i'm sorry if this has been posted before. here's the excerpt of the chronicle rocket summary. I think Yao was joking although he did have trouble mathching up against Bateer back in China. i don't think he meant to compare Bateer to Shaq. but i can see why people read it that way. i hope he will be careful what he says in future.
He did have trouble with Bateer in China because he is physically stronger than Yao. I don't think he meant to compare Shaq to Bateer but someone might get the idea from his quote that he was comparing the two players to each other.
I do not think that he was comparing Bateer to Shag. He was comparing his trouble about having to face physically stronger players. I think that he give credit/respect to both.