| 2nd Youth Olympics - Nanjing China |
The 2nd Youth Olympic Games has started, this time in Nanjing, China. Table Tennis Canada will have one athlete in the run with Anqi Luo as well as new International Umpire Briant Won. Both of them will keep us updated over the next 9 days with their experiences from Nanjing.
The events can be watched live at these locations, plus on the TV networks that have purchased the rights:
Day 9
Team China was too strong for our team from Canada & Puerto Rico. They lost against the favourite with 2-0, while Anqi had her chances in the second game against Gaoyang Liu with a 7-3 lead. Now it is time to watch some of the opponents play and get some training with the new plastic ball to prepare for the 2014 North American Championships in Toronto the end of August.
Anqi: “When I knew I was going to play against China in the team event, I was more happy rather than sad. It is not very often that I can get a chance to challenge the best country in the world in our sport. The Youth Olympic Games have been the biggest games I have ever participated in. I am very proud to be one of the the 32 girls that qualified and through those high level tournaments I am learning on how important it is to adjust quickly to your opponent while playing different styles in just a few sets on the court."
Briant: “I am feeling that the days are going by very fast and it is not much time left before going back home. The atmosphere in the stadium is great, especially when china is playing important matches. Plus, all of the young umpires are about the same age and it we are hanging out at the end of the day.”
Day 7 & 8
Today was the beginning of the team event and Anqi partnered up with Brian Afanador from Puerto Rico in the Intercontinental 1 team. In the morning they watched their friend Lily Zhang from the United States in the bronze medal game, winning and taking home the 3rd place.
In the afternoon they played vs. Africa, won 3-0, afterwards loosing to Japan 2-1 before securing their space for the last 8 against India with a 2-1 win. They will be facing the team from China at 1pm on Friday August 22nd.
Anqi: “The bronze medal match was very exciting to watch. The score was so close and it could have gone either way. Each point ad the rallies created such an intense atmosphere. It was a great match. Today, Africa was a little bit weaker, but good for us to start our tournament against. We were able to practice our double, what helped us to win 3-2 against the Japanese double in our 2-1 loss."
Briant umpired a lot of matches over the last few days. Including the women’s consolation semi final and the women’s semi final. On the singles final day, he even umpired the match between China and Hong Kong in the morning, while working on more matches in the team event.
Briant: “It was great to be part of those matches, even a big upset when Europe 3 beat Latin America 1. I am looking forward to the last 2 days ahead of us.”
Day 6 (Competition Day 3)
Day 3 of the Table Tennis competition at the 2014 Youth Olympic Games included the finals of the consolations round and the quarter and semi finals in the singles event. There was no Canadian participation, so Anqi was able to rest and watch some of the games. Tomorrow they will start with the team event and Anqi will partner up with Brian AFANADOR from Puerto Rico. 
Anqi: “There was not much time to practice the doubles for the mixed team event, so we have to see how it goes.”
Briant: “It was a long day, but great. First 2 matches in the morning, then racket control in the evening. After that 8 of the 12 ITO (International Umpires) went out together and enjoyed the city."
Day 4 & 5 (Competition Day 1 & 2)
"This is the first day of the tournament and my first day of umpiring at such a big event”, says Brian.
“Interesting enough I will start on the show court (court #1). At first I was a bit nervous before my first match of the tournament, but once I started, it was just like any other matches I’ve umpired.”
Anqi is very proud to be a Youth Olympian and representing her country in Nanjing, China for the 2014 Youth Olympic Games. She feels very lucky to have the chance in participating in such a prestigious event.
“The venue is quite nice. I don’t think that I played too good over the last two days, I was nervous in the last match in the groups stages as I had to fight for a spot to advance into the round of the last 8. My goal was to get into the quarter finals, but I was unlucky with my draw, so I was not able
to achieve it. Gaoyang Liu was just too strong for me.” Anqi is staying in the very modern, very flashy, Athletes Village. There is a lot of beautiful ponds in the residence area and the overall look is very environmental, very eco friendly. She continuous … “whenever I get the time, I am going to the public areas to socialize and meet new people. My mission is to collect as many pins as possible!!! I have also become very good friends with my roommates and they are very nice and funny people."
Anqi’s results
First Stage Group H: Anqi vs. Herng Hwee Yee (SIN) 3:0
First Stage Group H: Anqi vs. Tamolwan Khetkhuan (THA) 0:3
First Stage Group H: Anqi vs. Sannah Lagsir (ALG) 3:0
Round of 1/8: Anqi vs. Liu Gaoyang (CHN) 0:4
Day 3"The Day of the Openings Ceremony. Despite all the rain in China, it was a great performance and I am happy to be part of this amazing experience!” -Brian Won
Day 2
Anqi is getting ready for her first day in Nanjing. “It has been raining a lot in Nanjing, China, which cools it down a little bit. Plus, I have a great view of the city here. Now I am preparing for the singles event and have a look at the venue and starting my first practice today.”
Day 1
Briant’s first day in Nanjing was pretty good. First he met all the umpires for the Officials meeting to go through some training and then followed by the umpires briefing in the event. “The venue looks very nice, but some of the Athletes mentioned that it is smaller than expected. This will be a great experience and I am looking forward to the next few days at the 2nd Youth Olympics here in Nanjing, China.”