Agency :
At 12 years and 204 days, Syrian table tennis player Hend Zaza has become the youngest competitor at the ongoing Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games when she stepped on the court on Saturday.
Facing 39-year-old Austrian paddler Liu Jia, whose daughter is 10 years old, Zaza fell in straight sets without much surprise in the women’s singles preliminary round.
“I hoped to get a win in this match, and have a better play. But she was a tough opponent, and it was a good lesson for me, especially in my first Olympic appearance. Hopefully, I will work on it to get a better result next time,” said Zaza.
“In my first Olympics and the first match in the competition, it’s very tough to mentally prepare for it. But I somehow managed to overcome this, and this is the part that I did my best during the match.”
Zaza booked her Olympic berth through the Western Asia Olympic qualification tournament in Jordan in February 2020, thus becoming the first Syrian to compete in Olympic table tennis through qualification.
Coming from a country impacted by war now and then, Zaza took up table tennis at the age of five, and the sport was an escape.
Without much disappointment after her defeat, Zara had a selfie in the mixed zone with Liu, also offering the latter encouragement to keep fighting in the upcoming matches.
“For the last five years, I’ve been through many different experiences, especially with the war taking place within the country and the postponement of the funding for the Olympics.
“It’s very tough, but I had to fight for it. This is my message to everyone who has the same situation – fight for your dream, and try hard regardless of the difficulties that you are having, you will reach your goal,” Zaza noted.
For her opponent Liu, it was not an easy game either.
“Actually I was so nervous,” Liu admitted. “It will be quite embarrassing for me to lose to such a young girl.”
“Yesterday I told my daughter that I would play against someone just two years older than her. And she said, ‘you cannot lose this game.”
Zaza is the youngest Olympian since 11-year-old Beatrice Hustiu competed in figure skating at the 1968 Winter Olympics.
For Liu, her youngster opponent is a “marvelous” player. “She plays the Olympic Games at only 12. Hat off to her” commented Liu.
Despite failing to qualify for the Olympic main draw, Zaza has set her eyes on the future.
“Next time I will work hard to go past the first, second and third round because I want to stay longer in this competition, not just the first round,” said the Syrian delegation’s flag bearer at Friday’s opening ceremony.
“This is a good experience for her here,” said Zaza’s Coach Adham Jamaan. “No problem. If she keeps practicing, she will become better.”
“She is really something,” said Liu when talking about her opponent. “Such a prodigy as her needs development.”
“Considering her conditions right now, she has played marvelously. But this is a competitive sport. If she wants to beat opponents from other countries, she needs better facilities, and I hope international organizations can help them find better training conditions.
“It’s not easy for her to showcase her level. She has talent,” said Liu.
