Amy Wang Victorious in Olympic Debut against Priscilla Tommy (VAN)
by USA Table Tennis
PARIS, FRANCE - JULY 27: Amy Wang of Team United States looks on during a Women's Singles Round of 64 match on day one of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 at South Paris Arena on July 27, 2024 in Paris, France. (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
Paris, France – July 27th, 2024 – In a moment made of childhood dreams, Amy Wang walked into the gleaming teal courts of South Paris Arena to play in her first Olympic match. The moment was a long time in the making for the star from New Jersey, who won two Pan Am Games gold medals in Santiago last fall, before winning the U.S. Olympic Trials in March of this year. Calm, collected, and a smile indicative of the moment, Amy shone in her debut and won 4-0 against Priscilla Tommy (VAN) 11-7, 11-8, 11-9 and 11-5.
“There were a lot of USA fans out there cheering for me, so I felt very happy and over all really excited. Going onto the court, I was a bit nervous since it’s my first Olympics and I wanted to do well. I’m satisfied.”
Her opponent, Priscilla Tommy, had her own cheering crowd from her home island of Vanuatu. Although those cheers didn’t impact Amy, who was all business in playing against Priscilla’s defensive style.
“I’ve never met her at a tournament before, so I think it was very foreign to me – getting to know her and her playing style. But I’ve played many choppers in the past and so I knew how to approach her. “
Amy’s win caps off an exciting 24 hours for the UCLA college student, who said the highlight of her Opening Ceremonies was talking to all the NBA basketball players, especially Stephen Curry, who was very excited to learn that Amy and the team played table tennis.
Amy moves on to the round of 32 and plays the winner of Adriana Diaz (PUR) and Izabela Lupulesku (SRB) on Monday July 29th.