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SINGAPORE: National table tennis player Zhou Jingyi has booked her place at the 2024 Paris Olympics, joining teammates Izaac Quek and Zeng Jian at the Jul 26 to Aug 11 showpiece event.
She qualified for the Paris Games by virtue of her Asian ranking and at 19, Zhou is the youngest Singapore-born female table tennis player to do so, the Singapore Table Tennis Association said on Wednesday (Jun 12).
The teen, who only made her debut two years ago at the 2022 Hanoi SEA Games, will also be the first Singapore-born female table tennis player to take part in the singles competition.
Zhou, who is the second Singapore-born female player to qualify for the Games after Tan Paey Fern in 2004, said: “Over the past year, we’ve travelled extensively around the world preparing for the Olympics. It was both physically and mentally exhausting, especially with an injury.”
“However, I was able to improve significantly thanks to the many competition opportunities.”
This will be the biggest stage Zhou has played on but the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games gold medallist in the team event is unfazed.
“Qualifying for the Olympics is incredibly meaningful to me, as it has been my goal since day one,” she said.
“My mindset for the Olympics is to focus on each match and gain experience and exposure on this unique stage. I intend to approach my matches with the same mentality as any other competition and to perform to the best of my abilities.”
Quek and Zeng will join her in Paris after winning their respective singles finals at the Southeast Asian Regional Qualification Tournament in Bangkok.
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