l******l
发帖数: 2651 | 1 U.S. table tennis mecca in Milpitas
不是所有印度人只靠忽悠。
Source:
http://www.mercurynews.com/other-sports/ci_21014290/bay-areas-l
Pingpong paddles spill out of a laundry bin on the floor of Rajul Sheth's
office in Milpitas -- just a small hint of the large entrepreneurial success
story at work here.
In a quiet corner of the South Bay, just beyond the neatly trimmed, cookie-
cutter neighborhoods, Sheth has turned a boxy warehouse into the country's
biggest table tennis center. In doing so the Indian immigrant is changing
the face of a sport that has largely been an Olympic afterthought to
Americans.
Three of the four U.S. players headed to the London Games have honed their
craft at the India Community Center -- San Jose's Ariel Hsing, Palo Alto's
Lily Zhang and Houston's Timothy Wang, who moved to the Bay Area two years
ago to improve his skills.
No club has ever sent three players to a single Olympics, according to
Massimo Costantini of Italy, the program's main teacher and 2011 U.S. coach
of the year.
"It never happened anywhere in the world," the coach of Italy's 2004 Olympic
team said. "Even in China. So this is a miracle."
The International Table Tennis Association has designated the Milpitas
center as one of 22 hot spots for the sport around the world.
The startup spirit can be found everywhere at the ICC, which hosts summer
camps with almost 500 kids.
Sheth, 42, was once a national level player in India. Now he is the program'
s director and coach -- and the perpetually sunny promoter of a sport he
loves. The center has 25 blue tables
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sitting atop red floors with hothouse fluorescent lighting bearing down, all
good for simulating the atmosphere of major tournaments.
With the repetitive click and clack of hard-plastic balls pinging off tables
, the airy warehouse has the sound of a primeval forest filled with singing
insects.
"You have thousands of kids and you are trying to get that one," Sheth said
of finding a champion.
This is not what Sheth planned to do with his life. He came to the United
States in 2002
with the intention of earning a master's degree in mechanical engineering.
Economic conditions forced him to work 80-hour weeks instead.
Sheth commuted to jobs by bus and bike while working at the Great Mall and
the graveyard shift at a gas station. He often noticed a regular customer at
the station wearing table tennis clothing.
That led to an invitation to play at San Jose State in 2004. It didn't take
Sheth long to impress local competitors. After a few more tournaments in the
Bay Area, Sheth was asked to help the ICC start a program.
He began with five tables and a dozen kids. Within two years Sheth had
attracted 60 students and quit his other jobs. It was time to get serious
when Hsing joined the club in 2008.
Sheth laid out a plan to develop Olympic-level players in a country that
lacks academies and professional table tennis leagues. The United States has
only about 25 such clubs, while China has upward of a 1,000.
Sheth proved not only exceptional as a coach but knew how to work the angles
like any good entrepreneur.
When he sought to move to a bigger facility, he found a benefactor in Steve
Westly, who had stopped by the ICC while running for governor in 2006. When
Westly walked in for a brief meet-and-greet, he was taken aback.
"They're not playing wimpy pingpong," he recalled.
After losing the Democratic primary, the venture capitalist returned to the
ICC to take lessons from Sheth. Westly and ICC co-founder Anil Godhwani each
gave $25,000 for the move to the current location. Sheth matched their
investment through fundraisers.
Westly saw similarities between the industrial park table tennis factory and
high-tech accelerators that have sprouted throughout Silicon Valley.
"He is the Steve Jobs of pingpong," Westly said of Sheth.
In an updated version of pingpong diplomacy, Sheth hired coaches from India
and China to help him with the growing number of prospects.
By the time Zhang joined the club in 2009, the center was a microcosm of the
Bay Area's rich cultural blend. Where else would children of Chinese and
Taiwanese immigrants train at an Indian facility with an Italian coach?
"I do like how all the cultures blend together here," said Hsing, who will
be a senior at Valley Christian High in the fall. "It does symbolize the
melting pot of America."
The teen is a table tennis prodigy who has played exhibitions against the
likes of Warren Buffett and Bill Gates. She is a three-time national
champion who at age 15 was the youngest to win a U.S. title in women's
singles.
Hsing's mother grew up playing table tennis in the Henan province of China.
Xin Jiang continued playing when moving to the United States. So did her
husband, Michael Hsing, a computer engineer from Taiwan.
Their daughter started playing at age 7 when the parents took her to a club
because they couldn't find a baby sitter.
The goal now is not just to play in the Olympics but to win a medal in Rio
de Janeiro in 2016. Chinese players hold the top four places in the latest
world rankings. Hsing, who once said she took 10,000 swings per day, is
ranked No. 115. Zhang is No. 134. Wang is No. 408 among men.
