Basketball World Cup in Berlin: Zhang Ziyu inspires and dominates

Caitlin Clark? Emma Meesseman? Leonie Fiebich? No, no other player is being talked about as much at the Basketball World Cup in Berlin as Zhang Ziyu. The 19-year-old Chinese woman is 2.23 meters tall and therefore towers over all other players in this tournament.

There is always a murmur going through the audience when Zhang Ziyu enters the dance floor. The size differences between her and her opponents are too huge. Even the not exactly small WNBA stars from the USA looked like little basketball dwarves next to Zhang Ziyu.

"I've never played against a woman this size," said US superstar Caitlin Clark, used to all eyes on her, after the US's 94-61 opening win over China. "You can see that she's still learning how to best use her advantage. But when she gets the ball near the basket, there's little you can do about it."

Some experts are already predicting a career in the WNBA for the Chinese woman, who at 2.23 meters is almost certainly one of the tallest women in the world. But it remains to be seen whether this will actually happen. China's national coach Gong Luming speaks of her as "a talent of the century, not only for our country, but for the world." But Zhang Ziyu still has to learn how to deal with her large body.

At the age of seven she was already 1.60 meters tall and was therefore several heads taller than the other girls - and boys - her age. For her size, she has a surprisingly good throw and is not only successful directly under the basket. Zhang Ziyu scored 13 points and converted five of her six shots from the field in the 75:72 win over Puerto Rico, the third win in a row that qualified China for the quarterfinals against France on Thursday (2:30 p.m.).

The race still causes problems for her – like it does for many tall people. Former NBA star Shaquille O'Neal also often dragged himself across the court when it came to getting from basket to basket as quickly as possible. In order to promote their exceptional talent, the Chinese association has set up a special program for them.

This becomes clear during the warm-up before the games, which the 2.23 meter giant does away from the team. With an extra coach, the Chinese woman stretches her body and holds on to the basket board. Almost all of the other players have to jump into the air to do this.

One would like to know how she feels on the field with such physical superiority. But Zhang Ziyu doesn't want to talk in Berlin yet. Even after the win against Puerto Rico, she walked through the mixed zone without saying a word and just gave a friendly wave to the waiting journalists.