Meet The Youngest Athlete At Tokyo Olympics 2021 At Just 12 Years Of Age

Set for her first shot in the Olympics on July 24, Hend Zaza is a 12-year-old athlete to compete against her 39-year-old opponent, Liu Jia. The youngest Olympic bound athlete is also the only female member of a six-person team competing for Syria's fourth-ever Olympic medal.

Hailing from Syria, a country, Zaza has been able to play in only two or three external matches a year ever since the beginning of her career due to the war conditions, according to a report by The Independent.

Who Is Hend Zaza?

The minor table tennis player qualified in the West Asia Olympic qualifying tournament held in Jordan last year through which she booked a place in the 2020 Summer Olympics.

She is the youngest at the Games for the year 2020 and the youngest Olympic competitor ever after Beatrice Hustiu.

Here are nine things to know about Hend Zaza:

• Zaza, who first picked up a table tennis paddle when she was just five-year-old will now be the youngest person to compete at this year's Tokyo Olympics.
• Zaza started her sports career with ping pong and her partner was her older brother Obeida, a junior national tennis table champion, in a sports hall in central Syria's Hama, according to a report by the Firstpost.
• Zaza's coach Adham Jumaan, who discovered Zaza when she was five-year-old, stated that he recognised her smartness, determination and ambitiousness and started giving her daily training sessions, the report added.
• Jumaan's efforts paid off when Zaza won the under 12s national competition and West Asia championships right at the age of nine.
• Zaza, who dreams of becoming a world champion and an Olympic champion one day, according to AFP, also wants to finish her studies and become a pharmacist.
• Zaza's father made sure of the fact that she does not miss out on her studies during her practice by arranging for private tuition.
• Among the other titles of firsts, Zaza is also the first from her country to compete in Olympic table tennis through a qualification round.
•  Zaza reportedly said that she started playing because she wanted to be like her brother who was a national champion. When Zaza revealed to her brother the same, he encouraged her a lot and said that if Zaza works hard, she will be able to achieve her goal.
• At such a young age, Zaza won Syrian national titles in all four categories in which she is eligible, including the senior title.

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