#Zaza was invited to China to train ##12岁叙利亚女孩的乒乓球梦想 #
The youngest athlete at the Tokyo Olympics was Hendza Zaza, a 12-year-old female table tennis player from Syria, who made history despite a round trip at the Tokyo Olympics. Today, Zaza is attracted by the fast movement and beautiful rhythm of Chinese table tennis players when hitting the ball, and she is eager to come to China to study and train.
As the youngest athlete at the Tokyo Olympics, Zaza attracted the world's attention. She served as the flag bearer in syria's six-member delegation, showing the world the extraordinary courage of this war-torn country. Not only is Hendzaza the youngest Olympic table tennis player ever, she is also the youngest Olympian since the 1968 Winter Olympics.
In the first round of singles, Zaza lost 0-4 to Austria's 39-year-old veteran Liu Jia, bidding farewell to the Tokyo Olympics. "It's hard, but I have to fight for it. That's the message I want to send to everyone in my situation – fight for your dreams, whatever difficulties you encounter, you have to work hard, and you will eventually reach your goal. Zaza's words after the game were moving.
As Zaza's opponent, Liu Jia, who is 27 years older than her, gave high praise to the Syrian teenager, "I think she is so good, it is not easy, and she is a girl, she participated in the Olympic Games at the age of 12, she is very calm, because the child is likely to be ignorant on the field." The feeling on the hand is really good, she is really talented, this kind of talented athlete really needs to be cultivated. ”
Zaza told Xinhua that the idols she worshipped were Ma Long and Ding Ning of the Chinese table tennis team, and one day she wanted to be like them. "Their movement and rotation are great, I try to learn their sports through the videos of them playing ball, and I also want to come to China and participate in table tennis training camps." The Chinese Olympic Committee was touched to learn of Zaza's story and invited her to come to China in September this year for professional table tennis training to help her improve her performance and strength. After learning the news, Zaza was very excited, "I am very much looking forward to going to China to receive the same training as Chinese players, so that I can continue to improve, I hope to reach the level of Chinese players, my dream is to be as strong as Chinese players, I love China!" ”
Some netizens' comments are deeply rooted in people's hearts: "It is precisely because I have been drenched in rain that I want to hold an umbrella for others." "It is precisely because China has also experienced turmoil that it is better able to understand the feelings of others."
After returning to Syria from Japan, Zaza has been busy training in preparation for an upcoming table tennis tournament in Jordan, however, she is worried that she will not be able to make the trip because the road to the neighboring country has recently been blocked by skirmishes between government forces and local rebels in Syria's southern Province of Deira.
Training conditions in Syria are tough, with many players, including Zaza, sharing four ping-pong tables and a bag of balls, and these players don't even have a tees and new rackets. In the city of Hama, where Zaza is located, they often face the threat of war, and they have to endure constant power outages while training. Zaza's coach, Mohammed O'Gurley, revealed that the poor economic situation at home and international sanctions have devastated Syrian sports. He added that the spread of COVID-19 has also caused inconvenience to athletes' training and lives, as they cannot easily participate in external training camps.
Another coach, Ali Harak, said that in the current situation in Syria, Zaza is still persevering, she has realized her dream of playing on the big stage of the Olympic Games, she has a strong sense of initiative, the tokyo Olympic qualification is the best reward for her efforts, for a young player who is only 12 years old, it is a great achievement to participate in such an international competition.
Despite the wars and crises, Zaza believes that "nothing is impossible, athletes should train non-stop and carry their dreams." ”