Hend Zaza's Tokyo 2020 adventure came to a quick end but the youngest Olympian in almost 30 years told youngsters around the world to "fight for your dreams".
Aged only 12 years and 204 days old, Zaza – who was Syria's flagbearer at Friday's opening ceremony – is the youngest competitor at a Games since 11-year-old Carlos Front and and 12-year-old Judit Kiss competed in rowing and swimming for Spain and Hungary respectively in 1992.
Zaza's story is an inspiring one. Her home city of Hama was destroyed by war and finding facilities in which to train can often be a challenge.
She was beaten 11-4 11-9 11-3 11-5 by 39-year-old Austrian Jia Liu, appearing at her sixth Games – three of which in 2000, 2004 and 2008 Zaza was not even born – in Saturday's preliminary round.
"For the last five years I've been through many different experiences, especially when there was the war happening around the country, with the postponement with funding for the Olympics, and it was very tough," Zaza said.
"But I had to fight for it and this is my message to everyone who wishes to have the same situation. Fight for your dreams, try hard, regardless of the difficulties that you're having, and you will reach your goal."
Zaza conceded the excitement of Friday's ceremony coupled with the effects of jet lag may have been contributing factors in her defeat.
"Yesterday we had to start our journey to the Olympic opening ceremony at six o'clock, which is quite early, standing there, or preparing, till 11 or after 11, which is quite a long time," she added.
"Getting ready for the morning session, plus the jet lag, which is seven hours difference from Syria, both are definitely factors that put me out of my comfort zone."
Opponent Liu revealed how she had some pressure at home from her daughter, explaining: "Everybody knows that losing to someone so young can be a bit embarrassing.
"Yesterday I asked my daughter, 'do you know your mother is playing against someone two years older than you?'
"Her first response was 'then you better not lose!' I said 'don't give me pressure!' I did tell the media though that if I did lose I would jump off my balcony. So my daughter said 'if you really lose, please don't jump. You've got to come home.'"
Liu also spoke of her admiration for her young opponent.
"There's sport and there's life. There are people who have to endure difficulties," she added.
"They are amazing, it hasn't been easy for them. She's a girl, too – to be in an Olympics at 12, in my heart I really admire her."
Wolmer’s completes dominant season with ISSA all-island U-19 boys' and girls' Table Tennis titles
Just as they did in the Urban Area competition, Wolmer’s completed the ISSA all-island girls’ and boys’ U-19 Table Tennis double at the GC Foster College Auditorium on Wednesday.
The girls’ team secured a dominant 3-0 win over St. Mary High to claim their third straight all-island crown while the boys’ team defeated Titchfield High 4-1.
Jamaica College defeated Titchfield 5-0 to win the U-16 boys’ title while Immaculate Conception beat St. Hilda’s 3-1 to win the U-16 girls’ crown.
For Wolmer’s Girls’ team members Gianna Lewis and Liana Campbell, this win was an excellent way to close out their respective high school careers.
“Very relieved to be closing out with the all-island title,” Lewis told Sportsmax.tv.
“My team and I knew we had to bring our A game one last time and we did so,” she added.
Campbell called securing all-island success for the final time a “surreal feeling.”
“We embodied our school’s motto, ‘Age Quod Agis.’ Whatever you do, do it well. I am so proud of the team and myself and we’ll continue to excel in this sport,” she added.
The team’s third member, reigning JTTA National Champion Tsenaye Lewis, also reacted to the win.
“I am very, very happy with this victory especially since this is my last year playing alongside Liana and my big sister Gianna,” she said.
Lewis will still be at the school next year and hopes for continued success going forward.
“This is definitely how I envisioned the end of this era but now I hope we can defend our title for my final year next year,” she added.
The Lewis sisters will now turn their attention to national duty when they represent Jamaica at the Caribbean Youth Championships in Santo Domingo next week.
“We are looking forward to competing and representing our country again,” Tsenaye Lewis said.
Wolmer’s wins girls’ and boys’ ISSA U-19 Table Tennis titles
Maroon and Gold were the dominant colors at the Campion College Auditorium on Tuesday as Wolmer’s copped both the ISSA girls’ and boys’ Under-19 Table Tennis titles.
In the girls’ final, the Heroes Circle-based school won a hotly contested final 3-2 against St. Jago High while the boys’ final saw them defeat Kingston College by a similar score line.
The girls’ final saw a Wolmer’s team boasting three national players, namely 2023 National Champion Tsenaye Lewis, her older sister Gianna Lewis as well as Liana Campbell facing a St. Jago outfit including two national players of their own, Kelsey Davidson and Keara Whyte, who was the runner up to Lewis at last year’s JTTA National Championships.
The tie began with Tsenaye Lewis defeating Kelsey Davidson three sets to one (11-9, 6-11, 11-4, 11-7) to put the Wolmerians up 1-0.
Keara Whyte then made it 1-1 with three sets to one victory over Gianna Lewis (11-6, 11-2, 6-11, 11-6).
Wolmer’s then restored their advantage when Liana Campbell beat Leanna Smith by three sets to one (6-11, 11-8, 11-8, 11-8).
In what was perhaps the tie’s most anticipated clash, Tsenaye and Keara White then had a rematch of the 2023 National Championship final with Lewis having the chance to clinch the title for Wolmer’s.
