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Table Tennis: Syrian 12-year-old, Tokyo Games' youngest competitor, exits in first round

Tokyo 2020 Olympics - Table Tennis - Women's Singles - Preliminary Round - Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium - Tokyo, Japan - July 24, 2021. Hend Zaza of Syria in action against Jia Liu of Austria. [REUTERS/Luisa Gonzalez]

Syria's Hend Zaza, at 12 the youngest athlete competing at the Tokyo Olympics, exited the table tennis tournament in the opening round on Saturday, snapping a selfie with her Austrian opponent to remember the occasion.

Zaza was battling an opponent more than three times her age in 39-year-old Liu Jia in the women's singles preliminary round but showed no sign of nerves, maintaining her composure despite a 4-0 defeat.

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