Ariel Hsing has been one of the better stories -- if not the story -- of the 2012 London Olympics. Just 16 years old and ranked 114th in the world, Hsing, an American from the Bay Area, kept winning and was placed up against the world's 3rd-best player on Sunday evening. Despite the crowd heavily in support of Hsing (even Bill Gates was cheering her on!), she eventually fell to Li Xiaoxia in six sets.
In the best-of-seven match, Xiaoxia and Hsing split the first four sets. Despite a great comeback attempt late in the fifth set, Xiaoxia battled back to win and go up 3-2. She then won the sixth set to clinch a victory.
It was a tough loss for Hsing, but she has an incredibly bright future in table tennis. Look for her to come back better than ever when the 2016 Olympics begin.
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