US Olympic Trials

The US trials are just around the corner - Feb 9-12 in Cary, NC.
http://www.cary2012.com/

4 men and 4 women will qualify for the North American trials, where they ll face off with the top Canadians. There are 3 spots for men s singles and 2 remaining for women s (Zhang Mo is already qualified). And a third spot for the team event for either Canada or the US, depending on who qualifies more players in singles.

Here s a good preview featuring Han Xiao and Peter Li:
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/jan/30/han-xiao-hoping-to-grab-a-us-place-at-the-pingpong/

Any predictions?

YiYong Fan

I heard that Fan Yiyong is going through intensive training and could meet one of the CNT guys in the last 4 since he is so motivated.

he found a new youth believe me!

The men s field has shrunk to 42. That will simplify things for the first day (draw of 32 to determine 2 qualifiers for the trials proper).

beeray1 wrote: notgood wrote: I pick Fan YiYong, Ludovic Gombos, and Michael Landers.  I really think Ludovic will surprise some people at this tournament.  He is the only one I really wanted to pick.  Fan could lose a couple matches in there, and I had no idea who to put third. Ludovic Gambos is a very interesting prediction.

Certainly a great opportunity for him - the Olympics are his only chance to play internationally as he will never be eligible for world championships.

I m not sure the American-born youngsters would be too pleased though... well, they ll just have to beat him next week.

Is he still supported by Texas Wesleyan at this point?

roundrobin wrote:   Is this the same player we are talking about?  I watched Attila Malek (2219) beat him pretty easily at our LA Open.

Yes, that s him. But that was his first tournament after a long break (he didn t compete at all in 2009-10, then played one event in Jan 2011). He s had some good wins since then, vs Shao Yu for example, or Zhang Yaho. But he lost easily to Michael Landers at Nationals.

I don t see him in the top 4 either, but others seem to fancy his chances.

Schedule

Thursday, February 9, Qualifying Tournament
9 a.m. – 5 p.m.

Friday, February 10, Final Round Robins
10 a.m. - 7 p.m.

Saturday, February 11
10 a.m. - 7 p.m.

Sunday, February 12
10 a.m. - 2:30 p.m.
 
Follow the results on the host website www.cary2012.com or on the USA Table Tennis websites www.usatt.org and tabletennis.teamusa.org and on social media feeds www.facebook.com/usatabletennis www.twitter.com/usatabletennis
 
NBC Universal Sports Live Feeds
February 10, Session 1: http://www.universalsports.com/video/assetid=6c239684-8e1b-4899-9c19-677ad0293ef4.html
February 10, Session 2: http://www.universalsports.com/video/assetid=86d65118-51cd-41e7-896c-43f750db00ff.html
February 11, Session 1: http://www.universalsports.com/video/assetid=f14cbc7f-dda3-42bd-bc05-266508e93a0e.html
February 11, Session 2: http://www.universalsports.com/video/assetid=4b5d6a22-992e-45a8-97e4-498a04a787f0.html
February 12, Session 1: http://www.universalsports.com/video/assetid=b7b49813-91a2-4152-97cc-d3b0bacad68c.html

Edited by amateur - 02/07/2012 at 10:42am

amateur wrote: The draw for qualifying is out: http://assets.teamusa.org/assets/documents/attached_file/filename1/53866/MensOlympicQualifierDraw.pdf I find it hard to pick the 2 qualifiers, especially in the top half - a lot of veterans there, Danny, Khoa, Razvan, Brian, what shape are they in? Not to mention Scott Butler. Shao Yu could have the best chances. In the bottom half I d go with Samson Dubina.

shao yu, jeff lin huang

Qualifying: Top Half Razvan Cretu, Bottom Half Jeff Huang.  But I expect both to go down when the big boys enter the fray.

Shao, You

No one s picking Brian Pace, the forum favorite? Shouldn t all the training and preparation pay off? Just look at how he rips his forehand past everyone, even the Chinese in Baltimore :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=smgcDQoJa6k