CNN —Zhiying Zeng’s eyes begin to sparkle and her gestures become more animated as she recounts the day her lifelong Olympic dream came true. Even in China, by far the world’s most dominant table tennis nation, Zeng’s talents were evident from an early age. When she was 16, she was called up to the Chinese table tennis team for the first time. Finally, 38 years after she gave up on her Olympic dream, Zeng qualified for Paris 2024 at a pre-Olympic qualifying tournament in Lima, Peru, in May this year. “Calm, calm,” Zeng, who says mental fortitude is her biggest asset in table tennis, repeated to herself.

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