Paris Olympics 2024 Table Tennis Star Lily Zhang’s Parents Want Her To ‘Stop Playing’ and ‘Have a Normal Job’
The 28-year-old has competed in four Olympics and recently made it to the round of 16 in women's singles competition at the Paris Olympic Games. Lily Zhang has won several accolades in her career and is also regarded as one of USA's top table tennis players.
Imagine representing your country at the highest level, competing in four editions of the Summer Olympic Games and making the nation proud on a number of occasions. And yet your parents want to quit the sport and settle down with a normal job. This is exactly the story of American table tennis star Lily Zhang, whose parents want her to 'stop playing the sport' and opt for a more common profession. Zhang, also known as the 'Queen of American table tennis' is competing the Paris Olympics 2024 this year and recently suffered a defeat in the last 16 of women's singles table-tennis. She is, however, slated to compete in the team event, however. Nigerian Sprinter Favour Ofili Reveals She Has Been Left Out of Women’s 100 M Event at Paris Olympics 2024 After Officials Miss Out on Registering Her Name,
The 28-year-old paddler was born to Chinese parents Linda Liu and Bob Zhang, who moved to North America. In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Zhang's mother, Liu, said, "We always try to convince her to stop playing. We just want her to have a normal job. “We are traditional Chinese parents. We always want her to focus on school. I always wanted her to get a job and be a regular girl." Zhang was interestingly introduced to the sport by her parents, who wanted to learn a game, which is the national sport of her country, China. In her initial days, the table tennis table used to be a makeshift dining table in her family. Without Any Specialised Gear Turkey's Yusuf Dikec ‘Casually’ Wins Silver Medal in 10 M Air Pistol Mixed Team at Paris Olympics 2024, Pic Goes Viral.
Zhang started to play table tennis at age 10 and soon represented the USA in the 2012 London Olympics. A failure had briefly led her to part ways with the sport, but Zhang was determined to make it big. Her mother, though, felt it was 'enough', but she had other ideas. Zhang went on to compete at the Rio Olympics in 2016 and also at the Tokyo edition of the Summer Olympic Games in 2021, a year after she completed her graduation. She did try to reason her parents' take on her playing table tennis as she said, "There are so many things that can happen that can take away your stability in an instant," she said. She is a six-time US National Champion, having won in 2012, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2019 and 2022.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 01, 2024 09:20 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).