Table tennis player Zeng Zhiying left China all alone for an adventure in Chile in 1989.
As her native country boiled with street protests that led to the Tiananmen Square Massacre that year, she remained in the north of the South American nation, near the Atacama Desert, working to make the sport grow there.
About 34 years later, 57-year-old Zeng — or Tania, as Chileans call her — is no longer by herself. She has a family and millions of fans cheering for her at the Pan American Games in Santiago.
Photo: AP
Zeng became famous overnight in the Andean nation after she beat Dominican Eva Pena Brito 4-2 in her first match in the women’s singles tournament. She lost the first two games, but she managed to turn the match around in front of raucous fans screaming for her.
“I came to watch the table tennis grandma,” 14-year-old Chilean fan Gustavo Ibarra said before Zeng’s round-of-16 clash with the US’ Lily Ann Zhang on Tuesday. “Everyone in this country wants to see her win. She is just so humble.”
Zeng has two children, but no grandchildren.
Chilean President Gabriel Boric is another one of her fans, watching her on TV.
“Tremendous!,” Boric wrote on social media after Zeng’s victory on Monday.
Zeng has lived most of her life in Iquique, a city near the Atacama desert 1,800km north of the capital, Santiago. After teaching the sport to local children for years, she started a business and made it her main source of income until recently.
Playing table tennis as a professional only crossed her mind during the COVID-19 pandemic. She quickly made it to Chile’s national team and now hopes to be part of it for the Paris Olympics next year. Zeng is among the 150 best female table tennis players in the world.
“I am fighting with all I have, and the supporters are there for me now. I feel very confident. Competing at such a high level is a new thing for me,” Zeng said on Tuesday. “I win. I lose. Some things come a little off, but people support me the same. I really wasn’t expecting any of this.”
“I came here because the table tennis association of Arica, in the north, invited me. Then I moved to Iquique, and made my life there. I am Chilean, no doubt,” said Zeng in fluent Spanish, which she said she learned from watching soap operas.
She now she prefers to watch Turkish TV series when at home.
As she arrived to play US’ Zhang on Tuesday, a big roar was heard at Chile’s Olympic training center, where table tennis competitions are taking place. Zeng was no match for the American, who won 4-0 (11-7, 11-6, 11-4, 11-5), largely thanks to her speed and intensive footwork.
The two had faced off before, with the 27-year-old Zhang also winning that encounter.
“It is an inspiration that a 57-year-old player is here with us, giving her best,” Zhang said after the match.
While Zhang calmly went back to preparing for her next matches, Zeng was busy outside giving autographs.
“I will be upset for a little bit after this defeat, but life goes on,” she said. “This sport is still the greatest thing for me. I am happy every day I am still in it.”
TO FINAL FOUR: France had 22 chances and scored two goals, while Croatia could not manage a single shot on target in 120 minutes. Les Bleus won 5-4 on penalties France on Sunday overturned a two-goal deficit to qualify for the UEFA Nations League Final Four by eliminating Croatia 5-4 on penalties after a 2-0 victory in their quarter-final second leg at the Stade de France. Dayot Upamecano scored the winning spot kick in a nail-biting shootout in which France keeper Mike Maignan made two saves, sending Les Bleus into the semi-finals against Spain. Michael Olise opened the scoring and Ousmane Dembele doubled their lead 10 minutes from time to send the tie into extra time after their 2-0 loss in Split, Croatia, on Thursday. France had a total of
Shohei Ohtani and Clayton Kershaw on Friday joined their Los Angeles Dodgers teammates in sticking their fists out to show off their glittering World Series rings at a ceremony. “There’s just a lot of excitement, probably more than I can ever recall with the Dodger fan base and our players,” manager Dave Roberts said before Los Angeles rallied to beat the Detroit Tigers 8-5 in 10 innings. “What a way to cap off the first two days of celebrations,” Roberts said afterward. “By far the best opening week I’ve ever experienced. I just couldn’t have scripted it any better.” A choir in the
The famously raucous Hong Kong Sevens are to start today in a big test for a shiny new stadium at the heart of a major US$3.85 billion sports park in the territory. Officials are keeping their fingers crossed that the premier event in Hong Kong’s sporting and social calendar goes off without a hitch at the 50,000-seat Kai Tak Stadium. They hope to entice major European soccer teams to visit in the next few months, with reports in December last year saying that Liverpool were in talks about a pre-season tour. Coldplay are to perform there next month, all part of Hong Kong’s
BRING THE NOISE: Brazil’s Fonseca attracted a boisterous crowd that brought such dominant soccer-style energy the referee switched to Portuguese to ask for quiet Australia’s Alex de Minaur on Monday put an end to Brazilian talent Joao Fonseca’s challenge at the Miami Open, outlasting the 18-year-old 5-7, 7-5, 6-3 in an enthralling contest. Attendance on stadium court had been sparse throughout the day, but the Hard Rock Stadium turned into a mini-Maracana Stadium for Fonseca’s match, complete with Brazilian flags and soccer-style chanting. Fonseca brought his energetic brand of ultra-attacking tennis, but De Minaur was up to the challenge, coping with blistering forehands and a partisan crowd. Such was the dominance of Fonseca’s raucous support that the referee switched to Portuguese for his appeals for quiet. However, De
RSS