{
  "id": 5279085,
  "title": "The bizarre reason why Dallas Wings’ Li Yueru won’t play for China at FIBA World Cup",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/03/the-bizarre-reason-why-dallas-wings-li-yueru-wont-play-for-china-at",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-09-03T07:54:28.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Yahoo Sports",
    "slug": "yahoo-sports",
    "url": "https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/bizarre-reason-why-dallas-wings-075428628.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The Dallas Wings' star center, Li Yueru, will not participate in the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup representing Team China due to an unexpected mishap. According to sources, the talented player misplaced her passport, causing her to miss the opportunity to be part of the national team. Grant Afseth of the Dallas Sports Journal reported that Li Yueru has been working diligently to find her lost document, but despite her efforts, it remains unaccounted for. In the statement, Li Yueru expressed her disappointment, acknowledging that setbacks are an inevitable part of life. She is thankful for the unwavering support from fans and the basketball community. Although the Chinese team is still expected to kick off their match against Team USA, their absence of a solid bench player like Li Yueru, who has been contributing 3.3 points, 2.6 rebounds, and 0.4 assists per game this season, may impact their performance.",
  "summary": "Team China will be without star WNBA center Li Yueru because of an unexpected mistake. Team USA will kick off their 2026 FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup against Team China.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 3,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Malay Mail",
        "title": "Brazil and Japan to play World Cup rematch at Singapore’s four‑team tournament in November",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/03/brazil-and-japan-to-play-world-cup-rematch-at-singapores-four-team",
        "published": "2026-09-03T09:33:11.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Yahoo Sports",
        "title": "USA FIBA Women's World Cup schedule 2026: Channel, live stream to watch every United States basketball game live",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/03/usa-fiba-womens-world-cup-schedule-2026-channel-live-stream-to-watch",
        "published": "2026-09-03T10:00:01.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}