Ariel Hsing is the current up-and-coming star of women’s table tennis. She put in a great performance at London 2012, only narrowly losing 4-2 to the eventual winner, Li Xiaoxia of China, in the third round.
And she’s only 16! And she’s from the USA, a country not particularly known for it’s table tennis champions.
I have to admit that before the Olympics I had never heard of Ariel Hsing! It is likely that I’m not as clued up on women’s table tennis as perhaps I should be but from talking to some other players, it seems I am not alone. I therefore decided to try and find out as much about Ariel Hsing as possible.
This article will track the rise of Ariel Hsing, from a regular seven year old kid to a US national champion, and beyond. My aim is to look at how she became so good, so early. Did you do loads of practice? Is she just naturally talented? Were her parents overly pushy? What clubs and programs was she part of?