~Tritt herein~ » osh off of last seasons team has hurt him

NEW YORK -- Kanak Jha is having quite a year. He spent nine months playing professional table tennis in Europe, threw out the first pitch at a New York Mets game on his birthday and qualified for the Rio Olympics.And get this: Hes only 16.Im happy that Im the youngest, but I dont think about it so much, said Jha, who in April, when he was still 15, became the youngest male to qualify for table tennis in Olympic history. In the end, its just men.If he sounds mature for his age, he comes across that way. Jhas competitive during a match, but easygoing away from the table. He recently trained at the Lily Yip Table Tennis Center in the New York area with his five Olympic teammates and signed autographs for fans.He has a good fighting spirit, said U.S. Olympic coach Massimo Costantini. Sometimes at that age, they get upset and are not mature. Were working on the mental side to make him stronger. A simple mistake can compromise the entire match.You need a strong mental balance, Costantini said. Its not just managing success, but failure.Yip, who competed for the U.S. in table tennis at the 1992 Barcelona and 1996 Atlanta Games, is one of the national team coaches. She hosted the current Olympic team, which wrapped up three days of practice with an exhibition and fundraiser at her club in Dunellen, New Jersey.During the exhibition match, Jha started his serve by holding the ball and paddle a few inches from his nose, then tossing the ball 4 feet into the air before making contact. After the point, he wiped the table with his hand, a common players habit before serving.Although he lost the match to an older and higher-rated Chinese player, Jha drew warm applause from the mostly Asian audience.Gordon Kaye, CEO of the USA Table Tennis, says its rare to find a young player of his caliber that is so aware and comfortable within his surroundings.Its certainly not your basement pingpong, with quick best-of-7 singles matches played to 11 points. There are different styles -- defensive choppers or offensive loopers, who play a more aggressive game.The Chinese men and women are the best in the world, winning Olympic gold with regularity. Since the 1988 Olympics, China has won 47 medals, followed by South Korea (18) and Germany (5).The U.S. has never medaled in the sport, which offers singles and team competition. Gold-medalist Jike Zhang will return to defend his title in Rio, where competition begins Aug. 6.So why are the Chinese so good, aside from their devotion to the sport and its prominence in the culture?Theyre very strong, especially in the first three shots of the rally -- serve, receive and third-ball attack, Jha said. They really dominate the rally.Yue Jennifer Wu, like Yip, was born in China before becoming an American citizen. She moved from Beijing to New York eight years ago and improved her English by coaching at the club run by Wang Chen, a U.S. Olympian in the 2008 Games.The 26-year-old gives lessons in New York at Spin, a table tennis club and restaurant co-owned by Susan Sarandon. Wu recently went home to Beijing and Japan to train and played tournaments in Croatia and Slovenia.Table tennis in China is like the NBA here, everybody plays, Wu said. My mom plays three times a week and people love to watch.She ate no meat for a month while in Beijing, saying her concerns about banned steroids given to cattle trump those of the Zika virus in Rio. Wise decision, because drug testers arrived at 6:40 a.m. when she returned home in Fort Lee, New Jersey.Wu said it was a big dream to make the Olympics since she was 8 years old. She was quiet on the bus after qualifying for the Rio Olympics at the Pan Am Games last year because its hard to make Olympics, you work so very hard.Jha, who took up the sport at 5 at a recreation center near San Jose, California, lived in Sweden with his 19-year-old sister Prachi, who played on the national team but didnt qualify for Rio. He took online courses during his sophomore year in high school.Theres a consistent training system, Constantini said of the European circuit. A coach, trainer, physiotherapist. Its something you cant find in the U.S.Jhas parents are from India, and he was born in the U.S. His father Arun came to America to study business and works at Oracle. His mother Karuna worked at Sun Microsystems before starting her own hypnotherapy and reiki business.She feels my energy, Kanak said of the reiki treatments.Kanak uses positive imagery and self-talk before and during matches.Its kind of a ritual, he said. I just keep reviewing strategy and say some motivational things to myself. I talk (silently) to myself a lot. More than other athletes.The personal pep talks and affirmations seem to be working. Even so, his mom says she was so nervous watching the