It was a bad day to be ranked 77th in the world when facing a left-handed opponent from the United States. Such was the overarching theme amidst the table tennis action at the first day of the long-awaited 2020 Tokyo Olympics. After the dust from day one settled, Team USA was 4-0 thanks to its two lethal lefties, Nikhil Kumar (pictured) and Liu Juan, both making their Olympic debuts. The 18-year-old Californian Kumar was the target of dubious fortune right off the bat. With 65 players in the men's singles field, a play-in match was required to trim the field to an even 64. One player from the bottom-ranked 16 players was chosen to play Lkhagvasuren Enkhbat of Mongolia, the 65th seed. Kumar, seeded 55th, was selected to play the extra match, which the lefty looper won, 4-1. This set up a showdown with Alberto Mino of Ecuador, ranked 77th in the world, a century ahead of Kumar's 177. Despite Mino's numerical advantage, it was Kumar who ultimately held the winning lottery ticket, advancing with a hard-fought 4-2 win. "Nikhil had a good first Olympic day," reported US men's coach Stefan Feth. "The evening match against Mino may not have been Nikhil’s best, but he was able to find the mental strength to win the important points at the important moments." Kumar will need every bit of said mental strength in his matchup in the round of 32 with Sweden's Anton Källberg, the world #50 who has dominated the extremely competitive German Bundesliga over the last year. Kumar's USA teammate Liu Juan, twice his age at 36, is also making her first Olympic appearance. The left-handed penholder out of New York faced the most Olympic-seasoned opponent possible, taking on Nigeria's world #175 Olufunke Oshonaike in her record seventh Olympiad, a record for table tennis players. Despite the 45-year-old Oshonaike's Olympic pedigree, it was Juan Liu's relentless forehand attack which prevailed, 4-1. Safely through to the second round, the world #449 Juan Liu then faced world #77 Galia Dvorak of Spain. Once again, Liu gave no credence to her opponent's superior ranking, cruising by Dvorak, 4-1. "I thought Juan played well in both of her matches today," observed US women's coach Gao Jun. "Although this is her first time to play at the Olympics, she’s a smart player with a fair amount of experience, and she adjusted a couple of elements in her serve and return in the evening match against Galia that worked out well." For her efforts, Liu earns a Monday matchup with world #54 Barbora Balazova of Slovakia. While much remains to be determined in Tokyo, the USA's lethal lefties have settled one long-standing debate: under no circumstances will a table tennis player ranked 77th in the world will be winning an Olympic singles gold medal this time around.

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