Asian Games 2023: Yao Ming sorry for ‘cancelling’ China basketball press conference after semi-final loss to Philippines
- NBA legend takes ‘responsibility’ as men’s national team initially fail to speak to media after defeat
- Captain Zhao Jiwei and his coach Aleksandar Djordjevic eventually return from athletes’ village and apologise to fans for performance
Yao Ming apologised to reporters on a dramatic night for Chinese basketball at the Asian Games, where the men’s side lost their semi-final to the Philippines and then seemingly cancelled their post-match press conference.
The NBA legend, a former star with the Houston Rockets who is now the president of the Chinese Basketball Association, said there had been an error in communication with the team after Wednesday night’s heartbreaking 77-76 defeat, according to local media on the ground in Hangzhou.
Popular sports blogger Li Xuan wrote on Weibo that, after the Philippines had finished their press conference, the host announced they had been notified the Chinese men’s basketball team had cancelled their press conference.
The Chinese reporters present booed, according to Li, and asked the host to announce it again so that everyone could record it on video.
One reporter even quipped: “This is more embarrassing than losing.”
Li speculated that the team may have got word of the media’s angry response, which was why “the matter later turned around”. After about 10 minutes, reporters, who were already on the media bus, received notice that “the China men’s team is willing to hold a press conference again”.
