HONG KONG — In China, she’s known as the “female Yao Ming.”
A video that went viral this week shows Zhang Ziyu, a 7-foot-3 basketball player from Shandong province, dominating her competition on the court at the FIBA Under-18 Women’s Asia Cup in Shenzhen, China, where Zhang was making her international debut.
Chang, a 17-year-old centre, stands head and shoulders above his opponents, showcasing his size and reach while effortlessly intercepting passes and shots.
She’s also a scoring machine, nonchalantly reaching out and dropping the ball into the net. In China’s opening game against Indonesia on Monday, Zhang made 9 of 9 field goals and scored 19 points in just 13 minutes. She also had seven rebounds, two assists, two steals and three blocks to help China win 109-50.
She also scored 36 points, grabbed 13 rebounds and blocked four shots on Tuesday against New Zealand, leading China to a 90-68 victory and advancing to face Japan on Wednesday.
On Chinese social media, Zhang’s incredible height has sparked excitement and comparisons with former Houston Rockets star Yao.
How do you want to attack? “But there’s a tower under the rim?” asked one YouTube comment.
“She’s only 17 and tall, I wonder if she’ll keep growing? It’ll be hard to find clothes that fit her,” said user X.
Zhang, whose parents were both professional basketball players in China, was 5ft 2in tall when he was in the first grade of primary school. By the sixth grade, he was 6ft 9in, according to Chinese state media.
She currently stands at 7 feet 3 inches tall, three inches shorter than the 43-year-old Yao, who was one of the tallest players in the history of the National Basketball Association.
The average height of a player in the Women’s National Basketball Association is about 6 feet.
“Some things you can’t control. I see my height as a gift to myself,” Zhang was quoted as saying about his height in an article published by the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) on Wednesday.
Zhang, who garnered attention in 2021 after helping his team win the China U-15 National Basketball League title, said he is not thinking too much about the future and is instead focusing on improving his skills.
“You can reach the basket easily, but basketball is definitely much more than that,” she said. “You have to learn a lot.”
