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Fremont Table Tennis Academy had 4 students playing the 2021 US Nationals in Las Vegas this past week. There were many different rating and age events with all usually featuring a round robin group of 4 with the winners advancing to a single elimination draw. There were 526 total players in the Nationals.
It was a great experience for all. Siva and Shri are 10-year old twins who are among the best for their age in the US. After incorrect results are corrected from the last tournament, Siva may have a tournament rating over 1700. Sumedh just turned 11 in June (same age table tennis wise as Siva and Shri as all born in 2010) and gave many players much higher than his 796 rating a tough time. All three had a chance for the boys 11 national team (top 8 boys) in June in New York but we all decided not to go. Joe, who is from Colorado, and been with Fremont Table Tennis Academy since early this year played for the experience and will be moving back to Colorado shortly. I knew it was going to be hard to win a medal this year as there were no events right above their rating like Under 1000 and Under 1200 which they normally always have. The lowest rating event was Under 1400 rating event. Ratings were often inaccurate as some players stopped training during COVID times but many were training a lot without any competitions over the past 1-2 years so were severely underrated.
However, Siva and Shri were still only one match away from winning a medal. Siva made the quarters of Under 1400 losing 3-2. Siva was also in the final 16 of boys 11 years and under where he lost to the eventual finalist. Shri made the round of 16 in Under 1400 and the quarters of Under 1600. Both lost to older kids in the rating events. Shri, entering with a rating of 928, beat players with ratings above 1500 and 1700. Sumedh, despite being the lowest seed in his events battled and narrowly lost to players with ratings upto 1800. Sumedh nearly advanced in boys 11 years, Under 1400, and even Under 1800 despite usually being the lowest seed in his group of 4. This tournament has really motivated Sumedh to be more serious in table-tennis. Joe played for experience and performed better as the tournament went on including winning a game against a 1900+. Joe is moving away and unsure how his table tennis will work back in Colorado. Sumedh, Siva, and Shri can become very good players.
Overall it was a great experience for all 4. Hope many more Fremont Table Tennis Academy students attend future major tournaments. The next major tournament will likely be the US Open in December.
