Introducing Hend Zaza, the 12-year-old Syrian prodigy competing at the Tokyo Olympics 2020

Tokyo Olympics 2020 will have its youngest participant in Hend Zaza. The 12-year-old will represent Syria in the women's table tennis event. Her journey from Syria to Tokyo has been unbelievable. Facing all of the adversity and fighting through the pandemic, Zaza will be one of the players to definitely keep an eye on. Here are a few details about the young paddler.

Remember what you were doing when you were 12?Syrian table tennis player is making her Olympic debut, the youngest athlete @Tokyo2020@ittfworld Read her inspiring story here:https://t.co/x1ghaQ2xQ7

— Olympics (@Olympics) July 20, 2021

Checkout: Tokyo Olympics Medal Tally

How did Hend Zaza qualify for the Olympics?

Hend Zaza qualified for the Tokyo Olympics at the Western Asia Olympic Qualification Tournament in Jordan. She defeated Lebanon's Marina Sahakian 4-3 in a best-of-seven game to make her way to the Tokyo Olympics. The interesting thing is that Sahakian is 31 years older than Zaza.

The Syrian will be the youngest paddler ever to compete at the Olympics. She will be only the second Syrian paddler to compete in the Olympics. The first one to feature was Hebba Allejji. Hebba was an invitee to the Tripartite Commission and made it to the Women's Singles in Rio. Zaza, however, is the first paddler to appear after qualifying.

Hend Zaza's journey to becoming a paddler

Hend Zaza started table tennis at the tender age of 5. She grew up amidst war and terrorist attacks in Hama. But table tennis was a relief for Zaza. She trained under Adham Aljamaan. The young prodigy trained in a hall with no proper facilities. But that didn't stop Zaza as she put her sole focus on learning the game.

Featured athlete #Tokyo2020 Hend Zaza.Just 12 years old, Hend Zaza is set to be the youngest athlete to compete in Tokyo­—and one of the youngest to ever qualify for the Games—a feat that’s possible because table tennis, unlike some Olympic sports, has no age restrictions. pic.twitter.com/ZgJuNHuItV

— Trademate Sports Betting (@TrademateSports) July 14, 2021

In 2016, she travelled to Qatar for the Asia Hopes Week Challenge. Her true potential was first spotted by ITTF official Eva Jeler. While talking about Zaza, Jeler said:

" 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 is needed and still needs improvement. Her determination, resilience and will to play and win are a guarantee for future success."

Hend Zaza has won national titles in every category. She has been a hopes, cadets, juniors, seniors champion. She is the only Syrian to accomplish this feat.

She will be facing some of the best paddlers in the world. But Zaza has faced situations much bigger than that. Her appearance at the games itself is a ray of hope for the lakhs of people coming from such regions.

Who will Hend Zaza face in the Women's Singles event?

Hend Zaza will face off against Austria's Liu Jia in the First Round of the Women's Singles event