November 6, 2003 - Twenty one years ago, after Zhao Ruirui's mother gave birth to her, a nurse looked at the over-sized baby and said; "Oh, this baby has such long arms and legs. Believe me or not, she will become another Lang Ping when she grows up."

Lang, nicknamed "ironed hammer" by Chinese fans, is the most famous spiker in the history of Chinese women's Volleyball who helped China win five straight titles in the 1980's including the World Cup, World Championship and Olympics.

Zhao did not let the nurse down. She has grown to 196cms, much taller than Lang, and become one of the best spikers and blockers in the world.

"I hope someday I will become the best blocker in the world, thus I can build a Great Wall at the net for the Chinese team," Zhao said after lifting China to a straight-sets win on Sunday over defending champions Cuba at the 2003 women's World Cup with 11 kills and a game-high of four blocks.

At the conclusion of the first-round competitions at the World Cup, Zhao ranked first in blocking and second in spiking among more than one hundred elite players from the world. Nevertheless, Zhao cared more about China's results than her own statistics. "The most important thing is that we keep winning," she said.

With both her parents former Volleyball players, Zhao inherited their height, speed and facility. Her versatile skills in attack and defense made her indispensable to the Chinese team. "Obviously she has an advantage because of her height and she moves very well in the court," said Dominican Republic's head coach Jorge Garbey after their 3-0 loss to China, in which Zhao had five blocks and eight kills to finish with a game-high of 14 points. "She is great both defensively and offensively, she is very difficult to play with."

Zhao overcame a major injury to consolidate her position in the Chinese side. Playing club Volleyball with Bayi, Zhao made her international debut in 1999. However, she had her meniscus (knee ligament) torn the same year, which forced her out of action for more than half a year.

Following her comeback late in 2000, Zhao made her fame at the 2001 Asian Championships by claiming the Best Scorer and Most Valuable Player awards. In 2002, Zhao was elected the Most Popular Player at the World Grand Prix, where China finished runners-up to Russia before helping China win the Swiss International Tournament, the World Grand Prix and the Asian Championship this year.

With five straight wins in hand already at the 12-team round-robin World Cup, Zhao and her teammates are in a good position to win the first World Cup title for China in 18 years and regain the glory of the "Old Chinese Women's team". "To win the championship has been my dream for years, I will not let the chance slip away," she said.