Two Blazers participate in national table tennis tournament

Sophomore Amaresh Sahu and freshman Janice Lan are both participating in the USA Table Tennis (USATT) 2006 Nationals in Las Vegas, Nevada this week. The competition, going on from Dec. 13-16, features skilled players from all ages in men's, women's and mixed singles and doubles.

Lan, who won her first game against a girl from California, says she hopes "the tournament will raise [her] rating." After her first win, her rating went from 1771 to 1831, with the top-ranked players in the world scoring around 2800. Lan is satisfied with this year's performance so far, as she claims she didn't do well in her first two years at the tournament.

Sahu also won his first game against a boy from Missouri. As of November, Sahu ranked fifth in the nation in boys under the age of 15 and 3rd in under-15 male U.S. citizens. Sahu, like Lan, is coming back for his third time. Last year he placed 2nd in one event at the tournament, which qualified him for a junior national team. He hopes to again make the team this year. Sahu is up for some stiff competition in the other events however, saying, "there are two top-ten players in the nation who live in Germantown – one is my coach and the other I'm about to face."