The second day of the U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Table Tennis in West Monroe, Louisiana, brought a series of surprises as the top 16 players from each gender faced off in four round-robin groups. The top two players from each group advanced to the final eight for Stage 3 of the competition.
Women’s Competition Updates:
- Hannah Song (2167), seeded 15th out of 16, emerged as the unexpected standout by securing victories over Jessica Reyes-Lai (2370) and Emily Tan (2343), advancing to the top eight.
- Jessica Reyes-Lai delivered a significant upset by defeating the fourth-seeded Sally Moyland (2541) with a score of 4-2, creating a potential tie for advancement. However, Sally ultimately triumphed over Hannah in a challenging 4-1 match, with a thrilling fifth game ending at 22-20. Both Sally and Hannah progressed to Stage 3.
- In another group, Tiffany Ke (2382) surprised by beating the fourth-seeded Rachel Sung (2510) with a 4-1 score, securing the top spot in the group for Stage 3.
- The final women advancing to the next stage are: Amy Wang, Angela Guan, Angie Tan, Hannah Song, Rachel Sung, Sally Moyland, and Sarah Jalli.
Men’s Competition Highlights:
- The top eight seeded male players successfully advanced to the final eight. Notably, Kanak Jha, the top seed, marked his return to the U.S. competition after 15 months by dominating his round-robin group, losing only one game throughout the day.
- The final men advancing to the next stage include: Jishan Liang, Kai Zhang, Kanak Jha, Nandan Naresh, Nikhil Kumar, Sid Naresh, Ved Sheth, and Xiang Jing Zhang.
The final eight players will now enter two knockout brackets, scheduled for Saturday and Sunday. Their performances in these brackets will determine their chances for a direct slot to the Olympic Games Paris 2024 for women or an opportunity to pursue Olympic qualification for men.
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