Syria's Hend Zaza set to be youngest Olympian at Tokyo 2020, aged 11

An 11-year-old Syrian table tennis player is set to be one of the youngest Olympians of all time after qualifying for Tokyo 2020.

Hend Zaza qualified for the Games after winning four of five matches at the Western Asia Olympic Qualification Tournament in Jordan in late February, on her way to clinching the women's singles title.

Zaza, whose date of birth is listed as 1 January 2009 by the International Table Tennis Federation, was ranked at 155 in the world when she overcame Lebanon's Mariana Sahakian 4-3 in the women's final in Amman.

"Congratulations, our champion Hend to the Tokyo Olympics 2020," the Syrian Olympic Committee said on their Facebook page.

Youngest Olympians

Zaza is on course to become the youngest Olympian in 52 years since 11-year-old Beatrice Hustiu competed in figure skating at the 1968 Winter Olympics.

Another likely pre-teen competing in Tokyo this summer will be Sky Brown, who will be 12 by the time of the Games, and set to feature for the Great Britain skateboarding team.

The youngest-ever recorded athlete at an Olympic Games was 10-year-old Greek gymnast Dimitrios Loundras, who competed at the Modern Olympics' birth in Athens 1896 and won a team bronze medal.