Disgraced Wang returns to Chinese basketball team
Disgraced Chinese basketball player Wang Zhizhi has returned to the national team four years after being kicked out for refusing to play at the 2002 Asian Games, state media said.
Wang, who returned from self-imposed exile in the United States this month, was named in China's 18-man World Championship squad after releasing a three-page written apology to his fans, Xinhua news agency said.
"I want to say sorry to all once again. I was wrong, please forgive me," Wang reportedly wrote. "Please give me a chance to start again."
Wang became the first Chinese player in the National Basketball Association (NBA) when he made his debut with the Dallas Mavericks in 2001.
But he was expelled from the national team after he refused to represent China at the Asian Games in South Korea, preferring to concentrate on the NBA.
He defied Chinese authorities to remain in the US, pursuing a lacklustre NBA career until making a humble return on April 10 -- four months before China hosts the World Championship in August.
Xinhua said Wang has been training alone since returning to Beijing but will join Yi Jianlian, who is also being touted for a move to the NBA, and other squad members on Friday.
Houston Rockets center Yao Ming, who followed Wang to the NBA, will miss initial training sessions as he recovers from a broken foot.
Wang played in the 1996 and 2000 Olympics, averaging 13.5 points and five rebounds in Sydney when he teamed up with Yao as part of China's "Walking Great Wall".
He averaged 22.8 points and 8.9 rebounds when he led the Chinese military club, the Bayi Rockets, to consecutive CBA titles from 1996 to 2001.
The 29-year-old soldier, who was unable to find an NBA team this year, berated himself for walking out on China's national team and military.
"I could not make any achievement without the cultivation of my country and the army," he said.
"However, as a soldier and professional player, when my country and the army called on me, I thought too much of my own interest and lost sight of my duties and responsibilities, then I made the wrong decision."
AFP
