Promising Chinese basketball star left out of Olympic squad

Beijing – Eighteen-year-old promising star, Wang Zhelin was left out from the basketball squad as the Chinese Olympic Committee, on Tuesday, announced the national team roster for the London Games.

The 2.14-metre Wang started to hit headlines after his outstanding performance during the Nike Hoop Summit in April, where he earned 19 points, eight rebounds, two blocks and one steal as a starter to help the World Team to a 84-75 victory over the USA Select team, reported Xinhua.

Wang played for the Chinese national team for the first time in a friendly game on May 16. He was also included in China’s preliminary squad for London Olympics, but was left out as the squad was finally trimmed to 12 men.

“Wang is a good young player with great potential. It is a pity he failed to make it into the final squad. The team’s current tactics need more perimeter players, so we had to give up Wang,” said Hu Jiashi, Vice President of Chinese Basketball Association.

“But he is still young and he will have a lot of opportunities to prove himself in the national team,” Hu added.