![]() ![]() "I was struck by her physique, quick reflexes and intuition," Jumaan said. She was playing ping-pong with her older brother Obeida, a junior national tennis table champion, in a sports hall in central Syria's Hama. Zaza is set to become the youngest Olympian since 11-year-old Beatrice Hustiu competed in figure skating at the 1968 Winter Olympics.Ĭoach Adham Jumaan says he discovered Zaza when she was only five years old, three years into Syria's devastating civil war. On Saturday, she will kick off the competition against 39-year-old Austrian Liu Jia in the preliminary round of the women's singles. She is the only female member of a six-person team vying for her home country's fourth-ever Olympic medal. Zaza shot to fame overnight in her war-torn country last year after beating a Lebanese rival in her forties to win the West Asia championships, qualifying her for the Olympics. Syria's Hend Zaza was just five when she first picked up a table tennis paddle, and now the 12-year-old is the youngest person to compete at the Tokyo Olympics.
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