It was nearly perfection. Their spirits buoyed by winning gold in the women's team event in the 2019 ITTF-Pan American Championships in Asunción, Paraguay, Team USA set out for more medals in the singles events. It all went according to plan in the women's draw. Wu Yue advanced with a bye. While not as dramatic as other results, her advancement was well-earned by dint of her #2 seeding. Amy Wang beat Argentina's Camila Kaizoji 4-0. For her troubles, she earns a spot with top seed Zhang Mo of Canada. Lily Zhang, the fourth seed, got the best of Mexico's Clio Barcenas, 4-0. Tomorrow she faces Valentina Rios of Chile. Crystal Wang also posted a clean sweep, this one at the expense of Argentina's Ana Codina. Tomorrow she faces #3 seed Bruna Takahashi of Brazil, who surely has not forgotten losing the team gold to the USA only yesterday. Meanwhile, over in the men's bracket, Team USA did their best to keep up with the ladies. Top seed Kanak Jha overcame Argentina's Santiago Lorenzo, 4-1. Tomorrow morning he squares off against Brian Afanador of Puerto Rico. Kai Zhang secured a 4-1 decision against Chile's Gustavo Gomez, earning him a matchup with fifth-seeded Marcos Madrid of Mexico. Nikhil Kumar (pictured) advanced 4-1 against Ricardo Villa, also of Mexico. Tomorrow he will go mano-a-mano with Argentina's Horacio Cifuentes. Alas, Nicholas Tio could not catch the wave, falling 1-4 to Ecuador's Alberto Mino, the seventh seed. With seven players in the two sweet sixteens, the USA is well positioned to have multiple candidates for podium positions. As Nicholas rises to his feet to cheer on his team, surely they will rise to the occasion and avenge their fallen comrade. It would be the perfect ending.

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