Chinese basketball giant teen tipped for top spot after impressive performances

A 17-year-old Chinese basketball player has been tipped for the top and has been compared to Yao Ming after using her surprising height advantage to dominate an international tournament.

According to FIBA, basketball's governing body, Zhang Ziyu is 2.20 meters tall.

But Chinese media reported earlier this year that she was even taller, measuring 2.28m (7ft 6in).

Regardless, she used her height to help the hosts secure two comfortable wins at this week's U18 Women's Asian Cup in Shenzhen and attracted attention beyond China after images of her were posted online.

Against Indonesia on Monday, Zhang scored 19 points in 13 minutes after coming off the bench in a big 109-50 victory.

Video footage showed her dominating her opponents, with some Indonesian players barely coming up to Zhang's chest, who barely needed to jump to reach the basket.

China then beat New Zealand 90-68 on Tuesday, with the teenager scoring a team-best 36 points. She was also the best in rebounds with 13.

Social media users compared her to former NBA star Yao, who stood at 2.29m and was the tallest Chinese basketball player of all time.

The WNBA requires foreign players to be at least 20 years old, but many observers are already speculating about Zhang's potential future career in the United States.

“Generational dominance,” commented one X user.

“She has a good touch around the basket,” wrote another.

“Most tall people just throw the ball to her and hope it goes in, but she has good form and knows what she's doing. »

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