Old is gold: How ‘Olympic grandmothers’ are breaking stereotypes at Paris 2024 Olympics

New Delhi: For Xia Lian Ni and Zhiying Zeng, age is just a number. Dubbed ‘Olympic grandmothers’, both athletes are breaking stereotypes at the Paris 2024 Olympics. Xia, 61, representing Luxembourg, is competing in her sixth Olympics while Zeng is making her Olympics debut at the tender age of 58. Born in China, she is realising her Olympic dream with South American nation Chile.

The grannies of table tennis are making headlines by giving the younger athletes a run for their money. They have garnered massive interest from international media, which has been raving about the ace paddlers’ remarkable achievements.

Who is Zeng Zhiying?

Born in China, Zeng was captivated by table tennis from an early age, thanks to her mother, a local coach. At 16, Zeng came close to realising her dream with her selection in the Chinese national team but it all came crashing down after she announced early retirement due to a rule change that exposed her weaknesses.

The ‘two-colour rule’ implemented before the 1988 Seoul Olympics meant that the two sides of the paddle had to be of different colours. This hindered Zeng’s playing style not anymore she could rotate the paddle to confuse her opponents, taking away the unpredictability factor from her game.

But her fortunes changed a year later when she was invited by a school in Chile for a coaching job. The offer changed her life. She settled down in the South American nation and reinvented herself as Tania, spending 35 years building her new life.

Zeng took a break and focused on teaching table tennis in northern Chile, opening a business venture and raising a family

During the COVID-19 pandemic, she fell in love with Table Tennis all over again and made a remarkable comeback.

Zeng’s incredible comeback ended swiftly at the Paris Olympics as she lost 1-4 to Lebanon’s Marian in the preliminary round. Despite the defeat, Zeng managed to fulfil her lifelong dream, 40 years after she set her sights on realising it.

Who is Ni Xia Lian?

Unlike Zeng, Ni was able to fulfil her dreams at a young age. At 16, she won two gold medals for China at the 1983 World Championships in Berlin. She liked the German city so much that she decided to move to Germany for her studies.

She somehow ended up moving to Luxembourg after graduation and has lived there ever since. Her learnings as a little girl have served her all her life. This is Ni’s sixth Olympics, and Luxembourg picked her as the flag-bearer for the opening ceremony.

The 61-year-old won the opener against Sibel Altinkaya of Turkiye, in 49 minutes with a score of 4-2 and became the oldest table tennis player to register a win at the Olympic Games.

Next up for Ni was world number one, Sun Yingsha, who won the game comfortably 4-0 but it was Ni who got the standing ovation from the crowd.

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 Paris 2024 Olympics: Age is no bar for the grannies of table tennis, making headlines in the French capital.  Sports Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today