Hend Zaza may have lost in the first round to Austria's Liu Jia, but the 12-year-old paddler made an indelible mark at the Tokyo Olympics.
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Young Syrian table tennis player Hend Zaza may have lost her opening round match at the Olympics, but left the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium with her head held up high. Zaza, the first Syrian to compete in the Olympic table tennis through qualification, lost to Austria’s 39-year-old Liu Jia 11-4, 11-9, 11-3, 11-5 in the first round. On paper, the teenager was clearly the underdog drafted against a 6-time Olympian, who was more than thrice her age. The mere fact that Zaza qualified for the Games is an achievement in its own way. The 12-year-old is the youngest athlete in the current Games and the youngest table tennis athlete ever at an Olympic Games.
Throughout her life, Zaza has defied odds, emerging from war-torn Syria to become her country’s flagbearer in the Opening Ceremony. The 12-year-old has found her feet on the international stage after overcoming numerous obstacles, including a lack of infrastructure and the limitations imposed by the coronavirus pandemic. It was no surprise to see the young teenager being content with her performance despite bowing out of the Olympics. “Reaching the Tokyo Olympics was already an achievement, I wasn’t asked to win, I was asked to play well,” Hend Zaza told Olympics.com after. “I think I had a good performance and I learned from the loss. Hopefully in the next Olympics, there will be something in it for me.”
Hend Zaza was a child prodigy and it did not take long for those around her to realise the young lad’s potential. It all started when she first picked up a bat at the tender age of five in 2014. With the young Zaza displaying a lot of promise, coach Adham Aljamaan took her under his wing at the local club in her hometown of Hama.
The city of Hama has been devastated by war, but table tennis has proven to be a source of joy for the youngster. Table tennis was more than just a sport for her – it was also a source of hope in difficult times. In 2016 she traveled with her brother to the West Asia Hopes Week and Challenge in Qatar to practice with older players and gain sufficient experience.
The young Zaza then earned a spot at World Hopes Week and Challenge as a competitor. It was then that she was spotted by ITTF official Eva Jeler, who was taken aback by this resolute young girl’s performance. She later told the ITTF website, “I have very rarely seen a player at this age play with such joy and train with such intensity as Zaza. She never walked to pick up the ball – she ran. While of course her technique needed and still needs improvement, her determination, resilience and will to play and win are (almost) a guarantee for future success.”
She plays for the Al-Muhafaza Table Tennis Club in Damascus and has won national titles at all levels – hopes, cadets, junior and senior. The hall where she trains in Hama is not exactly of an Olympian standard, as reported by the ITTF. The tables are old and the floor beneath them concrete, Hend Zaza also had to deal with frequent power cuts. As a result, the athlete has to depend on daylight to train and practice for matches. She has to sweat it out in temperatures that can reach up to 40 degrees Celsius and above.
Not to mention the coronavirus restrictions that would have hampered her training routine over the past year. It is difficult to train and prepare in these conditions to compete with well-funded elite athletes from other countries. But Zaza, who was born in 2009, did just that a year ago to secure her Olympic spot.
Hend Zaza qualified for the Tokyo Games after winning the West Asia Olympic qualification tournament in Jordan. The then 11-year-old booked her Olympic ticket after seeing off 42-year-old Mariana Sahakian of Lebanon for the women’s singles title, 4-3. Zaza is the first Syrian to compete in the Olympic table tennis through qualification.
It was not a surprise to see her at the centre of the spotlight going into the Tokyo Games. Carrying the flag for her country in the opening ceremony at the age of 12 is no easy feat. However, the task that awaited Hend Zaza in her opening round was a daunting one against 6-time Olympian Liu Jia. There was a gulf of experience between the players as Liu Jia won the European title in 2005 – four years before Zaza was even born.
The veteran Austrian player – as expected – won the match in straight games. But that defeat cannot undermine her incredible journey, which has been nothing short of inspirational. “In my eyes I accomplished something. A twelve-year old girl playing against a 39-year-old and taking nine or ten points, this is an achievement,” she said. “For sure, I wanted to win and take one or two matches, but hopefully in the next Olympics.”
Hend Zaza will be 15 years old by the time Paris 2024 arrives, and she will still be inexperienced on the international circuit. But if her life has taught her anything, it is that she’ll never give up and that no obstacle is too difficult for her to overcome.
