We examine the biography, career journey, and achievements of the 58-year-old Chilean paddler Zhiying Zeng, who participated at the Paris Olympics
Zhiying Zeng, born on July 17, 1966, is a Chinese-Chilean table tennis player, who currently owns a business in Chile. Originally part of the Chinese team, Zeng moved to Chile and took a long hiatus from competitive play. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she made a notable comeback, earning a spot to compete in the 2024 Summer Olympics. Representing Chile, Zeng’s Olympic journey concluded in the preliminary round.
Who is Chile table tennis player Zhiying Zeng, biography, age, family, nationality and medals list
In her Olympics debut, Zeng played against Lebanon’s Mariana Sahakian, who secured a comfortable victory to inch closer towards the main draw qualification. Following Zeng’s match, revealed that Zeng’s father, who lived in China, stayed awake till 5 AM to support his daughter.
This might be the best Paris 2024 story: Zeng Zhiying made her Olympics debut at 58-years old.
Born in China, she is now representing Chile in table tennis because of an incredible journey.
At age 18, she expected to go to the Olympics for her birth country, China, as one of… pic.twitter.com/k3IQJ4IkQ4
— Adam Ryan 🤝 (@AdamRy_n) July 29, 2024
Who is Zhiying Zeng?
Zeng was born in Guangzhou, where her mother, a table tennis coach, raised her near a sports complex, giving her access to professional players. Trained by her mother until age nine, Zeng joined an elite sports academy at eleven. By twelve, Zeng had won a national junior championship and turned professional.
At sixteen, she joined the Chinese table tennis team. However, a 1986 rule change requiring different colors for each side of the racket affected her strategy, making her play more predictable and leading to her departure from the national team. In 1989, Zeng moved to Chile to coach table tennis in Arica. Later in 2003, she resumed playing to inspire her son, winning national tournaments in 2004 and 2005 before pausing when her son began competing independently.
Zeng made a comeback during the COVID-19 pandemic, competing in regional tournaments and qualifying for the 2023 South American Table Tennis Championships. In this event, Zeng won the women’s team event and silver medals in singles and doubles. Meanwhile, she earned a bronze in the 2023 Pan American Games women’s team event, becoming a media sensation in Chile, with President Gabriel Boric congratulating her on social media.
we examine details about Zeng:
- Born: 17 July 1966 (Foshan, China)
- Age: 58-years-old
- Career: Table Tennis player
- Current Residence: Iquique, Chile
- Father: Unknown (92-years-old)
- Mother: Unknown
- Husband: Unknown
- Children: 2