MDTTC at the 2012 U.S. Open Table Tennis Championships

July 20, 2012

Wang Qing Liang Coached by MDTTC Coach Jeffrey Zeng

Courtesy of Maryland Table Tennis Center (MDTTC)

Grand Rapids, MI, June 30-July 4, 2012 - Major upsets took place at the 2012 U.S. Open Table Tennis Championships. Wang Qing Liang, age 17, formerly of China but who now trains at the Maryland Table Tennis Center (MDTTC) in Gaithersburg, reached the Semifinals in Men’s Singles. Along the way he defeated two 2012 Olympians: USA's Timothy Wang and Canada's Pierre-Luc Hinse.

Wang was glad to have the opportunity to compete in the U.S. and to represent MDTTC. In China, he had never had this type of opportunity. Playing in his first international tournament, he made it to the semifinals before losing to the defending champion, Slovakian professional Thomas Keinath.

Since the mid-1990s, the Maryland Table Tennis Center has produced numerous U.S. National Champions and Junior Olympic Gold Medalists, under head coaches Cheng Yinghua (2000 U.S. Olympian) and Jack Huang, who were members of the Chinese National Team for many years and then immigrated to the United States to help train and coach players. Wang said that by continuing his training at MDTTC, he hopes to continue competing in North America tournaments and help raise the level of play of other players who train at MDTTC.

MDTTC Wang Qing Liang Chops

Other MDTTC players also performed well at the U.S. Open, including,

• Charlene Liu, of Germantown, MD, who won Over 50 Women and Over 60 Women, and made the final of Over 40 Women;
• Derek Nie, 11, of North Potomac, MD, won Age 11 & Under Boys Singles
• Chen Bo Wen, 14, of Boyds, MD, who made the final of Cadet Boys (Under age 15)
• Amy Lu, Germantown, MD, who made the final of Cadet Girls (Under age 15)
• Larry Hodges, of Germantown, MD, U.S. Open Hardbat Doubles Champion (for the 13th time) with Ty Hoff of Florida.
• Lilly Lin, 14, of Germantown, MD, won the Women’s Under 2100 Rating event.

In conjunction with the U.S. Open, the 2012 USA Cadet & Junior Open (a part of the International Table Tennis Federation Junior Circuit) also took place at Grand Rapids, Michigan. Several MDTTC players also had great results:

• Crystal Wang, 10, of Boyds, MD, who represented Team USA, won Cadet Girls (Under 15) Doubles Champion with Isabel Chu of California. Crystal also made the quarterfinals of Cadet Girls Singles.
• Tong Tong Gong, 14, of Ellicott City, MD, who represented Team USA, made the final of Cadet Boys Doubles (Under 15) with Kanak Jha of California. Tong Tong also made the quarterfinals of Cadet Boys Singles;
• Nathan Hsu, 16, of Rockville, MD, who represented Team USA, made the quarterfinal of Junior Boys Team event with Ethan Jin of Georgia. Nathan also made the eighths of Junior Boys Singles.

MDTTC Wang Qing Liang Serves