Timing is everything. For top US player and coach Baiyu "Bob" Chen, decades of hard work have paid off with a tremendous honor. Now the chance to serve his country on the world stage is in jeopardy. A product of China's Shandong Luneng Table Tennis Club, known for producing grand slam champion Zhang Jike, Chen is a decorated player in his own right. The 2016 US Open Men's Singles finalist, Chen went on to co-found the Swan Warriors TTC in Sunnyvale, California. Partnering with Wenzhang Tao, currently the #1-rated player in the United States, Chen has helped develop top juniors like US Team member Nikhil Kumar. In recognition of his work, the USATT has asked Chen to coach Kumar and the rest of the USA men's team at the upcoming World Team Table Tennis Championships. Longtime Team USA coach Gao Jun will coach the women's squad. Scheduled to begin March 22 in Busan, Korea, the magnitude of the occasion is certainly not lost on Chen. "I am very honored to be given the trust to help our Men’s Team do their very best at the World Championships," said Chen. "I look forward to working with Jun Gao and all the team members. In the future, I hope that I can make American table tennis better through my efforts." Unfortunately, the future is obscured by the coronavirus epidemic. Now renamed COVID-19 by the World Health Organization (WHO), the deadly outbreak has already claimed over 2,250 lives and infected at least 76,000 worldwide. The first confirmed cases in the host city of Busan have been confirmed, causing the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) to call an emergency meeting with the Korea Table Tennis Association (KTTA). The First Stage draw for the World Championships, scheduled for tomorrow in Busan, have been indefinitely postponed as the WHO, ITTF and KTTA discuss the best way to move forward. In the meantime, Coach Bob Chen and the rest of Team USA continue to prepare for their hard-earned chance to shine on the world stage. Do you think they would miss a shot at heaven? Not a chance in hell. But now that chance is in limbo.

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