BEIJING (AFP) — China's sporting idol Yao Ming, the NBA basketball star, has pledged two million yuan (300,000 dollars) in aid for victims of the devastating earthquake, state media reported Wednesday.
The Houston Rockets' star is among a number of Chinese Olympians who have supported rescue efforts, including Liu Xiang, the world and defending Olympic 110m hurdles champion.
"Yao Ming has decided to donate about two million yuan to the Sichuan disaster hit-area," Zhang Mingji, the head of Yao's management team, was quoted as saying by state television.
Earlier, Xinhua news agency said Liu and his manager Sun Haiping had decided to donate 500,000 yuan between them at a donation drive held by China's Olympic teams.
"Although we cannot go there in person, we will do our part in the relief (effort)," Liu was quoted as saying.
The Chinese table tennis team offered 980,000 yuan, and the gymnastic squad put up one million, Xinhua said.
It gave no information on donations from other teams but said China's State General Administration of Sport, which runs all sports teams, had donated five million yuan.
Altogether, Chinese donors have donated 877 million yuan in domestic contributions to the disaster relief fund, state media said.
Donations have also flooded in from overseas following Monday's 7.9-magnitude quake, which has left as many as 50,000 people dead, missing or buried under rubble.
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