One of the many, wonderful Olympics immigration stories

Last night, I happened to catch a profile of Chile's Zeng Zhiying.

Zeng was born in China. Her mom was a table tennis (aka ping pong) coach and Zeng was paddling "almost as soon as she was physically able." She attended a sports academy and turned professional at 12. Yes, TWELVE. At 16, she made China's national table tennis team but left a few years later after a change to the rules of the sport changed her game. [Don't ask me to explain, it had to do with the colors of the paddle and I'm not the sportiest person.]

When one door closes, another opens. Zeng was offered a job in Northern Chile teaching table tennis to schoolchildren. She has lived in Chile for the 35 years since, adopting the name "Tania" along the way and birthing two sons in her new country.

Her own table tennis journey has had wild ups and downs in the years since. She didn't play competitively for years after her move to Chile. She reappeared on the scene in 2003, but left again just two years later. Then she got back into the game during the pandemic.

In 2022, the Chilean Table Tennis Federation announced a tournament to put together its Olympics team. She competed and won a spot on the national team. Her 92-year-old father "jumped out of his chair" when he learned that his daughter had qualified for the Olympics.

At 58, Zeng is one of the oldest player at the Olympics. (The very oldest is a 69-year old equestrian.) Zeng did not win her preliminary round yesterday, but she vows to continue enjoying her sport. In Paris, she was even able to connect with a former teammate on the China national team, Ni Xialian, who is herself an immigrant an representing Luxembourg the the games.

-KitJ