JOHNS CREEK, GA (WXIA) – The Olympic Games is a great time to learn about different sports. Table tennis is one that is huge in China, but is slowly growing in the United States.
Yijun Feng is a young Chinese-American player from Johns Creek who is on his way to his first Olympic Games.
If Feng walked around his home town in China, he would certainly be a celebrity – but not in the US, where table tennis is not exactly the most-watched sport.
Just a day around town, and Feng knows most people are not exactly in tune with his game.
It’s truly a skill, and definitely a sport.
Six hours a day, six days a week, Yijen Feng has a paddle in his hand, hovered over a table, and goes to work.
“Most people only know ping pong as a garage sport or beer pong, but they don't know how competitive it is,” he said.
And it's the competition that drives Feng to get better. He is the number one ping pong player in the US.
After winning four major tournaments last year, he had one final goal – a trip to Rio.
“Loving the feel when your hard work pays off, and that when you win first place and qualify for the Olympics,” he said. “You know you didn't work for nothing."
The sacrifice was all worth it. Feng and his family moved from China to the US when he was 7 years old to follow his dreams.
One coach, different cities, new schools – It’s a lot for a teenager to get accustomed to.
“Just fitting into a new environment and making new friends,” he said. “Every time you move to a new place you're like alone.”
Balancing life hasn't distracted this very focused 19-year-old. He spends his day training for gold with a coach. It’s a very mental game.
“How you play is how you think," he said.
But it also call for physical endurance.
“You also do workouts. You do foot work,” he said. “It's the same like basketball or football. You have to build strong cores. It's not like you just stand there and then play."
It's one of the many discrepancies Feng has to dispute.
For the summer, Feng will continue to fine tune his skills as he will join three others on the US National Team.
“That was always the dream,” he said. “But I think I should get another dream. Like make another Olympics."
Feng says after the Olympics, he’s hoping to go back to school and attend the University of Georgia. He’s hoping to get more people interested in learning table tennis. But he says this is only the beginning to his Olympic endeavors.
