Imaginechina
Syria’s Hend Zaza reacts during her women’s table tennis singles preliminary round match against Austria’s Liu Jia at the Tokyo Olympics.
The 12-year-old Syrian table tennis player Hend Zaza, the youngest competitor at the ongoing Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, has been invited to train in China by the Chinese Olympic Committee, China Central Television reported.
Born in war-ravaged Syria, Zaza started playing table tennis at the age of 5 and continued training in tough conditions, a story that has touched a lot of people’s emotions, despite her first-round defeat.
Zaza is looking forward to her trip to China. “I hope to reach the level of Chinese players. My dream is to be as strong as Chinese players,” Zaza said in an interview with CCTV.
If everything goes well, Zaza will set out to visit China in September this year.
“I want to go abroad for training so that I can make continuous progress and realize my championship dream,” Zaza said.