Olympic qualifying event in April in Markham, Ontario.Jha says hes looking forward to the athletes village and mingling with players from all over the world.Its a great opportunity at this young age to see how the Olympics works, Constantini said. He will be ready by 2020.Luc Robitaille Jersey . -- Gus Malzahn finally had his day in Fayetteville. Tim Horton Jersey . Oyama had six birdies and two bogeys at Kintetsu Kashikojima in the event also sanctioned by the Japan LPGA Tour. "I have been having this neck ache thats been affecting my golf recently," Oyama said. https://www.cheappenguinsjersey.com/2001q-matthew-barnaby-jersey-penguins.html . -- Damian Lillard and LaMarcus Alrdridge were again the go-to duo for the Trail Blazers against the Kings. Teddy Blueger Jersey . This should be celebrated because it will not always be this way. With the amount of money given to players by their clubs these days, it is a wonder that so many of those teams allow the sport to continue to take away many of their assets so they can play for a different team in the middle of their season. Kevin Stevens Jersey . He was followed closely by David Clarkson, donning red, seconds later. Clarksons actions one night earlier, leaping off the bench in defence of Kessel during a pre-season game against the Buffalo Sabres, will cost him the first 10 games of the regular season.MIAMI -- When the Utah Jazz (6-4) invade AmericanAirlines Arena on Saturday night, they will be looking to beat the Miami Heat (2-5) and put an exclamation point on what has so far been an excellent road trip.When the Jazz left home a little more than a week ago, they were a .500 team at 3-3. But they have since gone 3-1, including an 87-74 win over the Orlando Magic on Friday night.Saturdays game will be Utahs fifth in seven nights.You have to be mentally tough, Jazz shooting guard Rodney Hood told the media. This is the end of the trip. We have to be smart and focused.An interesting aspect of this winning road trip is that most of it has been accomplished without starting point guard George Hill, who is second on the team in scoring (20.4) and first in assists (5.0).Hill has missed the past three games due to a sprained right thumb, and the 30-year-old veteran was the teams key offseason acquisition.Dante Exum, a 6-6 Australian and the No. 5 pick in the 2014 NBA Draft, has been starting in Hills place, although his numbers this season are modest -- 6.3 points, 1.7 assists.Fortunately for the Jazz, 6-8 small forward Gordon Hayward just keeps getting better -- he has led Utah in scoring in each of the past three years. This season, he is leading again, averaging 25.7 points.Hood, a 6-6 former Duke star, is also improving. He averaged 8.5 points as a rookie, 14.5 points last season and is at 17.9 this year. Derrick Favors (10.6 points, 7.6 rebounds) is a solid veteran at power forward and is capable of more -- he averaged 16.4 points last season.Rounding out the Utah starting lineup is 7-1 French center Rudy Gobert, who is nearly averaging a double-double -- 9.3 points, 10.3 rebounds and 2.2 blocks.Gobert, who will be a restricted free agent after this season, should have an interesting matchup on Saturday against Heat center Hassan Whiteside, who got paid this past summer.ddddddddddddWhiteside, who signed a four-year, $98 million extension with Miami, is averaging 17.9 points and 14.7 rebounds -- monster numbers.Still, Whitesides heroics are not enough for the Heat, who are on a three-game losing streak. The skid could have been six in a row had Miami not escaped with an overtime win over the Sacramento Kings.Whiteside stated what is pretty obvious, that there has been a talent drain on the Heat and that losing Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh off of last seasons team has hurt him in particular.With D-Wade, I never had to work on it, said Whiteside, explaining that his former teammate would often feed him lobs that led to easy dunks. He just saw it.Whiteside is still putting up impressive numbers -- he had 20 points and a season-high 20 rebounds on Thursday against the Chicago Bulls. But the lob dunks arent there as much, and Miami lacks the perimeter shooting to make teams pay for sagging and doubling on Whiteside.If teams collapse on Hassan, we have to be ready to make a play, said Miamis Justise Winslow, who could be emerging as a point forward. We would love to get Hassan lobs. But we have to read the defense and take what they give us. We cant force.Perhaps Saturday is the night the Heat break out of their slump. After all, the Jazz, who have former Heat forward Joe Johnson as part of their bench brigade, have talked openly about fatigue setting in at the end of this trip.Weve played a lot of games, Hayward said. It feels like weve been on the road for quite a while now. ' ' '