Warren Buffet has discovered a ping pong phenom, and she is now on her way to the London Olympics this summer. When Ariel Hsing was a mere 11 years old, Buffet invited her to a shareholders meeting in Omaha to play table tennis against a number of prominent businessmen, including Bill Gates. Gates is a known ping pong enthusiast, and Hsing blew him and others out of the water. As you can already tell by watching the video above, Hsing’s pong skills are off the chart.
Ariel is now 16 years old and is the best under-18 player in the world. She is ranked No. 2 in the world across all age groups. Hsing’s unmatched skill has earned her a spot on the U.S. Olympic team, one that she earned while maintaining stellar grades in high school according to the Wall Street Journal. Her priority at the moment is preparing for the SAT exam, which she hopes will help her achieve her dream of attending Stanford in a couple years.
Hsing inherited her love for ping pong from her father who is an immigrant from Taiwan, and her mother who is an immigrant from China. China has dominated ping pong since it became an Olympic sport in 1988, winning 20 of 24 gold medals. The U.S. has never won an Olympic medal in ping pong, and they are hoping Ariel can help change that.
Buffet, whom Ariel refers to as “Uncle Warren,” promised he would go to watch her in the Olympics whether it was the 2012 or 2016 Games. The time is now, and from the look of it the Americans have a shot as long as she’s holding a paddle.
H/T Off the Bench
