One by one, they fell, until only one remained. The American contingent at the 2019 ITTF World Tour Austrian Open showed up five strong, each waging a valiant individual battle. In the women's singles preliminary rounds, Lily Zhang and Wu Yue made strong showings before losing to the winners of their respective brackets. Lily Zhang's undoing came in the form of China's Gu Yuting in their group's semifinal. Wu Yue was stopped in the final of her qualifying bracket by China's Qian Tianyi. Despite Wu Yue's obvious disappointment, she is in good company. Qian Tianyi proceeded to eliminate reigning World Champion and World Cup holder, her compatriot Liu Shiwen. Meanwhile, over in the men's singles, the USA's Kai Zhang and Nicholas Tio were unable to advance from their qualifying brackets. This left Kanak Jha as the only American singles player to advance to the main draw. There, Jha met a familiar opponent in the form of Brazil's Hugo Calderano. As the top-ranked men in their respective continents, they frequently clash in the Pan Am Games. Calderano, ranked sixth in the world, was a heavy favorite over Jha, ranked 26th. This did not stop Jha from building an early 2-1 advantage in games. Alas, it was a lead he could not sustain, as the brilliant Brazilian stormed back to claim the match, (11-9, 8-11, 8-11, 11-5, 11-3, 11-5). "It was tough, my opponent has been playing well lately," said a relieved Calderano after the match. "He has been winning against good players to reach the main draw here." With the American archetype of rugged individualism no longer viable, the strategy shifted to teamwork. More specifically, Lily Zhang and Wu Yue joined forces to wreak havoc in women's doubles. After escaping the preliminary rounds with a 3-2 win over France's Pauline Chasselin and Laura Gasnier, the dynamic duo found themselves in the main draw's round of 16. There, they met the Hong Kong team of China’s Soo Wai Yam Minnie and Ng Wing Nam. Wasting little time, the Americans advanced with a (11-6, 11-6, 15-13). scoreline. "We worked very well as a team today," said Zhang afterward. "In advance we watched some videos of our opponents as we had already played against them previously this year." Indeed, the preparation paid off. For their efforts, they earned an elite eight encounter with Japan's Miu Hirano and Kasumi Ishikawa, both ranked in the world's top ten. "In our upcoming match against the Japanese pairing," confessed Wu Yue, "our main goal is to win one game." This is perhaps an overly modest goal, but a realistic one for two players ranked in the thirties. Of course, after working together to reach the quarterfinals of the ITTF Team World Cup, their confidence and chemistry should be at an all-time high. Divided, we fell. United, we stand.

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