Hend Zaza ( ar, هند ظاظا; born 1 January 2009) is a Syrian

table tennis Table tennis, also known as ping-pong and whiff-whaff, is a sport in which two or four players hit a lightweight ball, also known as the ping-pong ball, back and forth across a table using small solid rackets. It takes place on a hard table div ...

player. She qualified to play in the

2020 Summer Olympics The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the ...

in 2021 in

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

, through the West Asia Olympic qualifying tournament held in

Jordan Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...

in 2020. At the age of 12, she was the youngest person to compete in Olympic table tennis, and the fifth-youngest person to compete in the modern Olympics. She was the youngest competitor at the 2020 games, and the youngest Olympic competitor since Beatrice Huștiu, a Romanian figure-skater who competed in 1968.

Biography

Zaza was born on 1 January 2009 in

Hama , timezone = EET , utc_offset = +2 , timezone_DST = EEST , utc_offset_DST = +3 , postal_code_type = , postal_code = , ar ...

, Syria, and started to play table tennis in 2014. In 2016, she attended an

International Table Tennis Federation The International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) is the governing body for all national table tennis Table tennis, also known as ping-pong and whiff-whaff, is a sport in which two or four players hit a lightweight ball, also known as the p ...

(ITTF) "Hopes Week and Challenge" event in Qatar with her older brother, and her potential was noticed. She plays for the Al-Muhafaza Table Tennis Club in

Damascus )), is an adjective which means "spacious". , motto = , image_flag = Flag of Damascus.svg , image_seal = Emblem of Damascus.svg , seal_type = Seal , map_caption = , ...

and has won national titles at all levels: hopes, cadets, junior and senior.

Olympics 2020

Zaza is the first Syrian to compete in the Olympic table tennis through qualification, although some sources report incorrectly that she is the first Syrian to compete in table tennis at the Olympics. Her compatriot Heba Allejji competed in the

2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics ( pt, Jogos Olímpicos de Verão de 2016), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad ( pt, Jogos da XXXI Olimpíada) and also known as Rio 2016, was an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 20 ...

after being invited by the Tripartite Commission. In order to qualify for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic games, 12-year-old Zaza beat 42-year-old Lebanese player Mariana Sahakian in the finals of the West Asia Olympic Qualification Tournament in Amman, Jordan. Zaza carried the Syrian flag in the

Parade of Nations The Olympic Games ceremonies of the Ancient Olympic Games were an integral part of these Games; the modern Olympic games have opening, closing, and medal ceremonies. Some of the elements of the modern ceremonies date back to the Ancient Games from ...

in the opening ceremony of the 2020 Olympics, along with equestrian competitor Ahmad Hamcho. In the table tennis women's singles she was defeated in the preliminary round on 24 July 2021 by

Liu Jia Liu Jia ( Chinese: 刘佳; born 16 February 1982 in Beijing, China) is a Chinese-born Austrian left-handed table tennis player. Early life From 1992 to 1995, Liu attended Shichahai Sporting High School in Beijing. Afterward she became a member ...

, a Chinese-born Austrian player aged 39 who had previously competed in every Summer Olympics since

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...

. The score was 11:4, 11:9, 11:3, 11:5. After the match Zaza said: The

Chinese Olympic Committee The Chinese Olympic Committee (; IOC code: CHN) has been the officially designated body of the People's Republic of China (PRC) regarding the Olympic Games and other affiliated international sport federations since 1979, when the Nagoya Resolu ...

invited Zaza to train in China after qualifying for the 2020 Summer Olympics.

References

External links

2020 Olympics profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zaza, Hend 2009 births Living people People from Hama Olympic table tennis players of Syria Syrian female table tennis players Table tennis players at the 2020 Summer Olympics