Jan 14, 2008 9:33 am US/Eastern
Table Tennis Fans Pack Drexel For Olympic Trials
PHILADELPHIA (AP) ―
Gao Jun gleaned at least one tip in her 10 years as a U.S.
citizen from the MVPs and All-Stars in the more traditional stick-and-ball
sports than table tennis: Never worry about waffling on retirement.
The former Olympic medalist just might call it quits after
the 2008 Beijing Games in August and perhaps focus on coaching.
Then again, maybe not.
"I say this is my last, but you never know," Gao said on Sunday. "In 2000, I said, 'This is my last Olympics.'
I played Athens. So you never know.
If nobody can beat me, maybe I'll still play."
Gao was mostly an interested spectator this weekend at the
U.S. Olympic table tennis trials at Drexel
University. Gao and Chen Wang are
in the top 20 world rankings and already earned an automatic spot in China.
Yao Huang (8-0), Nan Li (7-1), Jacqueline Lee (6-2) and
Whitney Ping (5-3) secured spots on Sunday in the North American Trials in April
in Vancouver, British Columbia.
They'll compete with Canada
for the final Olympic spot.
"It's unlikely for the Chinese to lose because
they're so dominant," Ping said.
David Zhuang (9-2), Han Xiao (9-2), Eric Owens (8-3), and 49-year-old
Yinghua Cheng (8-3) all advanced out the round-robin men's draw and will play
in Canada. All
three men's Olympic slots are available.
"I think we have a lot of experience and I think we
can beat the Canadians," Owens said.
Gao, who turns 39 on Jan. 25, won the silver medal in
doubles playing for her native China
in the 1992 Barcelona Olympics. She immigrated to the U.S.
a few years later and twice played for Team USA
in the Olympics. But Gao's presence at the trials was one of the few times over
the past year that she's been in America.
She still trains 2 1/2 hours a day almost every day of the week in China,
a country that boasts the deepest commitment and the best players in the sport.
Playing for the Chinese national team also brings its own
unique pressures, comparable to the expectations of reaching the World Series
for the Boston Red Sox and Kansas
City Royals.
"If you lose gold, it means you lose," Gao said.
"But playing for other countries, like the U.S.,
if I get silver, it means big win. To play for the U.S.,
the pressure comes from myself."
Gao was all smiles when she played a brief exhibition
match against 12-year-old Ariel Hsing, USA Table Tennis' top-ranked girl under
14.
Fans left their bleacher seats and pressed against the
court to snap pictures and take a closer look at both an Olympian and perhaps a
future one. Gao acted in mock protest when the official kept awarding points to
the beaming Hsing.
"She's our future," Gao said.
Maybe so, but Gao added that Hsing would likely have
to leave
the United States
and train elsewhere, probably China,
if she ever wanted to raise her game to the level of an Olympic medalist.
Gao believes she can still win a medal playing in her home
country, an opportunity she called a "dream."
"The medal is the first goal, but the second is I
really want to make U.S.
table tennis improve," he said. "I want to let the country know what
is real table tennis so people can get interested in the sport."
Table tennis officials were ecstatic with the support over
the four days in Philadelphia.
Total attendance, which included former Eagles quarterback Ron
Jaworski, was about 5,500 with the bulk of the fans packing the gym on Saturday
and Sunday.
"I had a feeling like I was a real table tennis
professional," Ping said. "You don't ever
really get that feeling in the United States.
I hope the trials are here every (time)."
CBS3.com's Most Popular Pages:
Slideshow:
Blackwell's Worst Dressed List
Slideshow:
Celebrity Bump Watch
Slideshow:
2008 Presidential Hopefuls
Slideshow: CBS 3 Employee New Year's Resolutions
Slideshow:
2007 Celebrity Deaths
Slideshow:
Openly Gay Celebrities
Slideshow:
'90s TV Stars Then & Now
Slideshow:
Useless Body Parts
Slideshow:
When Not To Hyphenate Your Name
(© 2008 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
