HONG KONG — In China, she’s being known as the “feminine Yao Ming.”
In a video that rapidly went viral this week, Zhang Ziyu, a 7-foot-3 basketball participant from Shandong province, will be seen towering over her opponents on the court docket throughout the FIBA Underneath-18 Ladies’s Asia Cup in Shenzhen, China, the place she made her worldwide event debut.
Zhang, a 17-year-old middle, stands head and shoulders above her opponents, demonstrating her superior dimension and attain as she effortlessly intercepts passes and pictures.
She can also be a scoring machine, casually reaching as much as drop the ball into the online. In China’s opening recreation in opposition to Indonesia on Monday, Zhang scored an ideal 9-for-9 from the sphere for 19 factors in simply 13 minutes, including seven rebounds, two assists, two steals and three blocks to assist China win 109-50.
She adopted up on Tuesday with 36 factors in opposition to New Zealand, whereas additionally knocking down 13 rebounds and rejecting 4 pictures on the defensive finish. China received 90-68, and can subsequent play Japan on Wednesday.
On Chinese language social media, Zhang’s unbelievable top has drawn marvel and comparisons to Yao, a former Houston Rockets star.
“How do you need to assault when there’s a tower beneath the rim?” learn one touch upon YouTube.
“She’s nonetheless 17 and tall, however I’m wondering if she’ll continue to grow? It should be laborious to search out garments for her,” stated a person on X.
Zhang, whose dad and mom each performed skilled basketball in China, was 5 ft 2 inches tall within the first grade, in response to Chinese language state media. By sixth grade, she had reached 6 foot 9.
At her present top of seven foot 3 she is 3 inches shorter than Yao, 43, who was one of many tallest gamers within the historical past of the Nationwide Basketball Affiliation.
Gamers within the Ladies’s Nationwide Basketball Affiliation common about 6 ft.
“There are some issues we will’t management. I regard it as a present to me,” Zhang was quoted as saying about her top in an article revealed Wednesday by the Worldwide Basketball Federation (FIBA).
Zhang, who beforehand gained consideration in 2021 when she helped her staff win China’s U15 Nationwide Basketball League, stated she doesn’t assume an excessive amount of in regards to the future and is concentrated on enhancing her abilities.
“I can simply attain the basket. However basketball is certainly greater than that,” she stated. “I’ve to be taught loads.”