Bouncing around the globe to Ping-Pong pinnacle

"The first three (goals) have been met. All I need to do is to fight for the fourth and last one, irrespective of the result," he said.

Zhang spent June in Beijing, training first in Chengdu and then in his hometown, Beijing.

"I'll be in Germany between August and next May for further training. But in October, I'll play against the Canadians in the North America Olympic Games team qualification," he said. "This is to get ready for the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, and I'm now fighting to be one of three who could play the qualification representing the US."

The competition is fierce to the point of being cruel. But for Zhang, who became a US citizen in April and thus eligible for representing the country in international competitions, that is how things have always been.

"I was introduced to ping-pong as a 5-year-old, when a coach came to our kindergarten looking for kids with potential. He pinched a few shoulders and asked us to move around a little bit. And before I knew it, I was handpicked, the only one out of the entire class," he said.

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