61-year-old Ni Xia Lian became the oldest player to win a table tennis match at the Olympics after defeating Sibel Altinkaya from Turkey in the first round.
Born in Shanghai in 1963, Ni won two world championships in 1983 before changing her Chinese citizenship. After marrying her coach, Tommy Danielsson, Ni moved to Germany in 1989 and then to Luxembourg in 1991. She has won two European titles for Luxembourg in 1998 and 2002.
She is now participating in her sixth Olympics, and was the one of the country's flag bearers at the opening ceremonies of both Tokyo 2020 and the current Olympics.
Ni believes her longevity is due to a varied diet rich in vegetables, nuts, fish, and limited meat, drinking plenty of water, avoiding sugary drinks, and training less than younger players while taking good care of her body.
One of Ni's former China teammates also participates in the Olympics. 58-year-old Zeng Zhiying resumed playing table tennis during the COVID-19 lockdown after retiring three decades ago, inspired by Xia Lian's long sporting career. Her 92-year-old father watched her compete in the Olympics.
Both Ni and Zeng credit their lasting careers to the fundamental skills they acquired through rigid training in China. Since the sport was introduced in the Olympics in 1988, China won 32 out of 37 gold medals.
In the next round, she will face Sun Yingsha, the world number one from China.
Ni expressed optimism in improving her performance, seeing it as a life opportunity and a chance to savor every point.
This article was written in collaboration with Generative AI news company Alchemiq
Sources: WSJ, Reuters, TechRadar, Welt, SCMP, Aussiedlerbote, L'Avenir, RMC Sport, Today Online, Sloboden Pecat, Tageblatt, Observador, Le Parisien, 8 Days, Salue, Bluewin, Chronicle, Sport.ro, L'essentiel, Olympics.com.