KUALA LUMPUR: A video of a basketball player from China dominating proceedings at the International Basketball Federation (Fiba) U18 Women's Asia Cup in Shenzhen has left social media users in awe.
The video shared by the federation shows Zhang Ziyu, who at 2.2m tall towers over her opponents in a game.
The 17-year-old was seen planting herself under the hoop, plucking the ball from the air with barely a hop and nonchalantly placing it in the net effortlessly in a game against Indonesia.
"No set plays needed — just toss the ball down low and get out of Zhang Ziyu's way," read the post.
Netizens shared their admiration of Zhang with Facebook user GrayZoe Megan saying: "And what is so scary about it is she's playing under 18. Imagine the skill set comes when she is 21... what an advantage for China.. future WNBA player."
Meanwhile, another user, Tim Kinzie said playing a game with Zhang was akin to having adults playing against children.
"It's like having an adult play against third graders," he commented.
Zhang was born on May 1, 2007. Both her parents played basketball professionally in China.
Her father is 2.13m tall while her mother, Yu Ying, a former member of China's national women's basketball team, stands at 1.98m.
According to Chinese state media, by the time Zhang was around 6 or 7 years old, she was already 1.5m tall. By 11 or 12, she had surged to 2.05m.
In 2021, she played in China's U15 National Basketball League and went viral on Chinese social media after she scored a total of 42 points to help her team win the title.