‘Table tennis Granny’ proves age is just a number with Olympic debut at 58
A table tennis player, Zhiying Zeng, made her Olympic debut this year at 58 years old.
Table Tennis player Zhiying 'Tania' Zeng. Picture: @taniazengchile/Instagram
Clarence Ford speaks with Barbara Friedman about this and other stories trending online.
Listen to the interview in the audio below.
Zhiying Zeng, who goes by Tania in Chile, was a part of China’s professional youth table tennis team in the 70s but retired in 1986 when she was only 20.
When the ‘two-colour rule’ which required players to use bi-colour paddles was introduced, she felt overwhelmed by the change and decided to bow out according to the Gaurdian.
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With that, she thought her Olympic dream was over, but everything changed with the pandemic.
Zeng has been living in Chile since the late 80s and decided to buy a table tennis table to keep herself busy during Chile’s harsh lockdown.
She entered a few local tournaments when restrictions lifted and by 2023 was the highest ranked women’s player in the country.
She then joined Chile’s national team and qualified to represent them at the 2024 Olympic games.
“In case you think you’re too old to make your dreams come true, you are never too old.”
- Barbara Friedman, Digital Content Editor
Scroll up to the audio player to listen to the interview.