Iizzwa Medina: Difference between revisions

 

Medina qualified for the [[Table tennis at the 2004 Summer Olympics – Women's singles|women's singles]] at the [[2004 Summer Olympics]] in [[Athens]] by receiving a berth from the Latin American Qualification Tournament in [[Valdivia, Chile]].<ref>{{cite news|last=Marshall|first=Ian|title=Leading The Way For Central America|url=http://www.ittf.com/_front_page/ittf_full_story1.asp?ID=5969|publisher=[[International Table Tennis Federation|ITTF]]|date=20 February 2004|accessdate=24 September 2013}}</ref> Building a historic milestone as the first table tennis player from Central America, Medina was appointed by the Honduran Olympic Committee ({{lang-es|Comité Olímpico Hondureño}}) to carry the nation's flag in the opening ceremony.<ref>{{cite news|title=2004 Athens: Flag Bearers for the Opening Ceremony|url=http://www.olympic.org/content/news/media-resources/manual-news/1999-2009/2004/08/13/flag-bearers-for-the-opening-ceremony/|publisher=[[Olympics]]|date=13 August 2004|accessdate=11 September 2013}}</ref> Ranked a lowly 342 in the world, Medina thrashed Jordanian teen [[Zeina Shaban]] in their first preliminary round match with a score of 4–0, but was disqualified when the officials ruled the rubber on her racket proved illegal. Through her appeal, the tournament officials decided to allow Medina to recap her match against Shaban with a new racket. Backed by a vocal group of Jordanian supporters, Medina officially lost a cliff-hanging match against Shaban in the seventh and decisive set with a final score of 9–11.<ref>{{cite web|title=Table Tennis: Women's Doubles (Preliminary Round)|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/olympics_2004/table_tennis/results/3531194.stm|work=[[Athens 2004]]|publisher=[[BBC Sport]]|accessdate=25 February 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Olympic racket robs shattered Medina of table tennis victory|url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2004-08-16/olympic-racket-robs-shattered-medina-of-table/2026568|publisher=[[ABC News Australia]]|date=16 August 2004|accessdate=24 September 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Honduran loses replay|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/olympics_2004/table_tennis/3567064.stm|publisher=[[BBC Sport]]|date=16 August 2004|accessdate=24 September 2013}}</ref>

 

==References==