Yao says China must play tough

China need to become more robust if they want to win an Olympic basketball medal at the 2008 Beijing Games, Houston Rockets centre Yao Ming said.

Driven by Yao's dominating presence, China made it to the quarter-finals of last year's Athens Games to equal their best Olympic basketball result.

"I am looking forward to a better result than eighth place at Athens. To win a medal on home soil is our goal," Yao was quoted as saying.

The 2.29-metre (7 feet 6 inches) centre returned to China this week to take part in an NBA outreach event and to join the national team for the Stankovic Cup, a tournament that begins on July 26 in Beijing.