RIO DE JANEIRO -- A few months before U.S. table tennis player Tahl Leibovitz left his home in Queens, N.Y., for the Rio Paralympic Games, his wife, Dawn, heard a bang late at night. They didnt identify the source of the noise until their neighbor told them her air conditioner had fallen onto their car.The neighbor was low on money but wanted to pay for the damage eventually. Leibovitz refused the offer.He understands what its like to be in a dark place, his wife said.Amid a childhood scarred by an uneasy relationship with his father and long periods of homelessness, Leibovitz found table tennis. A three-time Paralympic medalist, the 41-year-old competed in his fifth games in Rio, losing in the quarterfinals. He said he hopes to continue playing another eight years, pointing toward a possible Los Angeles 2024 Games.I would define my self-value and self-esteem, he said, through winning and through playing table tennis.He often competes in able-bodied tournaments but meets the classification standards for the Paralympics because he has osteochondroma, which causes benign bone tumors that can limit movement.Previously a substance abuse counselor, Leibovitz works at New York Families for Autistic Children.I tell my patients that although they believe they are not OK, in reality they are actually OK, he said. Their circumstances may not be.When Leibovitz was a young teenager, he broke a basement window at his house. Tensions over that incident with his father began an eight-year period of on and off homelessness, he said.In addition to staying away from home, he stayed away from school. Sixth grade was the last year he completed.The Boys & Girls Club in Queens opened at 3 p.m. on weekdays. There, he could play table tennis until the club closed around 9 p.m. He slept on subway trains at night.I dont know if (returning home) was really an option for me at that time, Leibovitz said.He and his twin sister, Maja, said their father, Ernest, physically abused them. His father, when reached for this story, said he did not consider his treatment of his children abuse.I wasnt hitting him because I was getting mad and upset. I was hitting him because I was trying to make a point, Leibovitzs father said, adding that his son was a problematic teenager.His mother, who was divorced from his father, died in 2006. His father said he wasnt aware of his sons perpetual homelessness. His son told him he was living with friends.Leibovitz and his father now see each other about once a month, they both said, living just over a mile apart.He feels bad about me being homeless for that many years, but he said it made me very tough and who I am, Leibovitz said.Leibovitz played in his first table tennis tournament at the Junior Olympic trials when he was 15. At a tournament in New Jersey in 1995, an international referee told him he might classify for Paralympic sport because of his condition.The next year, Leibovitz won gold and bronze at the Atlanta Paralympics while still homeless. Soon after, he moved in with his twin sister.Leibovitz, who also won bronze at the 2004 Games, is self-coached. Angie Bengtsson, the U.S. table tennis head coach in Rio, said they communicate over the phone to discuss his training. At training camps and tournaments, Bengtsson said Leibovitz helps younger players.They have a lot of respect for him, Bengtsson said. A lot of them want to be just like him.In addition to his athletic success, Leibovitz earned his GED and said he has bachelors and masters degrees from Queens College and a second masters in social work from NYU.Pieces of his past show in his outlook on his sport.Whether I win or lose, Im OK, Leibovitz said. Im not going to say it doesnt matter, but it doesnt change who I am.In 2002, Leibovitz used an inheritance from his grandfather to buy a three-bedroom condo, which he said is too big. Its a problem, he said, he never thought he would have.Im sure theres a lot of it that he wishes he didnt have to go through, his wife said. Even though it was all bad that happened, it will be applied to his life to help others. Thats what hes doing with it now.---Emily Giambalvo is a journalism student at the University of Georgia. Penn State and Georgia are partnering with The Associated Press to supplement coverage of the 2016 Paralympics. Fake Shoes Outlet . -- If this was Aaron Gordons final home game at Arizona, and it almost certainly was, then he went out in style. Fake Yeezy . Just as Montreal was settling into the first full working week of a new year, the Impact announced the appointment of their new head coach. https://www.fakeshoesonline.com/ . Uniteds eighth defeat of a wretched campaign means Liverpool, which currently occupies the fourth and final Champions League place, could go nine points clear of its fierce rival by beating West Bromwich Albion on Sunday. Charlie Adam scored both of Stokes goals at Britannia Stadium either side of Robin van Persies equalizer, with a miserable day for seventh-place United capped by first-half injuries to centre halves Jonny Evans and Phil Jones that forced them off. Cheap Shoes Fake . Pettersen, winner of last years Evian Championships, had nine birdies and three bogeys, holding off a series of challengers led by Marion Ricordeau of France. The second-ranked Norwegian made her season debut after missing the LPGA Tours opening event last month in the Bahamas because of a shoulder injury. Replica Shoes Online . -- Hunter Smith scored the winner with just 12 seconds remaining in the third period as the Oshawa Generals edged the host Sarnia Sting 5-4 on Friday in Ontario Hockey League action. Umpire Paul Reiffel has dismissed the idea of wearing a helmet while officiating in Test matches, despite suffering a concussion after being hit by a fielders throw on the first day of the fourth Test of the ongoing India-England series. Reiffel is currently home in Melbourne, after the ICC deemed him unfit to take the field in the final Test in Chennai.Speaking to Fairfax Media, the former Australia fast bowler said wearing a helmet would complicate the umpiring process for him. It would be too heavy and too hot, five days with a helmet on, it just would be impossible, he said. Its hard to hear [with the helmet on]. Ive put one on and thought could I umpire in this?, and I thought Id really struggle.Reiffel, who was standing at square leg when he was hit by a throw from Indias Bhuvneshwar Kumar, said the accident occurred because he took his eyes off the ball thinking it was dead. Always keep your eye on the ball, he said. I just didnt do it. I feel a bit silly not doing that. Its like playing; if you watch the ball you should come out all right. It was just an accident. Id back myself to get out of the way if I see it coming.The batsmen had stopped running, the fieldsmen were taking their time. II must have relaxed and expected him to throw it to the keeper over my head and he decided to throw it halfway to the fieldsman.dddddddddddd He got it wrong and hit me on the back of my head. It got me behind the ear and hit me flush, thats whats done the damage.He said he could remember little of what happened thereafter, and, in hindsight, was glad the ICC took the decision to make him stand down for the rest of the Test. Apart from that, I dont really remember a lot about it. I suppose it did hurt. Ive watched the replay and I went down pretty quick. I was rolling around a bit. It certainly shook me up.The next day you feel as though you should be out there. The England cricket team doctor put me through a few tests and I didnt pass them that well, so they decided it was best not to do the Test and have a bit of a rest and come back later. The ICC decided it was for the best I had the rest. Im glad about that because I needed it. I was pretty sick for a few days there.Reiffel is expected to return for the New Zealand-Bangladesh ODI series, which begins on Boxing Day. ' ' '