Three Olympians with Milpitas Connections Compete for the Gold

Three Olympians with Milpitas connections are competing in table tennis for the 2012 Summer Olympic Games. 

Ariel Hsing, Timothy Wang and Lily Zhang train full time at Milpitas' India Community Center, which also sponsors them. 

"This has never happened in the world before where three players from one home club qualified for the Olympics at the same year," the ICC website states. "All three players are training full time in ICC with team ICC coaches instead of training in China or any other country or at any national training centers."

To help Milpitans track the athletes' progress at the Olympics, the ICC will be posting regular updates on their website about the paddle-happy threesome throughout their Olympic journey. 

The ICC is inviting locals to post comments and words of encouragement for the athletes on the India Community Center’s Facebook page. 

About the athletes:

Ariel Hsing, 16, of Fremont, won the 2010 table tennis title at the age of 15, making her the youngest national champion in U.S. history. After winning the title, she won two bronze medals at the 2011 Pan American Games, according to NBC. 

Lily Zhang, 16, was introduced to the sport she grew to love — and dominate — by her parents and friends. The Redwood City native, who currently resides in Palo Alto, won the Canadian junior open singles tournament in 2009, and began competing in the women's open national championship in 2010, NBC reports. 

Timothy Wang, 20, may be considered inexperienced in the world of table tennis, but that didnt' stop the Houston resident from winning a spot in the Olympic games. According to NCB, Wang was virtually unknown, but began to make a name for himself after winning the 2010 men’s singles competition at Nationals.

Follow us on Twitter |  Like Patch on Facebook  |  Sign up for the daily newsletter