PARIS: Ni Xialian and Zeng Zhiying were once Chinese table tennis teammates, but never made it to the Olympics for the land of their birth. Four decades on, they are both at the Paris Games representing other countries.
At 61, Ni is one of the oldest athletes competing in what is her sixth Olympics, representing where she moved in the late 1980s after winning two world championship gold medals for China.
"Three years ago, after Tokyo I thought I can retire. But our federation of the country, they love to have me. So I tried to be here, and I made it," said Ni.
"The next goal is winning one more game."
Zeng, 58, retired from professional table tennis nearly three decades ago before moving to Chile, where she took up the sport again during the Covid-19 lockdown.
"In 2022 when I played, I didn't have any other dreams or ambitions," said Zeng. "I just wanted to pick up a bat, exercise and play at our club, getting to know more people."
Within a few months, Zeng found her muscle memory returning, but she thought Olympics would be "a distant dream" because of her age.
During Zeng's online research to study rivals, however, a familiar face jumped out among players who are mostly half her age.
While Zeng was living in northern Chile running a furniture trading business, her former teammate had remained active in international competition.
"When I started playing last year, Ni Xialian was already 60 years old," said Zeng.
"If she can play, then I can also improve my physical fitness and play. She's a role model for me to follow."
Both attribute their extended careers to the fundamental skills they gained from training at a young age in China, getting their form right under strict guidance during hundreds of hours of tedious repetition.
DOMINANT CHINA
Rarely has a country dominated a sport the way China dominates table tennis.
China have won 32 of the 37 golds and 60 of the 115 total medals since table tennis was introduced to the Summer Olympics in 1988.
Zeng, who goes by the name Tania in Chile, faces 46-year-old Mariana Sahakian of Lebanon in the first round.
She is excited to have her husband and two adult sons cheering for her in Paris and is grateful to her adopted country for the opportunity to compete on the biggest stage.
"In China, even if you had the chance to play, you wouldn't necessarily make it due to the high overall level of play there," she said.
For Ni, representing a different country took some getting used to and she turned down the opportunity to compete at the 1996 Games.
"(In the) beginning, I don't think I wanted to play for another country, it's not my goal and that's why I gave up 1996," she said.
"But when you are living there more years, you have feelings with the people, you understand sports is only sports, it's nothing to do with politics or nationality.
"So that's why I changed. I want to bring the team to get good results. That's my goal."
For US paddler Lily Zhang, who was born in California to Chinese parents and could face Zeng in the second round, the duo's longevity is an inspiration.
"It's absolutely mind boggling," said the 28-year-old.
"And even though I say I'm on the older side, looking at them, it gives me hope there's always the possibility that I could go longer." --REUTERS