The female Yao Ming? China’s towering Han Xu making her mark in WNBA
- Having grown up idolising NBA legend Yao, the 22-year-old New York Liberty player wants to be a female beacon of Chinese basketball
- ‘I hope I can also make some influence in the WNBA and then transfer my influence back to my country,’ the 6ft 10-inch tall Han says
Han Xu understandably grew up idolising Yao Ming, mesmerised by the giant shadow the 7 foot, 2 inch-tall Hall of Famer cast each time he stepped onto an NBA court.
Standing at 6ft 10 (2.08 metres) herself, Han would like to emulate Yao’s impact – including his influence on the sport in China. The New York Liberty player wants to be a female beacon of basketball back home.
Han is on her way. Fans can’t seem to get enough of the 22-year-old budding star.
“Han and Li [Yueru] have been creating hype online and offline. Many girls have been inspired by Han and Li, and we have numbers to show that more girls have started participating in basketball on all levels,” said China basketball analyst Michael Yuan, founder of Team Fountainhead.
“We can also clearly see more news coverage and other kinds of user generated content on China’s social media platforms.”
Han’s highlights have garnered millions of views on streaming platforms in China. Kuaishou, a global social media platform, recently hosted a live-streaming session with her that generated about 1.6 million views.