Zhiying Zeng, a 58-year-old table tennis player from Chile, has defied age and adversity to qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympics. Her journey to the Olympic stage has been a testament to her unwavering determination and the unwavering support of her family.
Zeng’s table tennis journey began in China, where she was born into a family passionate about the sport. Her mother, a table tennis coach, nurtured Zeng’s talent from a young age. By the age of 16, Zeng had become a member of the Chinese national team. However, her Olympic dreams were shattered when a rule change exposed her weakness.
Undeterred, Zeng moved to Chile in 1989 to become a table tennis coach. She resumed playing a few years later and won two national-level tournaments. However, she put her career on hold again to focus on her son’s table tennis aspirations.
In 2020, amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, Zeng picked up the paddle once more. Initially, it was just for exercise, but she soon rediscovered her love for the sport. With the encouragement of her family and friends, she began competing in regional tournaments.
At the age of 57, Zeng qualified for the 2023 South American Table Tennis Championships. Her performance at the 2023 Pan American Games in Santiago was nothing short of sensational, earning her a spot on the Chilean team for the Paris Olympics.
Zeng’s qualification for the Olympics was a poignant moment for her 92-year-old father, who had stayed awake until 5 a.m. in China to witness his daughter’s triumph. He had been the one to take her to training sessions as a little girl, and now, decades later, his dream had come true.
Despite losing in the preliminary rounds of the Paris 2024 qualifiers, Zeng remains unfazed. Her journey has been an inspiration to countless others, proving that age is just a number when it comes to pursuing one’s dreams.
