Li's defection to Japan rankles the CBA

The country has been urged to invest more in women's basketball development after a former youth national representative recently became a citizen of Japan.

Although Chinese athletes representing foreign countries in badminton and table tennis is widely accepted, such a case in basketball has stirred a heated debate.

The Chinese Basketball Association confirmed on Monday that former national youth team center Li Mingyang, who left her Beijing team to seek treatment for an injury in Japan in 2010, was later discovered in the Japanese league playing for Chanson V-Magic, boasting Japanese citizenship and having adopted the name Miyuki Sugiyama, which she acquired last May.