Opinion | Nation expects Yao Ming to succeed in second career
Adored by fans and a media darling, the former NBA centre is coy about his future, but many believe he'll be a hit in business
Yao Ming, the biggest international sports star yet produced by China, says his studies at Shanghai Jiao Tong University are now his priority, sidestepping questions about his career plans.
The former Houston Rockets centre, who spent eight seasons playing in America's National Basketball Association competition before retiring in 2011, said last week that he was "tied up in preparations for exams". He is a second-year student in the university's economics department.
Yao remains a media darling not only because of his 2.29-metre height and his achievements on the basketball court, but also because of his engaging off-court personality.
Mainlanders have high hopes for Yao - dubbed the country's smartest athlete - envisioning him becoming a successful businessman and philanthropist.
The former sports star said he currently spends about a third of his energy running the Yao Foundation, the charity he launched in 2008, but would not offer any hints about the direction his career could take.
Many had hoped Yao, now 32, would come to the rescue of the mainland's embattled charity sector after a scandal involving the Red Cross Society of China erupted two years ago.