Chinese fans braced for Yao's retirement

Yao has called a news conference in Shanghai on 20 July to talk about his future, but it is understood that the 7ft 6in tall Chinese superstar will quit after his promising career was hampered by foot and leg injuries.

The top overall pick in the 2002 draft missed the whole 2009-10 season, then lasted only five games in 2010-11 before sustaining a bone bruise and fracture in his left ankle. He underwent surgery in January, and was hopeful of returning to Houston this season, even though his contract expired.

But Yao turns 31 in September, and a source close to him said he decided the risk of another injury and subsequent rehab was too great. Yao was an eight-time All-Star, and averaged 19 points and 9.2 rebounds per game in eight seasons. He was already an international star before the Rockets made him the top pick.

Yao made it to the play-offs four times, and helped Houston win a first-round series in 2009 for the first time since 1997.

He is second in team history in blocks (920) behind NBA all-time leader Hakeem Olajuwon, and sixth in points (9,247) and rebounds (4,494).

His impact on the NBA transcended statistics, as he became a global icon, and expanded the league's reach throughout China and across Asia. Merchandise sales and TV ratings for games rocketed.

Speculation about Yao's retirement triggered a frenzy in China. Fans flooded online forums to react to the news. One wrote: "He's China's top athlete, it's a pity to lose such a sports icon."

The country's most popular online portals, sina.com and sohu.com, headlined the news of his possible retirement prominently on their home pages.

Yao's life was intensely scrutinised in his home country. When his wife, Ye Li, became pregnant, Chinese fans wondered if the baby would be born there or in America, and Yao said the couple's decision would be "private". The baby girl was born in Houston in May 2010. John Huizinga, one of Yao's American agents, would not confirm the early reports of Yao's decision to retire, out of respect for Yao's privacy. "The guy has worked very hard, he's put up with a lot, carried a lot of burden for a lot of people," Huizinga said. "I think he would like to run this part of his life the way he'd like to run it. I understand other people don't feel that way. I don't like it, but I'm not going to be able to change it."

At other times, Yao embraced the spotlight, and was eager to show his national pride. He carried the Olympic torch through Tiananmen Square and bore his country's flag during the opening ceremony for the Olympics in Beijing in 2008.Yao also donated $2 million to set up a foundation to rebuild schools destroyed by the earthquake in Sichuan province in May 2008.