When you see 18 year old Angela Guan playing table tennis, it difficult to believe that she has only been playing the sport for a little over six years. Originally a gymnast, Angela gave up gymnastics in favor of her family's favorite sport at the age of twelve. Hard work, dedication, and a never give-up attitude have made Angela one of the top female table tennis athletes in the U.S. I had the opportunity to ask Angela a few questions. I hope you enjoy getting to know her! Quick facts about Angela: Highest USATT rating 2451 Currently #7 (Women) and #3 (Junior Girls) in USA Two-time U.S. Na ..read more

As a part of its commitment to improving the level of play in the U.S., the Lily Yip Table Tennis Center (LYTTC) regularly brings in training partners from all over the world. One such player/coach is 16 year old Yuxiang (James) Jin from the DongYang Zhejiang province in China. James first came to the U.S. in 2014 to compete in the U.S. Open. He finished third in the under 15 category. The following year, he returned as part of a cultural exchange program and trained with the U.S. National Cadet Team at LYTTC. Then, last year, U.S. Olympic Coach Lily Yip invited James once again to train the ..read more

17 year old Kunal Chodri is a well-known player in the USA Table Tennis community. His near-impossible comebacks and impeccable touch make him one of West Coast's top talents.  At just 11 years of age, Kunal won the U13 title at the 2011 U.S. Open, thus marking the beginning of a remarkable career. Kunal went on to join the ITTF World Hopes Team the same year, and subsequently, earned spots on the U.S. National Teams for every age category. I had the opportunity to ask Kunal a few questions. I hope you enjoy getting to know him! Quick facts about Kunal: Highest USATT rating 2601 2016 ..read more

One of the perks of playing at Westchester Table Tennis Center is the opportunity to meet top talent from all over the world. The club has previously drawn star players from Australia, Asia, Europe, Africa, South America, and of course, North America. This summer, visiting us was 21-year- old Julian Mohr of Germany. Originally from Neckarsulm, Julian now lives in Frankfurt where he plays in the German 3rd league. Over the couple of weeks that Julian was here, I got to know him well. While I was surely impressed with Julian's game, I was equally impressed with his friendly nature and character ..read more

Born in Zaozhuang, China, Jiaqi moved to the U.S. in 2006 with a dream: earn a college degree, compete internationally, and one day represent the U.S. at the Olympics. Last month, after a decade of hard work and dedication, she finally fulfilled her dream when she played at the Rio Games wearing a Team USA jersey. The path to success was not easy. She had to juggle training, competing, and coaching alongside college work. But her unrelenting focus paid off! A short pips fast attacking penholder, Jiaqi competed in many international tournaments enroute to Rio; she clinched the Women's Sin ..read more

What began as simply an introductory class at the India Community Center, Milpitas quickly became an intense passion for Krish Avvari. Inspired by his uncle who was a collegiate table tennis champion, Krish pursued the sport, favoring it over soccer and swimming. It is hard to believe that the calm and collected 16-year-old from Fremont, CA has already played table tennis for over a decade. And his dedication and hard work has paid off. Krish recently bagged two gold medals in Junior Boys' Singles and Junior Boys' Teams, a silver medal in Men's Doubles, and a bronze medal in the Men's Singles ..read more

19 year-old Yijun (Tom) Feng has recently created a buzz in the table tennis community. From beating Africa's #1 and world top 50 player Aruna Quadri at the 2015 Joola Teams tournament, winning the Men's Singles title at the 2015 U.S. Nationals, qualifying for the 2016 U.S. Olympic Team, and to most recently, winning the 2016 North American Cup, Yijun leaves everyone wondering as to what is yet to come. Born in Nanjing, China, Yijun moved to the U.S. at the age of 8 to make Texas his new home. After calling the lone star state his home for many years, Yijun moved to Georgia during his sophomo ..read more

Timothy Wang, a 25 year old native of Houston, Texas, is a "veteran" on the U.S. Olympic Team. Lily Zhang and Tim are the only two members to already know what it is like to represent their country in the Olympics. Tim played singles at the 2012 London Olympics and is now ready to take on Rio. Now, after knowing about Tim's long list of accomplishments, it is hard to believe that he had to be bribed by his parents to play table tennis when he first started. However, with the support of family, friends, and coaches, personal commitment, and a lot of hard work, Tim has become a highly respected ..read more

Anyone even remotely involved with collegiate table tennis knows Willy Leparulo, otherwise known as the backbone of the National Collegiate Table Tennis Association (NCTTA). He has helped grow the organization over the last two decades to include over 150 colleges in the U.S., Canada, and Puerto Rico. But as they say, it is through giving that we receive. Willy met his wife, Shelly, through college table tennis, and they now work as a team. NCTTA's President and First Lady have at least two things in common - an intense passion for the sport and the desire to make college table tennis bigger a ..read more

Two weeks ago teachers all across America were celebrated. Why, because they educate and encourage and touch the lives of so many. In honor of Teacher Appreciation Week, I have a special interview this week - my coach Rawle Alleyne. I met Rawle for the first time in June 2011 when I came to Westchester Table Tennis Center. I had outgrown my middle school table tennis program and was looking for a more serious option. I took 2 - 3 lessons with him, but then I broke my finger and got distracted with competitive basketball. It wasn't until a year later that I returned in September 2012. Over the ..read more