Kanak Jha Locked In – Defeats Cho Daeseong (KOR) 4-2 in Round of 64

Paris France – July 28, 2024 – To cheers of “U. S. A.” in the crowd, Kanak Jha earned a place in history by being the first male athlete from the U.S. to reach the round of 32 at the Olympic Games since Jimmy Butler in 1992. With a 4-2 win over world ranked #20 Cho Daeseong, Kanak keeps American hopes alive in the table tennis competition at the South Paris Arena at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.

Kanak’s focus was impressive throughout the match. Crediting his experience again, Kanak mentioned that it was Cho’s first Olympics compared to his third, and that experience plays a huge factor in success at the Olympic Games.

“I try not to let my emotions get the better of me. I had 3-1 and [Cho] was really close to tying it at 3-3. I think my mentality played a big factor in today’s win. I tried to not worry too much about the score, just focus on the tactics. Cho is such an amazing player.” – Kanak Jha

With backhand punches that take the pace off the ball, tricky long serves, and sending the ball wide to Cho’s forehand, Kanak played the perfect tactical game to close out the match 12-10 in the 6^th. At 10-10 in the 6^th, Kanak “had a really good feeling on what he was going to do. So I just said, I’ll go with it and I trusted it. I stayed confident and went for it.”

The closing shot of the match and a fist in the air – Kanak moves on to the round of 32 which will be played on July 31^st at 12 noon.