2024-01-17 20:03:29
Taiwanese table tennis player Wang Jiazhen was selected as the national player of the United States World Table Tennis Championships. (Taken from coach Ye Junguo’s Facebook page)
[Reporter Xu Mingli/Taipei Report]It was a pity that she was not selected as a national player in Taiwan. Wang Jiazhen, a mixed-race female billiards player from Taiwan University of Sports, unexpectedly realized her dream in the United States.
Wang Jiazhen, who just celebrated her 20th birthday at the end of last year, went on a 7-game winning streak in the 2024 Busan World Team Table Tennis Championships U.S. team trials the day before yesterday. Under the desperate situation of being eliminated following losing one more game, she was finally selected for the U.S. national team in second place. , and it was also the first time in her career that she played in an international competition.
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Wang Jiazhen’s mother is Taiwanese and her father is Chilean. She was born and raised in the United States and holds American nationality, but the second child has never been to the United States since she returned to Taiwan.
Wang Jiazhen only started to play table tennis following returning to Taiwan, and transferred to Hsinchu Dongyuan Elementary School when she was in primary five. She teamed up with Cai Yun’en, Ye Yitian and other players to win the runner-up in the National Freedom Cup Female Intelligence Group.
After graduating from elementary school, Wang Jiazhen transferred to Miaoli Weizhen Junior High School and Datong High School to continue her billiards career.
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Wang Jiazhen, who plays with a short backhand, was only one win away from being selected as a national player twice in her career, but she missed the mark in the end, including the fifth grade in the junior national team trials where she lost to Hu Zhilun, a fifth-level national junior.
In the adult national team trials two years ago, Wang Jiazhen made it all the way through the second round, but was finally reversed by Cathay veteran Liu Xinyin 1:3 in the qualifying round.
Wang Jiazhen, who had been repeatedly frustrated in the national team trials, decided to change the battlefield following discussing with Ye Junguo, the coach of Datong High School, and used her American status to go to the United States to test the water temperature.
Ye Junguo said frankly, “This decision is also a gamble, because once you are registered by the US team, you will not be able to participate in Taiwan’s national player trials in the future.”
Although this year’s World Team Championships is regarding qualifying for the Paris Olympics, because the U.S. women’s team has already obtained Olympic tickets following winning the gold medal at last year’s Pan American Games, the three main players of the U.S. team trials, Amy Wang, Zhang An, Song Jiayu and U19 Chen Yiyi, ranked 9th in the world in the group, did not participate, which also gave Wang Jiazhen an excellent opportunity.
Ye Junguo said that Wang Jiazhen lost two of the first three games in this trial, and would be eliminated as long as she lost one more game, but she really put her persistence, attitude and determination to win to perfection. Ye Junguo, who didn’t sleep for two days and was following the game from the live broadcast, said, “It’s all really worth it!”
Regarding unexpectedly becoming a U.S. national player, Wang Jiazhen said, “Originally I just wanted to come back and give it a try, but I never thought I would actually make it. It’s an incredible feeling, so just cherish this opportunity!”
Coincidentally, the International Table Tennis Association held a draw for the World Championships yesterday, and the Taiwanese women’s team happened to be in the same group as the American team. Wang Jiazhen will also have the opportunity to compete once morest seniors such as Zheng Yijing and Chen Siyu.
Wang Jiazhen was selected into the U.S. national team for the Team World Table Championship in second place. (Taken from the American Table Table Association Facebook page)
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