Three years and a half after being expelled from the national team, Chinese basketball player Wang Zhizhi released a written apology to home fans here on Sunday for his decision of turning down national duties.

On the same day the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) put Wang's name on a 18-member squad which was to start a training camp in Beijing next week in preparation for the World Championship slated for August in Japan.

"I want to say sorry to all once again. I was wrong, please forgive me," Wang said in the three-page written apology. "Please give me a chance to start again."

Wang, an army officer playing with the Bayi Rockets before going to the United States, became the first Chinese to play in the NBA when joining the Dallas Mavericks in April 2001. However, after finishing the 2001-2002 NBA season and the contract with the Mavericks, Wang ignored the call to join an national training camp and play in the Asian Games in order to earn an new offer from NBA teams, prompting the CBA to expel him from the national team in October 2002.

Following unsuccessful spells with the Los Angeles Clippers and Miami Heat, Wang failed to sign a new contract with any NBA team before the 2005-2006 season. In early April, he finally came back to Beijing, returning to his homeland for the first time in four years.

"I could not make any achievement without the cultivation of my country and the army," Wang said. "However, as a soldier and professional player, when my country and the army called on me, I thought too much of my own interest and lost sight of my duties and responsibilities, then I made the wrong decision (not to return to play for the national team)."

Wang Zhizhi, who has been training alone since arriving in Beijing on April 10, will join NBA potential Yi Jianlian, former national teammates Du Feng and Zhu Fangyu in the training camp, which is to start on Friday.

Yao Ming and Li Nan, regular starters of the Chinese national team, will miss the early sessions of the camp due to injuries.

Source: Xinhua