China-U.S. Pair Finishes World Table Tennis Championships as Bronze Medalist

2021-Nov-29       Source: newsgd.com

In the early morning of November 29th (Beijing time), Lin Gaoyuan and Lily Zhang, the China-U.S. Ping-Pong Diplomacy pair, narrowly lost to the Japanese duo, Tomokazu Harimoto and Hina Hayata 3-2, in the Mixed Doubles semifinal of the 2021 World Table Tennis Championships held in Houston. Even with the loss, they earned bronze medals for their efforts.

(Photo Source: Southern Metropolis Daily)

In the early morning of November 29th (Beijing time), Lin Gaoyuan and Lily Zhang, the China-U.S. Ping-Pong Diplomacy pair, narrowly lost to the Japanese duo, Tomokazu Harimoto and Hina Hayata 3-2, in the Mixed Doubles semifinal of the 2021 World Table Tennis Championships held in Houston. Even with the loss, they earned bronze medals for their efforts.

Despite a 2-0 trail, Zhang and Gaoyuan managed to come back and force the match into Game 5. Since there will be no match to decide the third-place, Lin and Zhang were awarded bronze medals along with another pair from Chinese Taipei. Plus, Zhang has also made history with the first world championship table tennis medal awarded to an American player in 62 years.

Lily Zhang shared that: ”being able to get into semifinal is already like a dream come true. Even though we dropped the fifth game, I still think me and Lin have done a good job. We didn’t give up on the 2-0 deficit and managed to tie the match. I have learnt a lot from Lin in these Championships.”

“We knew our opponent in the semifinal was a strong duo. So, me and Zhang were prepared for all kinds of situation.” said Lin during the after-game interview, “I know that Zhang has a PhD in psychology, and she is also a decisive player in clutch time.” He also sent his thanks to fans for their support and added that “Thanks to this tiny ball that brings together fans of this sport from both China and America. And I also wish for a long-standing friendship between our two countries.”

Another China-U.S. pair, Wang Manyu and Kanak Jha, was eliminated in the round of 16 match on November 26. The pairing of Zhang-Gaoyuan and Jha-Manyu was hailed as Ping Pong Diplomacy 2.0, which demonstrates a returning to the U.S.-China diplomatic initiative which began long before the birth of either and started at the 1971 World Table Tennis Championships in Nagoya, Japan.

Author: Eastbrook

Editor: Nan, Will, Jerry



Editor: 曾湘星

Scan to share on WeChat

Scan to follow us on WeChat

Related News

Home|About us|Contact us|Southcn.com

WWW.NEWSGD.COM. All rights reserved.

WWW.NEWSGD.COM. All rights reserved.|Registered number 020074| 粤公网安备 44010402000511号|ICP备案号粤B-20050235