tennis, track-and-field, and basketball while Li-Ning is backing four teams-diving, table tennis, shooting, and gymnastics. Li-Ning knows the importance of the Olympic Games: It was founded by a gymnast of the same name who won three gold medals at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. Even some marketers that have been shut out of the Beijing Games have found ways to profit from them. Reebok international Ltd, for instance.has signed a sponsorship deal with Yao Ming, the 226-cm star of the U.S. National Basketball Assn.'s Houston Rockets and a likely Olympic starter.