Syrian Hend Zaza, Youngest Athlete of Tokyo Games 2020

Hend Zaza is a Syrian table tennis player who is just 11-year-old is to be the youngest athlete in the all-important Tokyo Olympics 2020.

She broke into Tokyo Games when she won West Asia Olympic Qualification tournament in Jordan, last week.

Zaza, who is 11 was, took birth on January 1, 2009, in Syria. Before she entered the West Asia Olympic Qualification tournament, she was ranked 155^th in the ITTF world ranking. She won the final against Mariana Sahakian who is from Lebanon and is 42-year-old. She won this women’s singles title, 4-3. The age gap between then was a whopping 31-years.

While she won the women’s singles, men’s singles title was won by Ali Alkhadrawi of Saudi Arabia and qualified for Tokyo.

Sky Brown, the youngest participant of Britain is also 11 but will turn 12 two weeks before the games start.

Though she is the youngest participant at this year’s Olympics, she is overall the fifth-youngest Olympian and the youngest since 1968 when Beatrice Hstiu of Rome participated.

Syria has never participated in the Olympics and Hend is set to become the first table tennis player for Syria.

Table tennis women’s singles are to start from 25^th July while the finals are to be played on 30^th July.

“Congratulations, our champion Hend to the Tokyo Olympics 2020,” the Syrian Olympic Committee said on its Facebook page.

Dimitrios Loundras was a Greek gymnast who won a bronze medal at the Athens games of 1896 at the age of 10 years and is the youngest Olympian till date.