The sky is her limit!

Touch the charm of basketball - Zhang Ziyu's basketball dream

First, the pinnacle stands proudly

Unconsciously, a girl with a height beyond ordinary people descended on the basketball world like a thunderbolt, causing a commotion in the sports circle. In this ordinary world, there is an extraordinary existence, she is the rising star of the Chinese women's basketball team, Zhang Ziyu.

On June 24, 2024, in the group stage of the 2024 FIBA U18 Women's Basketball Asian Cup in Shenzhen, Zhang Ziyu, who is only 17 years old, ushered in his international debut. In just 13 minutes, she bombarded her opponent with amazing statistics, contributing 19 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals and 3 blocks in an all-round performance, helping the Chinese team defeat the Indonesian team 109-50 and draw a successful end to her international debut.

After the game, commentators praised Zhang Ziyu's performance, describing her performance as a "dimensionality reduction blow". The Indonesian players couldn't help but smile awkwardly when they defended, because they poked their heads out and could only appear on Zhang Ziyu's waist. How tall is this high-flying Chinese girl?

It turned out that in order to match Zhang Ziyu's height, a 2.5-meter-high interview background board was specially made. In an interview, Zhang Ziyu revealed his height for the first time, "not as tall as everyone thinks, currently 2.23 meters, 2.24 meters."

Such a height is rare in the women's basketball world. Many netizens sighed, "The oppression is invincible" and "It's like beating a child". And some people also said that Zhang Ziyu's talent is very high and the future is promising, but it is necessary to pay attention to protection and not let her participate in high-intensity training too early.

Second, the beginning of the story

To say that Zhang Ziyu's basketball path has been foreshadowed long before she was born. She was born into a family of former professional basketball players. The father is 2.13 meters tall, and the mother is former women's basketball player Yu Ying.

According to Yu Ying, when Zhang Ziyu was 5 years old, she came to the court for the first time to watch her father play, and she became very interested in basketball, and even proposed to "go head-to-head" with her father at that time. It can be seen that basketball seems to be engraved in Zhang Ziyu's blood.

As a "petite" girl who has been a head taller than her peers since she was a child, Zhang Ziyu has been in contact with basketball since she was 8 years old and began formal training. In the six years of primary school, her height has grown by about 10 centimeters almost every year, and by the sixth grade, she has reached 2.11 meters tall.

Such an amazing height made Zhang Ziyu comparable in height to Yao Ming in the women's finals of the National U15 Basketball League, achieving a real dominance of the basket, cutting 42 points, 25 rebounds and 6 blocks, helping the Shandong Xiwang team win the championship. The foreign media exclaimed, "The sky is her limit!"

3. Shine on the international stage

Zhang Ziyu's outstanding performance in the domestic arena has also attracted the attention of international media. According to CNN, "Zhang Ziyu's video of playing ball has gone viral on social platforms, and some fans have compared her to Yao Ming." Fox News also said that she is "the next Yao Ming of the WNBA".

In June 2024, in the second round of the group stage of the U18 Women's Basketball Asian Cup, Zhang Ziyu broke out again, scoring a game-high 36 points to help the Chinese team defeat the New Zealand team 90-68 and win two consecutive victories. The American "Sports News Network" also predicts that Zhang Ziyu will be eligible for the WNBA draft in 2027 (when he turns 20) according to the WNBA international player age regulations.

CNN says that while Zhang still has a long way to go to reach Yao's career heights, her performance this week is sure to be of interest to WNBA teams across the United States. The sports website "SBNATION" also lamented, "There has never been such a talented player in women's sports, and as a basketball player, the sky is her limit."

It is unbelievable that such a 17-year-old girl has already shown such strong skills and potential on the international stage. Her outstanding performance has not only won wide attention in China, but also attracted great attention from overseas media. People can't help but look forward to what kind of turbulent waves this "female Yao Ming" will set off in the basketball world in the future.

Fourth, forge ahead

For Zhang Ziyu, the most important thing is to maintain a stable performance in the future arena and become the "pillar" of the Chinese women's basketball team. As an adolescent girl, she had to deal with the physical changes brought about by her rapid growth in height, as well as the pressure of intense training and competition.

Fortunately, Zhang Ziyu has a good family environment and professional training guarantee. She has received systematic basketball training since she was a child, and has received more competition opportunities and professional guidance in a famous basketball school like Tsinghua University High School.

In addition, as a descendant of a sports family, Zhang Ziyu also has a unique advantage. Not only do they have height genes, but they can also learn valuable basketball experience from their parents. It also laid a solid foundation for her future development.

Of course, even with such outstanding talent, Zhang Ziyu needs to put in hard work to succeed. As some fans said, "We must improve our strength and confrontation in order to better play our own advantages." Only by constantly enriching ourselves can we achieve greater achievements in the international arena.

Fifth, the future can be expected

The emergence of Zhang Ziyu has undoubtedly injected a strong vitality into the Chinese women's basketball team. As a representative of the next generation of basketball superstars, her performance has not only attracted attention at home and abroad, but also brought infinite possibilities to the future development of the Chinese women's basketball team.

For Zhang Ziyu, there is still a long way to go. But as long as she can continue to maintain her diligence and fighting spirit, she will definitely be able to soar in the sky of basketball. As someone said, "The sky is her limit, but her sky has no limit!"

We are looking forward to the wonderful performance of this "female Yao Ming", and believe that she will be able to write her own brilliant chapter in the palace of basketball. Let's one

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Fifth, take off the blue sky

As a new force in the Chinese women's basketball team, Zhang Ziyu undoubtedly shoulders a heavy burden. She not only wants to win glory for the country, but also brings new vitality to the women's basketball career. With such a heavy responsibility, the young girl must always be vigilant and focused, and dedicate herself to training and competing.

On the road ahead, Zhang Ziyu needs to continue to improve his comprehensive strength. Her height advantage is undoubtedly a big weapon, but if she wants to shine on a top-level court like the WNBA, height alone is not enough. She also needs to constantly hone her skills, including agile footwork, accurate shooting, excellent ball intelligence, etc. Only by being well-rounded can you truly become a great basketball superstar.

At the same time, Zhang Ziyu also needs to enhance his psychological quality. The intense training and competitive pressure will undoubtedly bring great challenges to this adolescent girl. But only by learning to adjust her mentality and maintain a good mental state can she play her best at the crucial moments and lead the team to victory.

Of course, in this process, Zhang Ziyu also needs the full support of his family and coach. They need to give the young man enough love and trust to help her overcome the difficulties of growing up. Only in such an environment can Zhang Ziyu devote himself to training with peace of mind and give full play to his potential.

I believe that as long as Zhang Ziyu can make unremitting efforts, he will be able to show a more dazzling light in the future arena. She will become the new leader of China's basketball industry, win glory for the country, and become the never-fading goddess of basketball in the hearts of hundreds of millions of fans. Let's witness the wonderful moment of this "women's basketball Yao Ming" taking off in the blue ball sky!