Kai Zhang was riding high. Zhang, a 22-year-old representing the United States, won gold in the mixed doubles at last week's ITTF-Pan American Championships. This week, Zhang beat the odds to emerge from the qualifying groups in the 2019 Paraguay Open. Although narrowly missing direct qualification, he literally won the lottery to advance to the main draw. Zhang's name was drawn at random from the qualifying group runners-up, one "lucky loser" advancing to the knockout rounds. Similar to the play-in games in the NCAA's "March Madness," this fortunate qualifier then faced the tournament's top seed. In this case, like an unheralded mid-major facing Duke, Zhang was matched with the tournament's #1 seed, Koki Niwa of Japan. Not content just to be there, world #546 Zhang pulled off a stunning upset, beating world #11 Niwa (11-4, 11-8, 11-6, 10-12, 11-2, 11-8). Having shocked the world, the pressure was on Zhang to continue the cinematic storyline. Alas, it was not to be. In the next round, Argentina's Horacio Cifuentes, world #79, prevailed (8-11, 11-6, 11-7, 11-8, 11-8) a few hours in advance of winning the Men's Under 21 title. While this result is not surprising, by the numbers, it is a splash of cold water for Zhang and all of us rooting for him. When the dust settles, Zhang will have much to celebrate for his fortnight in Paraguay. Aside from winning a gold medal at an international tournament and pulling off a historic upset of one of the world's top players, Zhang will enjoy a substantial leap in his world ranking. For Kai Zhang, it has been a most successful business trip. He is still flying high, business class.

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