Wang Zhizhi bids farewell to last Olympics

He is the first NBA player from China and a four-time Olympian. He used to conflict with Chinese basketball officials, but now becomes the morale-boosting leader of the Chinese basketball team.

He is Wang Zhizhi, the most respected player in the Chinese team after NBA Houston Rockets star Yao Ming stepped down.

Wang ended his fourth Olympic journey after China was eliminated from the London Olympic Games on Monday without winning a match.

"Life is filled with happiness and sadness. We've fallen behind the best teams in the world, but Chinese basketball has to move on," he said after China lost to Britain 58-90.

Though the Chinese side failed to make any mark on the match, Wang spared no effort to lead the team with 11 points and 5 rebounds. At the beginning of the match, the 35-year-old even presented a rare and emotional slam dunk.

"This was my last Olympics. Thanks for everyone's support. I'll miss playing for Team China. We tried for a better result and we still have a long way to go," he said.

A bitter smile could be seen on the face of the modest player. His former teammate and good friend Yao, who is at the London Games working for a Chinese broadcaster, gave him a deep hug after the match to bid farewell.

The 214cm tall center became an Olympian in the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, where he started and averaged 11.1 points and 5.6 rebounds, helping China to finish in eighth place.

Wang again starred for China in the 2000 Sydney Olympics, averaging 13.5 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game, but China only ranked 10th.

A year later, Wang was finally let go by his Army club and the Chinese basketball officials to pursue his NBA dream, two years after he was drafted by Dallas Mavericks.

Though his on-court time is very limited, he is the pioneer of Chinese players in NBA, followed by Bateer, Yao Ming and Yi Jianlian.

However, Wang was dismissed from the Chinese team for failing to return to China to train in 2002, and therefore he missed the 2004 Athens Olympics.

In 2006, Wang finally returned to China and publicly apologized his mistakes and expressed his willingness to represent China. At the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Wang and Yao led China into the top eight.

After Yao left the team, Wang was a significant contributor to Chinese team, winning the 2010 Asian Games and 2011 Asian championships.

After taking the Asian title back in 2011 and qualified for the London Games, Wang received a best tribute from his teammates on the podium, with all the gold medals on his neck and all the teammates bowing towards him.

Talking about the past year, Wang said "we had many injuries and many people didn't think we would make it here. We were pleased to win the Asia championship and make it to London."

At the London Games, China lost all the five matches by large margin. "There are still differences in strength in comparison to other teams. We shouldn't lose confidence as we will improve in the future," Wang added.