XIAO Maria

General
REPRESENTING SPAIN
Born in Calella, Spain, her parents were both Chinese professional table tennis players who had moved to Spain in 1992. She followed her parents career to Portugal as a child, and she initially represented Portugal at international level. After travelling with the Portuguese team as a reserve for the 2012 Olympic Games in London, she moved back to Spain in the same year. She began representing Spain in 2013. (spherasports.com, 05 May 2021; newtral.es, 02 May 2021; SportsDeskOnline, 04 Jun 2021)

PARENTS
Her parents were both former professional table tennis players, which she says has been beneficial to her career as well as adding extra pressure. "Their past creates pressure on you. My parents wanted me to work hard and train more than everyone else. Since I was five years old I have had a racket in my hand, I toured championships with them. It was inevitable, it was almost written that I had to dedicate myself to table tennis. They have always been very demanding with me, and [after qualifying for the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo] it is the first time that I have seen them so happy. It is the dream of my life and also theirs throughout their entire career." (newtral.es, 02 May 2021; La Resistencia YouTube channel, 19 Nov 2020)

Alongside doubles partner Alvaro Robles, they became the first Spanish doubles team to reach the final of an ITTF Challenge Series event when they finished runners-up at the 2020 Oman Open in Muscat. (rfetm.es, 14 Mar 2020; SportsDeskOnline, 04 Jun 2021)