The young athlete Rachel Sung already has a vast list of accomplishments, which includes several national titles and a gold medal from the Pan American Games. She will compete for the United States at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.
Rachel Sung qualifies for Olympics at Table Tennis Trials
Rachel Sung and Amy Wang have qualified for their first Olympic Games in Paris 2024. Their teammate Lily Zhang is a veteran, having already competed at the Olympics three times previously in 2012, 2016, and 2020.
Sung and Wang, who were roommates as freshmen at UCLA, secured their spots on the U.S. Olympic team by joining the previously qualified Zhang. During the qualifying event, Sung served a heavily spinning shot that her opponent, Sally Moyland, misjudged and sent into the net. With that winning serve, Sung achieved her dream of making the Olympic team.
“We had always hoped we would qualify together but didn’t dare believe it could be real,”
said Wang and Sung, speaking together to USA Table Tennis.
Rachel Sung’s Childhood
Rachel Sung was born on July 9, 2004, in West Monroe, Louisiana. Her parents, Michael Song and Anna Sung, were extremely supportive and encouraged her journey to qualify for the Olympics. The Sung family is deeply involved in table tennis, with Rachael’s dad, mom, and uncle all playing the sport.
Rachael has a twin sister named Joanna, who also plays table tennis. The two sisters have competed together in doubles events. Rachael is left-handed, while Joanna is right-handed. Although Joanna has stopped competing nationally, Rachael continues to impress on the national stage.
Both sisters were highly passionate about table tennis from an early age. They would train together and motivate each other to improve their skills. Joanna is currently part of the USA under-19 national table tennis team.
She has won gold in the under-19 Pan American Youth Team Championship and silver in the under-19 World Championship. Rachael’s father, Michael Sung, has been her main inspiration.
Rachel Sung has a very private life
Rachel Sung prefers to keep her personal life private. She does not have accounts on social media sites like Facebook. Her Instagram account is also set to private. Reports suggest that Rachael is currently single and not in any romantic relationship.
Starting of Rachel Sung’s career
Rachel Sung and her close friend Amy Wang have been playing table tennis since they were very young kids, around 4 and 5 years old. Now in their second year of college, the two have grown up together and share a strong friendship.
Rachael first showed her potential as an up-and-coming star in 2012 when she won the girls under-9 singles event at the US Open tournament. She also earned a silver medal in the under-11 category at the same event. Rachael was ranked among the top 5 girls under 15 years old and in the top 20 for girls under 19 years old.
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After multiple impressive performances at the junior level in national competitions, 2015 was the year Rachael made her mark on the international stage. She won a bronze medal in singles at the Butterfly Canadian Junior and Cadet Open and a silver medal at the China Junior & Cadet Open.
In 2016, Rachael won the Italian Junior & Cadet Open tournament. That same year, she had a breakthrough performance at the ITTF Pan American Junior Championships, winning a bronze medal in mixed doubles and a gold medal in the team event.
Representing the USA in International Competitions
After a few more successful years competing at the junior level, Rachel Sung was on the senior circuit in 2022. At the US National Table Tennis Championships, she won a bronze medal in the women’s singles event. She then went on to win the women’s doubles title at the 2022 U.S. Open Table Tennis Championships.
In 2023, after winning the women’s doubles event at the U.S. National Championships, Rachael and her UCLA roommate Amy Wang captured the gold medal at the 2023 Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile. Rachael and Amy, who are classmates at UCLA, also won the first-ever medal for the United States in table tennis at the World University Games in Chengdu, China this past summer.
At the 2024 US Olympic Team Trials for table tennis held from March 21st to 24th in West Monroe, Los Angeles, Rachael cemented her spot on the American team for Paris by finishing second in the women’s singles event. Rachael, Amy Wang, and veteran Lily Zhang have had great success as a team over the past year.
Along with Sally Moyland, they secured the US team’s qualification for the 2024 Paris Olympics at the Pan Am Championships in Havana, Cuba. The trio also won three medals at the 2023 Pan American Games: gold in women’s team, gold in women’s doubles, and bronze in women’s singles.
With this momentum on their side, Zhang, Wang, and Sung are aiming to make history at the 2024 Paris Olympics by winning the first-ever Olympic medal for the United States in table tennis.
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