(By : Joanna Sung) My U.S Open begins with a wave of glass raining down on me. Prior to that harrowing
experience, I had been in high spirits. Fresh off the completion of my final exams and
concluding a productive training session at California Table Tennis, I was ready to unwind with a
peaceful dinner. However, the following events of the day unfolded in anything but a peaceful
manner. I exited the restaurant to open the trunk to retrieve my belongings. The familiar creaks
of my car’s trunk door opening were abruptly drowned out by the thunderous crash of shattered
glass falling. A gaping hole now marred the center of the trunk. Our four table tennis bags were
nowhere in sight.

At that moment, life felt hopeless. What was the point in driving down to the venue empty
handed? I had no phone, no laptop, no wallets, and absolutely no table tennis equipment. With
the tournament starting the very next morning, we sat there in utter silence on the verge of
abandoning the tournament altogether and just heading home. Nonetheless, we chose
resolution over resignation and were luckily able to get a hold of Alex Chen from California Table
Tennis, who offered to reopen the club for us to repurchase all missing equipment.
Unfortunately, they were out of stock on my normal Zhang Jike ZLC blade, so I opted for the
similar Lin Yun-Ju blade. My dad woke up early the next morning to glue all our paddles and we
finally set off for the tournament with rejuvenated spirits.

Undeniably, this U.S Open proved to be significantly harder due to the increased amounts of
international players competing from Japan, Korea, and China. I managed to make it into the
quarters for Womens’ Doubles, U4700 Doubles, and U2400 Singles. While everyone assured
me that quarters were a fine achievement, I only felt a bitter sense of dejection from being so
close, yet so far to earning a medal. On the final day of the tournament, I at last secured a much
needed gold medal in U19 Girls Doubles with my partner Angie Tan. This gold medal felt
especially memorable as it marked my last event I would ever play in the U19 category. Growing
up, succeeding in the U19 events had been a constant goal I strived towards. Countless hours
and resources spent on my training just for the sake of having a chance to place in the top four
of U19, that window of opportunity to step on the international stage at World Juniors. I definitely
felt a special bond with the event. However, the time has come to let it go and move forward.
Goodbye U19.

I want to express my sincere gratitude to my father and my friends this tournament who
coached and supported me throughout my matches. Thank you to Alex and California Table
Tennis for lending us a helping hand and providing us with an awesome facility to train in.
Finally, thank you so much to Bowmar Sports for the continuous support throughout! I think I
might just switch to the Lin Yun-Ju blade for the new year.