Whyte had the best possible start, winning the first two sets (11-9, 11-9) before Lewis came roaring back in the third set to win 11-6. The fourth set was then a back-and-forth affair, with Whyte eventually prevailing 14-12 to set up the title-deciding match between Gianna Lewis and Kelsey Davidson.
In the decider, Lewis won the first two sets (11-2, 11-6) before Davidson got on the board in the third (11-9) before Lewis won the fourth (11-9) to secure the title for Wolmer’s.
For Lewis (Gianna) and Campbell, this title meant a lot more as they are both outgoing seniors.
“I am overjoyed to be leaving with this title. My team and I have worked hard and we made it our goal to ensure we take home the gold again this year as our final hoorah,” Lewis told SportsMax.tv.
“My sister Tsenaye, Liana and I realized that this day would come when the more experienced players will leave Wolmer’s so we have prioritized training and motivating the next generation of players,” she added.
Campbell described the win as “an incredible and bittersweet feeling.”
“Ending my last year victorious is such an awarding and joyous feeling. Sharing that with the team creates another fond memory to look back on as I go. I also feel a bit saddened as I’ll never be able to play another ISSA event and represent my school with my lovely teammates. I’ll especially miss the titular bis rides to matches where it was all smiles and laughter.” she added.
The boys’ final saw Wolmer’s take a 1-0 lead over Kingston College thanks to Joel Lamm’s three sets to one win over Javier Levene (11-3, 6-11, 11-1, 11-2).
KC got back on level terms when Gemarco Smith won a five-setter (16-14, 11-3, 4-11, 8-11, 11-9) against Wolmer’s captain Azizi Johnson.
Dominic Robinson then gave the North-Street based institution a 2-1 lead thanks to a straight set (11-2, 11-6, 12-10) win over Maleek Palma.
Wolmer’s made it 2-2 when Jayden Ebanks beat Alden Howard (10-12, 11-6, 11-6, 11-9) before Jelani Barnaby secured the title for Wolmer’s with a straight set win (11-9, 11-2, 11-6) over KC captain Chadwick Duff.
“For the girls, this is the third time that we have been champions. Originally it was U-16 but the girls moved up to U-19 and we were also the All Island champions so hopefully we can repeat that,” said winning coach Clive Grossett.
“For the boys, they also won in U-16 and now they’ve moved up as well. We’re now coming for the all island championship there as well,” he added.
Immaculate Conception High beat Jonathan Grant 3-0 to win the girls’ U-16 title while Jamaica College beat Kingston College 3-0 to win the boys’ equivalent.
The all island matchups will be finalized after the ISSA Rural Area semi-finals and finals scheduled for Friday at the GC Foster College.
Welsh para table tennis pair could face off for ‘golden ticket’ to Paris
As the world’s leading players eye Paralympic gold, the battle for supremacy in one para table tennis class could come down to a clash of two Welsh friends.
Wheelchair athletes Rob Davies and Tom Matthews are both training partners and rivals and, as two of the best in the game, have their sights set on the same top prize.
Davies, a two-time Paralympian, gold medallist in Rio seven years ago and winner of four European titles, is the more experienced of the pair.
But after a two-year injury lay-off that forced him to miss the Tokyo Games, the 39-year-old has had a long battle to get back to the summit.
In the meantime, Matthews, 31, has firmly asserted his credentials in the class one category, claiming bronze on his Paralympic debut in Japan and repeating that result at last year’s World Championships.
Both are ranked in the world’s top 10 and will be favourites at next week’s European Championships in Sheffield, where a precious qualification spot for Paris 2024 will be on the line.
“We’re team-mates and rivals in the competition,” Davies told the PA news agency. “We have a good bit of banter. He beats me and I beat him – that’s how it goes.
“Whether it’s me or him that gets the medal it’ll be really nice. I wish him well, he wishes me well and hopefully we can meet in the final.
“It’s been a long road back for me for the last two years. I had a medical problem that affected my nervous system and I wasn’t able to defend my title in Tokyo.
“That was really upsetting but I’ve been battling back. I was losing to people I’m not used to losing to but I’m finally getting up to the standard I’m used to now.
“I’m looking forward to the challenge. Paris has been my motivation to come back. I know I’m coming towards the end of my career but I’ve got something to prove and I want to go there and prove it.”
The pair have met plenty of times, both in training and more seriously, with Matthews’ victory in the Czech Open final this summer among their more high-profile recent encounters.
“It is a friendly rivalry,” said Aberdare’s Matthews. “I’m based in the Valleys and he’s up in Brecon, so we both train at Sport Wales in Cardiff.
“Off the table we are friendly. He is a really good guy and I respect him highly for what he has achieved in his career. Recently I came out on top but we know each other’s games inside out, so it could sway either way on the day.
“Hopefully we can meet in the final and make it a British one-two, but I’m hoping I come out on top!
“That’s the main aim. If you win the Europeans you get automatic qualification for Paris and I want to get that golden ticket.
“I obviously want to win the Paralympic Games – I’ve achieved winning a Paralympic medal and I haven’t got the right colour for myself yet – but the Europeans are next and that’s the only thing on my radar at the moment.
“I’ll take it match by match but I really want to win this one.”
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