Chinese Zhang Ziyu dominates the Basketball World Cup with a height of 2.23 meters

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 differences in size with their respective 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 of this size," said US superstar Caitlin Clark, who is used to all eyes being on her, after the US's clear win against China. “You can see that she is still learning how to best use her advantage. But if she gets the ball near the basket, there's little you can do about it."

Career in the WNBA?

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 speaks of her as "a talent of the century, not just 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. In the 75:72 win against Puerto Rico, through which China qualified for today's quarter-final against France (2:30 p.m.), Zhang Ziyu scored 13 points and converted five of her six shots from the field.

Special training

The race still causes problems for her - like many tall people. Former NBA star Shaquille O'Neal also dragged himself around the court more 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.

It becomes clear during the warm-up before the games that the 2.23 meter giant competes 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.