Oh, what could have been. The US women's Olympic table tennis team of Lily Zhang, Juan Liu and Wang Huijing (pictured) were seeded ninth out of 16 in Tokyo. While certainly a respectable ranking, it also underscored the extreme difficulty of a podium finish with China, Japan and Germany topping the prescribed order. The first step toward Team USA dreaming their impossible dream was to face Chinese Taipei (a.k.a. Taiwan), the fifth seeds led by world #8 Cheng I-Ching. First up was doubles, with Lily Zhang and Liu Juan taking on Cheng Hsien-Tzu and Chen Szu-Yu. US women's head coach Gao Jun must have struggled to contain her excitement when Zhang and Liu went ahead two games to one, and held match point at 10-9 in the fourth. Then, her struggle would have been to suppress other emotions as Cheng and Chen scored three in a row to level the match. When Chinese Taipei took the deciding fifth game, 11-8, they won not only a 1-0 lead but also every bit of momentum and confidence Team USA had momentarily enjoyed. USA's Wang Huijing attempted to right the ship, but was no match for Cheng I-Ching, who won 3-0 to put Chinese Taipei on the hill. Chen Szu-Yu then sealed the deal with a 3-1 win over Liu Juan. "Obviously, it’s disappointing that we lost this match," lamented Lily Zhang. "I think we had some really good chances, especially in the doubles, which was quite important to come out of with a lead. We had match point, so it was heartbreaking that we lost that one. As a team, we really supported each other, and I’m proud that we gave everything that we had." Who knows what might have transpired had Lily Zhang and Liu Juan converted their match point in doubles? While Chinese Taipei were clearly the stronger team, it could have been a different story if the USA had started the match with a win. While their Taiwanese counterparts proceed to the quarterfinals, the US women now draw a bittersweet mixture of regret and inspiration from their tantalizing chance at advancement.

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