Syria's Hend Zaza "Youngest Athlete" in Tokyo Olympics

Despite the war in Syria, 12-year-old Syrian Hend Zaza joined the Tokyo Olympics as the youngest athlete since 1992.

Zaza was competing on Saturday with 39-year-old Liu Jia in the women's singles table tennis preliminary round, and maintained a good style despite losing 4-0.

She was born in the city of Hama, Syria to an athletic family and began playing table tennis at the age of five, yet, frequent power cuts restricted her from practicing the sport during night hours.

[caption id="attachment_256252" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium - Tokyo, Japan - July 24, 2021. Hend Zaza of Syria in action against Jia Liu of Austria REUTERS/Luisa Gonzalez[/caption]

According to her coach Adham Jamaan, the young player involved only in two or three foreign matches a year due to the "civil war".

Jamaan told Reuters that Zaza needs more practice and training, and she will be just fine.

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