Am I still visible to old contacts I have deleted long ago, when they intall whatsapp if they still have my number in their contacts?

I've had my mobile number 15+ years and have used it for work purposes as well as private over this time, even though its my personal number.

Could someone clarify - if anyone from the distant past who still had my number in their contacts then installed WhatsApp - would they now be able to see me in their WhatsApp contacts even though I deleted them as a contacts long before installing the App?