‘Fight for your dreams’ – 12-year-old star Hend Zaza sends powerful message

Hend Zaza bowed out of Tokyo 2020 on Saturday morning (Kin Cheung/AP)

Hend Zaza’s Olympic journey may have been brought to a swift finish but the Syrian table tennis player, the youngest competitor at Tokyo 2020 aged just 12, gave an uplifting message to those following her journey.

Just a few short hours after carrying her nation’s flag into the Olympic Stadium on Friday evening, Zaza was in action in the women’s preliminary round against an opponent more than three times her age in 39-year-old Liu Jia.