Yao Ming and his girlfriend Ye Li China's All Star NBA centre Yao Ming will wed his teenage sweetheart in August, after an eight-year courtship, it was reported Monday. Yao, who has kept his love life closely guarded from the media, will marry Ye Li in a private family ceremony possibly in Shanghai, the eastern metropolis where they were born, met and began dating, the Titan Sports Weekly said. "This is a match based on pure love," the paper said. The 2.26 metre centre first met Ye in 1999 when he was playing for the Shanghai Sharks men's team and the 1.9 metre Ye was with the club's women's team. Ye has since gone on to play for the national side, but has been plagued with injuries in recent years. The two were seen walking hand-in-hand at the closing ceremony of the 2004 Athens Olympics, when their courtship first became public. According to Titan Sports, Ye, 25, has been a regular at Yao's home in Texas. She has also studied English at the University of Houston. Yao, 27, is expected to return to China in July to train and will play matches with the national team in September. The paper played down widespread rumors on the Internet and in the Chinese media that Yao's wedding would be broadcast live on television, with China's Olympic gold medal-winning hurdler Liu Xiang acting as the master-of-ceremonies. "On that day there will be no media, basically it will only be relatives from both sides attending," the paper said. 點擊查看更多雙語新聞 (Reuters)

本周一消息，來自中國的NBA全明星中鋒姚明與十幾歲時相識的女友經歷了八年的愛情長跑后，將于今年8月完婚。 據《體壇周報》消息，一直嚴密保密自己愛情生活的姚明可能將與葉莉在上海舉行一個家庭結婚儀式。上海是姚明和葉莉出生、相識以及開始相戀的地方。 報道中說：“這是兩個真心相愛的人的結合。” 1999年，這位身高2米26的中鋒與葉莉初次相識，當時他在上海東方大鯊魚俱樂部的男籃打球，而身高1米9的葉莉則在這個俱樂部的女籃效力。 之后葉莉繼續為國家隊效力，但近幾年她一直受傷病困擾。 在2004年雅典奧運會的閉幕式上，這對體壇情侶手拉著手出現在人們的視線中，兩人的戀情首次公開。 據《體壇周報》報道，今年25歲的葉莉是姚明得克薩斯家中的常客，此外，她還在休斯敦大學學習英語。 27歲的姚明可能將于七月份回國參加訓練，并將于九月隨國家隊打一些比賽。 此前網上和各媒體廣泛流傳的傳聞稱，姚明的婚禮會在電視上現場直播，跨欄奧運冠軍劉翔將擔任他們的婚禮司儀。《體壇周報》對這一傳聞則是“淡而化之”。 《體壇周報》稱，“姚明婚禮那天不會有媒體在場，參加他們婚禮的只會是兩家的親戚。” （英語點津姍姍編輯）