CHN - Yao, Ye Li tie the knot in Shanghai

SHANGHAI (FIBA) - China center Yao Ming was married to a member of the country's women's national basketball set-up on Monday in a private ceremony in Shanghai.

The 7ft 6in Yao, 26, married Ye Li, also 26, at the upmarket Pudong Shangri-La Hotel in Shanghai.

Like Yao, Ye, 6ft 2in, also plays center for China. She averaged 11.3 points per game at the Athens Olympics in 2004.

The ceremony was a small affair, with only around 70 guests invited and no media permitted as the couple did their best to keep the event out of the spotlight.

They had received their marriage certificate on Friday night at the Xuhui District Marriage Management Division, which had stayed open late to help them avoid a crowd.

A bigger celebration banquet is now planned for Thursday in Beijing, although no details have been released of the guestlist.

Yao, an NBA All-Star with the Houston Rockets, did not play at the FIBA Asia Championship that finished at the weekend with the country instead sending its second team to the event.

Predictably, the Chinese, who have already qualified for next year's Olympics as hosts of the event, finished a disappointing 10th out 16 teams. 

FIBA