Youngest competitor Zaza hopes to send message of "fighting for dream"
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./ agency