new international airport in Beijing yesterday. – AFP
“The only thing he wants is that the Olympics begin as soon as possible ... right now he is only thinking about getting on the basketball court and playing games.”
Besides being one of the most recognisable faces of the Beijing Games and arguably the most successful Chinese athlete ever, the multi-millionaire Yao is expected to lead his team to glory in front of home court fans.
China will face the United States on the opening day of the August Olympics basketball tournament and will also meet current world champions Spain, African champions Angola and two other qualifiers in Group B.
While four teams from each group qualify for the championship round, many view China's chances of winning a medal as slim or none.
“The US and Spain have a much higher level than us, realistically speaking the opportunity to get points from them is really small,” Yao admitted.
“The key is you have to win the games that you need to win, and along the way there will be ups and downs, but this team has prepared for a long time, the nation has prepared for a long time, we will not disappoint anyone.” – AFP