There are many examples in the history of the Olympics of a very talented young athlete making a good impression on this world stage. This trend has not been broken even at the Tokyo Olympics. This time, 12-year-old Hand Jaja from Syria is making her debut in the Olympics. She is the youngest athlete at the Tokyo Olympics.
At Saturday's Tokyo Olympics, Jaza is competing in her first game against Austria's Liu Jia. Debuting at the Olympics on Saturday, she will be the youngest athlete to play in the Olympics since 1968.
The 12-year-old Syrian tennis player secured her place at the Tokyo Olympics by defeating Mariana Sahakian, 42, of Lebanon in the Asian qualifiers in Jordan in February last year.
She is the first Syrian athlete to win a national title in all age groups and is set to make her debut at the Tokyo Olympics on Saturday. Not only that, Jaja is the first athlete to be directly selected for the Olympics from Syria. "This is a gift for my country, my parents, and all my friends," she told Mark.com.
"My goal is to become a world champion and one day become an Olympic champion," she told AFP.
Like other Syrian children, Jaza spent most of his childhood in the shadow of the Syrian civil war. She chose tennis to get out of it. Jaza's practice was halted due to frequent power outages.
In a closed room, he had to practice on four tables that were not in good condition and on the floor that did not fall. However, the difficult situation did not stop him from playing in the Olympics. She started playing table tennis at the age of five. According to Jaza's coach, due to the ongoing war in the country, Jaza will get a chance to play only two or three outdoor games in a year.
Jaja is the youngest member of the family. He has four brothers. Her father is a former football player and now teaches gymnastics. "Sports is in my blood," she told Chinese media CGTN.com.
"Everyone in my family has been very supportive of me since I was a child. They have been taking care of me since I was a child. They encouraged me to get ahead in sports. '
Jaza has not given up her studies. She says she likes math.
The star who grew up in the middle of the war
Born in 2009 in Hama, Syria, Jaja first started playing table tennis in 2014. His city has been hardest hit by terrorism and war. So Jaja and his brother had to face many obstacles and challenges.
Jaza's brother is also a national table tennis champion. "The reason I started this game is that I want to be like my brother-in-law," she told the BBC. I watched his videos and told him I wanted to be the same. '
"He also made me laugh and said that if I work hard, I can achieve great things," she added.
In 2016, Jazaka's brother went to Qatar to participate in West Asia Hopes Week and Challenge. Jaja was seven years old at the time, and she too went to Qatar with her brother. There he had the opportunity to play practice games with players older than him. Then she showed her ability and managed to attract the attention of many.
