Manama, Bahrain, October 19, 2025: At 11-years-old Syrian table tennis player Hend Zaza stole the media limelight when she was the youngest athlete at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
Zaza is now 16, and she is still carrying the flag proudly for her country with Syrian Chef de Mission, Rami Subea, underlining her name when asked as to which athlete in the 22-strong athlete squad at the 3rd Asian Youth Games in Bahrain will be under the spotlight.
“Undoubtedly it will have to be Hend Zaza. She had a remarkable achievement when she qualified, I stress qualified, for the Olympics in Tokyo. She didn’t get a wild card, but it was through her sheer hard work and dedication. Zaza will once again be in the limelight,” noted Subea.
Syria is fielding a squad of 11 boys and 11 girls in Bahrain. Their best chance of a medal will be in the martial arts of judo, jiu-jitsu or muay thai. What about table tennis?
“It will be very tough for Zaza because the standard of table tennis in Asia is very high. I know she will give her best and we hope she can win, but it will be hard for her,” Subea acknowledged.
At Tokyo 2020, Zaza lost in the women’s singles first round to Chinese-born Austrian Liu Jia, 39, 11-4, 11-9, 11-3, 11-5.
The Damascus schoolgirl said after that loss “table tennis is my whole life and I will not stop playing”.
“We will all be backing her all the way, of course. She has done our country proud already,” Subea added.
