The Big China Man Yao Ming

When Yao Ming finally announced his retirement, the big China man not only put an end to a glittering career, but he also left a gaping hole in the legacy of Chinese basketball. There seems to be no one to continue the legacy of one of the finest talents to have ever embraced the game. Yao Ming not only contributed to the sport of basketball in terms of his outstanding talent, he was also an excellent ambassador to the sport. 

If this is not enough, he caused the popularity of basketball in China to rocket and due to his contributions; China became the second largest country in terms of NBA viewership, and it is even now.

Keep in mind that China has an extensive and rigorous state-run athletics program to top the massive interest in the game.

Some pointers might help depict a clearer picture as to why this might be the case.  To start with, China's system is extremely demanding and overburdening for the players. Some critics believe that Yao Ming's career was cut short at the mere age of 30 due to the unreasonable levels of stress he had to endure as part of the Chinese national team.

This focus on winning at the expense of health indeed envelops a huge risk of career threatening injuries. Secondly, China seems to lay all the focus on recruiting tall players. It is worth noting that the NBA has done well in adapting players of all heights in to the game. Besides, if the 5 ft. 3 inch Muggsy Bogues can have a successful career in the NBA, then the Chinese better pay heed to the little master.

And then there is fact that Chinese have a tendency to search for a talent that shines at a young age. There appears to be no relaxation in terms of the time given for a player to develop and harness his potential. The Chinese need to pay attention to Michael Jordan in this scenario, who was dropped from his high school team and later went on to become the icon of basketball.

Last but not the least, there is a strong focus on education in China, a thing which has placed them at par with the Western powers. That in itself is a good thing; however, it can be destructive if it overshadows all other aspects of life, especially sports. Children generally tend to get very less free time to engage in sports as a recreational activity. But as they, to achieve something you have to lose something and unfortunately, it's the hoops  game that is suffering at the moment.

In truth, there are probably many potential future Yao Ming's roaming the streets of Beijing right now. However, it all depends on the state and how it plans to work towards identifying and grooming that talent. For Yao Ming's part, he has assumed the ownership of a Chinese basketball club and rest assured, there will be some stars emerging from that team. Probably at the moment, that is all he can do.