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 group at a army sports activities college 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 most important dream of my life,” she instructed CNN Sport. “Even once I was slightly woman and they’d ask me what my dream was, I’d say: ‘Turn into an Olympian.’”
But it surely 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 objective: 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 have been there to cheer for her, in response to Reuters. And her 92-year-old father in China lived to see his daughter’s lifelong dream come true.
“At my age, you need 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 title Tania. “I like this nation. I didn’t attain my dream in China, and I’ve right here. It’s vital not to surrender.”
In response to 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 group—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, pace, and energy of the ball—could possibly be the identical coloration. Zeng would usually rotate the paddle to throw her opponents off.
However the “two-color rule” specified that just one aspect of the paddle could possibly 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 group 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 abilities, profitable a couple of tournaments. However she stopped once more when her son was sufficiently old to coach on his personal.
For the following 20 years, she centered primarily on operating 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.
