Yao Ming to wed sweetheart in August

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.

本周一消息，来自中国的NBA全明星中锋姚明与十几岁时相识的女友经历了八年的爱情长跑后，将于今年8月完婚。

据《体坛周报》消息，一直严密保密自己爱情生活的姚明可能将与叶莉在上海举行一个家庭结婚仪式。上海是姚明和叶莉出生、相识以及开始相恋的地方。

报道中说：“这是两个真心相爱的人的结合。”

1999年，这位身高2米26的中锋与叶莉初次相识，当时他在上海东方大鲨鱼俱乐部的男篮打球，而身高1米9的叶莉则在这个俱乐部的女篮效力。

之后叶莉继续为国家队效力，但近几年她一直受伤病困扰。

在2004年雅典奥运会的闭幕式上，这对体坛情侣手拉着手出现在人们的视线中，两人的恋情首次公开。

据《体坛周报》报道，今年25岁的叶莉是姚明得克萨斯家中的常客，此外，她还在休斯敦大学学习英语。

27岁的姚明可能将于七月份回国参加训练，并将于九月随国家队打一些比赛。

此前网上和各媒体广泛流传的传闻称，姚明的婚礼会在电视上现场直播，跨栏奥运冠军刘翔将担任他们的婚礼司仪。《体坛周报》对这一传闻则是“淡而化之”。

《体坛周报》称，“姚明婚礼那天不会有媒体在场，参加他们婚礼的只会是两家的亲戚。”

Vocabulary:

play down: make little of, minimize the importance of（贬低；淡化…的重要性）