Ni Xialian of Team Luxembourg in action during her Women's Singles Round 2 match on day two of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium on July 25, 2021 in Tokyo, Japan.

"She's the pride of both China and Luxembourg." The story of Ni Xialian, the 58-year-old member of Luxembourg's national sports team and the eldest Olympic table tennis player in history, has gone viral on Chinese social media.

A former member of China's national table tennis team, who later emigrated to Luxembourg, Ni has competed at the Olympic Games five times since 2000, including on Sunday, when she lost her battle against 17-year-old South Korean athlete Shin Yubin in Tokyo.

Born in Shanghai in 1963, Ni successfully won several championships as part of China's national table tennis team. She later moved to Germany and then settled down in Luxembourg in 1991. 

"I retired from China's national team in 1986. Since table tennis was not listed as an event at the Olympic Games until 1988, I missed the chance to fight for our country," Ni said in an interview with Xinmin Evening News on Sunday, when asked about why she never had the chance to represent China at the games.

Ni said she rejected the invitation from Luxembourg to join the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta as, at the time, she didn't want to be an "overseas athlete," someone who fights for a country that is not their motherland.

"All I wanted to do was to get married, have children and live a happy life," Ni said happily during the interview, while her Luxembourgish husband/coach stood at her side.

However, as the years went on, she finally changed her mind. 

Ni attended the Summer Olympics in Sydney as a representative of Luxembourg in 2000, kicking off her career as an Olympian at the age of 37. She then joined four more Olympic Games including those in Beijing and London.

"I never feel alone as he has been there for me during the whole game," Ni commented on her husband's support.

Her husband hasn't been the only source of professional support within the family, one of Ni's two children is a physical therapist, which gives Ni access to timely professional treatment.

Although Ni is no longer winning medals for China, she said she still believes she stands as a symbol on the field for Chinese everywhere.

"I was born and grew up as a Chinese. I couldn't stand here without the cultivation and all the training by China's national team," Ni told The Migu Sports News in the Shanghai dialect. 

"I just feel honored to compete in the Olympics."

Numerous Chinese netizens have taken to social media to express their admiration for Ni and to cheer her on. "That 58-year-old auntie is such an adorable person," wrote one netizen in a post on China's Twitter-like Sina Weibo.

"That's the spirit. People should enjoy the game, enjoy the Olympics," read another comment.

"There are no boundaries in sports. It's more important to achieve your dream in the Olympics."