Hend Zaza Explained

Hend Zaza
Fullname:Hend Abdul Rauf Zaza
Nationality:Syrian
Birth Date:2009 1, df=y
Birth Place:Hama, Syria
Country:Syria
Sport:Table tennis
Club:Al-Muhafaza Club

Hend Zaza (Arabic: هند ظاظا; born 1 January 2009) is a Syrian table tennis player. She qualified to play in the 2020 Summer Olympics in 2021 in Tokyo, through the West Asia Olympic qualifying tournament held in Jordan in 2020.[1] [2] [3] 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.[4] 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, Syria,[4] [5] and started to play table tennis in 2014. In 2016, she attended an International Table Tennis Federation (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 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,[6] 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 after being invited by the Tripartite Commission.[7] 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.[8]

Zaza carried the Syrian flag in the Parade of Nations in the opening ceremony of the 2020 Olympics, along with equestrian competitor Ahmad Hamcho.[9]

In the table tennis women's singles she was defeated in the preliminary round on 24 July 2021 by Liu Jia, a Chinese-born Austrian player aged 39 who had previously competed in every Summer Olympics since 2000.[10] The score was 11:4, 11:9, 11:3, 11:5.[11] [12] After the match Zaza said:

The Chinese Olympic Committee invited Zaza to train in China after qualifying for the 2020 Summer Olympics.[13]

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: Hend Zaza, 11-year-old Syrian table tennis player, qualifies for Olympics . 30 June 2021 . The Guardian . 5 March 2020 . en.
  2. Web site: Singles and Mixed Doubles contenders confirmed for Tokyo 2020 . www.ettu.org . European Table Tennis Union . 30 June 2021 . 7 June 2021.
  3. Web site: Tokyo 2020:List of qualified athletes . ITTF . 30 June 2021 . 24 June 2021.
  4. Web site: Nagpal . Kabir. Introducing Hend Zaza: Syria's 11-year-old star, bound for Tokyo 2020 . International Table Tennis Federation . 30 June 2021 . 10 March 2020.
  5. Web site: Women's Singles - 11 Entries . ITTF . February 2020 .
  6. News: Table tennis-Five to watch at the Tokyo Olympics . 30 June 2021 . Reuters . 4 June 2021.
  7. News: Glenn. Tepper. Marcelo Aguirre and Heba Allejji Awarded Rio 2016 Olympic Games Tripartite Places. ITTF. 19 May 2016. 30 June 2021. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20160828032344/http://www.ittf.com/_front_page/ittf_full_story1.asp?ID=44347&Competition_ID=2440&. 28 August 2016.
  8. Web site: Table Tennis ZAZA Hend - Tokyo 2020 Olympics . olympics.com . 27 July 2021 . en-us . 30 July 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210730165535/https://olympics.com/tokyo-2020/olympic-games/en/results/table-tennis/athlete-profile-n1407844-zaza-hend.htm . dead .
  9. News: Hend Zaza, youngest Tokyo Olympian from war-ravaged Syria, living her dream . 26 July 2021 . Deccan Herald . 23 July 2021 . en.
  10. Web site: 2021-07-24. ‘Fight for your dreams’ – Hend Zaza, 12, makes history at Tokyo Olympics. Carayol . Tumaini . 2021-07-31. . en . https://web.archive.org/web/20210724101142/https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2021/jul/24/fight-for-your-dreams-hend-zaza-12-makes-history-as-youngest-olympian-since-1968 . 2021-07-24 . live.
  11. Web site: Table Tennis - LIU Jia vs ZAZA Hend - Preliminary Round Results . Tokyo 2020 . 24 July 2021 . en-us . 24 July 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210724163945/https://olympics.com/tokyo-2020/olympic-games/en/results/table-tennis/results-women-s-singles-r256-001100-.htm . dead .
  12. News: Wagner. James. 2021-07-24. The youngest athlete at the Games, a 12-year-old Syrian, goes out in a loss in table tennis.. en-US. The New York Times. 2021-07-31. 0362-4331 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210724063408/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/24/sports/olympics/hend-zaza-syria-table-tennis-youngest-athlete.html . 2021-07-24 . live.
  13. Web site: Zhang . Rachel . Syrian table tennis prodigy Hend Zaza, 12, will train in China . South China Morning Post . 7 August 2021 . en . 3 August 2021.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Hend Zaza".

Except where otherwise indicated, Everything.Explained.Today is © Copyright 2009-2024, A B Cryer, All Rights Reserved. Cookie policy.