Zhiying Zeng was born in 1966 to a mother who coached desk tennis. She picked up a paddle as quickly as she might maintain it, joined a junior elite workforce at a navy sports activities faculty in Beijing at age 11, and turned professional at age 12.
And like most different younger athletes, she had aspirations to make the Video games: “It was the largest dream of my life,” she instructed CNN Sport. “Even after I was somewhat woman and they might ask me what my dream was, I might say: ‘Turn into an Olympian.’”
However it wasn’t till this summer season—after a 20-year hiatus from the game at one level and a transfer from China to Chile—that she lastly achieved that purpose: Zeng made her Olympic debut in Paris at age 58, making her one of many oldest athletes at this yr’s Video games.
Though she misplaced to Mariana Sahakian of Lebanon 4-1 within the preliminary rounds on July 27, Zeng nonetheless has loads of causes to be proud. Her husband and two grownup sons had been there to cheer for her, in line with Reuters. And her 92-year-old father in China lived to see his daughter’s lifelong dream come true.
“At my age, it’s a must to play with happiness, not anguish,” Zeng instructed The Guardian, including that she was proud to play for Chile, the place she goes by the identify Tania. “I really like this nation. I didn’t attain my dream in China, and I’ve right here. It’s vital not to surrender.”
In keeping with CNN Sport, Zeng was coached by her mother till age 9. Earlier than she turned professional, she received the nationwide junior championship in addition to a number of regional tournaments. In 1983, when she was 16, she was referred to as as much as the Chinese language nationwide workforce—a powerhouse within the sport.
Then, a rule change in 1986 threw her off her recreation. Beforehand, the 2 faces of the paddle—which have totally different results on the spin, velocity, and energy of the ball—might be the identical shade. Zeng would usually rotate the paddle to throw her opponents off.
However the “two-color rule” specified that just one facet of the paddle might be black, eradicating her aggressive benefit. “The rule killed my recreation,” she instructed The Guardian. “I felt weak, psychologically and technically.”
So 38 years in the past, she left the nationwide workforce and retired. In 1989, she moved to Chile to teach kids. She began enjoying once more, briefly, in 2003 as a result of she thought her 13-year-old son was enjoying too many video video games and wished to introduce him to one thing extra lively.
The technique labored—her son developed his personal ardour for desk tennis—and Zeng nonetheless had expertise, profitable a number of tournaments. However she stopped once more when her son was sufficiently old to coach on his personal.
For the following 20 years, she targeted primarily on working her furnishings retailer in Iquique, a city in northern Chile. It wasn’t till the COVID-19 pandemic put the nation on lockdown that she picked up a paddle once more. She purchased a desk simply to remain lively and performed alone for hours a day.