Paris: Twenty-two years after first picking up a bat, Brazilian amputee table tennis star Bruna Alexandre is finally making her dream come true, warming up for the Paralympics by competing at the Paris Olympic Games.
The 29-year-old, whose right arm was amputated at the age of three months due to thrombosis, is her country’s first para-athlete to take part in the Olympics.
“I have been trying to qualify for the Olympics for years. I knew it would be difficult because the competition is very fierce in Brazil,” Alexandre told AFP.
“But I succeeded. I got here and today I am making a huge dream come true for me.”
Alexandre took up table tennis at the age of seven.
Initially, she found it difficult to serve with one arm, but she mastered the tricky skill of throwing the ball up with her left hand then serving with vicious spin.
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