Hsing and Zhang, who both want to attend Stanford, are among the world's top
junior players.
Sheth, though, leaves nothing to chance. He has imported seven full-time
training partners, each with a different style. Before the final Olympic
qualifying tournament, the director flew in an Indian player who uses an
unusual style called "a chopper."
That way when Hsing came up against a Canadian chopper for a chance to go to
London, she was well prepared.
"There is nothing they are not familiar with," Sheth said.
Contact Elliott Almond at 408-920-5865 and | L*S
发帖数: 1773 | 2 烙印打球还是有打得不错的。
success
【在 l******l 的大作中提到】
: U.S. table tennis mecca in Milpitas
: 不是所有印度人只靠忽悠。
: Source:
: http://www.mercurynews.com/other-sports/ci_21014290/bay-areas-l
: Pingpong paddles spill out of a laundry bin on the floor of Rajul Sheth's
: office in Milpitas -- just a small hint of the large entrepreneurial success
: story at work here.
: In a quiet corner of the South Bay, just beyond the neatly trimmed, cookie-
: cutter neighborhoods, Sheth has turned a boxy warehouse into the country's
: biggest table tennis center. In doing so the Indian immigrant is changing
| t*******t
发帖数: 1656 | 3 maybe Chinese can start a cricket center
【在 L*S 的大作中提到】
: 烙印打球还是有打得不错的。
:
: success
| d*******n
发帖数: 308 | 4 Re
success
【在 l******l 的大作中提到】
: U.S. table tennis mecca in Milpitas
: 不是所有印度人只靠忽悠。
: Source:
: http://www.mercurynews.com/other-sports/ci_21014290/bay-areas-l
: Pingpong paddles spill out of a laundry bin on the floor of Rajul Sheth's
: office in Milpitas -- just a small hint of the large entrepreneurial success
: story at work here.
: In a quiet corner of the South Bay, just beyond the neatly trimmed, cookie-
: cutter neighborhoods, Sheth has turned a boxy warehouse into the country's
: biggest table tennis center. In doing so the Indian immigrant is changing
| Q**J
发帖数: 23283 | 5 也是中国教练带出来的好不好！！
而且Lily zhang也主要是svttc在带
TW是TX打出来的， Arial 主要是住家教练。
ICC主要是有人赞助， 所以给他们发工资， 就都挂他们的牌子。 | q***l
发帖数: 177 | 6 不懂详细的。似乎老英的生意脑袋比老中要厉害。这么一项彻底中国人的运动，在美国
还是老英的功劳。 | K**S
发帖数: 158 | | m*******i
发帖数: 8711 | 8 It is a shame to all chinese here. | Q**J
发帖数: 23283 | 9 ft
你大家都记得别把小孩送去给他们教啊！！
反正我娃是不去的。
不过现在大量的中国小孩也都是来我们中国人的俱乐部学球了， 过个几年， 没准儿就
都是我们SVTTC培养出来的了。哈哈。
ICC比较无耻的是， 别的俱乐部有了出成绩的小孩， 他们就拍钱来抢， 我们这边刚刚
培养出来一个打的好的削球手， 他们就来挖人。
弯曲这么多中国人的乒乓球俱乐部，实在想不通为什么有中国家长会愿意把小孩送去印
度人俱乐部。
【在 m*******i 的大作中提到】
: It is a shame to all chinese here.
| m*******i
发帖数: 8711 | 10 why 无耻？It is part of business. Just like Yankees.
【在 Q**J 的大作中提到】
: ft
: 你大家都记得别把小孩送去给他们教啊！！
: 反正我娃是不去的。
: 不过现在大量的中国小孩也都是来我们中国人的俱乐部学球了， 过个几年， 没准儿就
: 都是我们SVTTC培养出来的了。哈哈。
: ICC比较无耻的是， 别的俱乐部有了出成绩的小孩， 他们就拍钱来抢， 我们这边刚刚
: 培养出来一个打的好的削球手， 他们就来挖人。
: 弯曲这么多中国人的乒乓球俱乐部，实在想不通为什么有中国家长会愿意把小孩送去印
: 度人俱乐部。
| Q**J
发帖数: 23283 | 11 ai! 也是， 但是我们俱乐部没有那么财大气粗， 没办法啊！！
我只能对自己说， 万一将来有朝一日我家自己娃不小心也成长到可能被挖的时候，
我不能为了每个月省那么几百块钱， 辜负了教练辛辛苦苦教娃的心血， 跑去投靠烙印
【在 m*******i 的大作中提到】
: why 无耻？It is part of business. Just like Yankees.
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