NEW YORK -- Kanak Jha is having quite a year. He spent nine months playing professional table tennis in Europe, threw out the first pitch at a New York Mets game on his birthday and qualified for the Rio Olympics.And get this: Hes only 16.Im happy that Im the youngest, but I dont think about it so much, said Jha, who in April, when he was still 15, became the youngest male to qualify for table tennis in Olympic history. In the end, its just men.If he sounds mature for his age, he comes across that way. Jhas competitive during a match, but easygoing away from the table. He recently trained at the Lily Yip Table Tennis Center in the New York area with his five Olympic teammates and signed autographs for fans.He has a good fighting spirit, said U.S. Olympic coach Massimo Costantini. Sometimes at that age, they get upset and are not mature. Were working on the mental side to make him stronger. A simple mistake can compromise the entire match.You need a strong mental balance, Costantini said. Its not just managing success, but failure.Yip, who competed for the U.S. in table tennis at the 1992 Barcelona and 1996 Atlanta Games, is one of the national team coaches. She hosted the current Olympic team, which wrapped up three days of practice with an exhibition and fundraiser at her club in Dunellen, New Jersey.During the exhibition match, Jha started his serve by holding the ball and paddle a few inches from his nose, then tossing the ball 4 feet into the air before making contact. After the point, he wiped the table with his hand, a common players habit before serving.Although he lost the match to an older and higher-rated Chinese player, Jha drew warm applause from the mostly Asian audience.Gordon Kaye, CEO of the USA Table Tennis, says its rare to find a young player of his caliber that is so aware and comfortable within his surroundings.Its certainly not your basement pingpong, with quick best-of-7 singles matches played to 11 points. There are different styles -- defensive choppers or offensive loopers, who play a more aggressive game.The Chinese men and women are the best in the world, winning Olympic gold with regularity. Since the 1988 Olympics, China has won 47 medals, followed by South Korea (18) and Germany (5).The U.S. has never medaled in the sport, which offers singles and team competition. Gold-medalist Jike Zhang will return to defend his title in Rio, where competition begins Aug. 6.So why are the Chinese so good, aside from their devotion to the sport and its prominence in the culture?Theyre very strong, especially in the first three shots of the rally -- serve, receive and third-ball attack, Jha said. They really dominate the rally.Yue Jennifer Wu, like Yip, was born in China before becoming an American citizen. She moved from Beijing to New York eight years ago and improved her English by coaching at the club run by Wang Chen, a U.S. Olympian in the 2008 Games.The 26-year-old gives lessons in New York at Spin, a table tennis club and restaurant co-owned by Susan Sarandon. Wu recently went home to Beijing and Japan to train and played tournaments in Croatia and Slovenia.Table tennis in China is like the NBA here, everybody plays, Wu said. My mom plays three times a week and people love to watch.She ate no meat for a month while in Beijing, saying her concerns about banned steroids given to cattle trump those of the Zika virus in Rio. Wise decision, because drug testers arrived at 6:40 a.m. when she returned home in Fort Lee, New Jersey.Wu said it was a big dream to make the Olympics since she was 8 years old. She was quiet on the bus after qualifying for the Rio Olympics at the Pan Am Games last year because its hard to make Olympics, you work so very hard.Jha, who took up the sport at 5 at a recreation center near San Jose, California, lived in Sweden with his 19-year-old sister Prachi, who played on the national team but didnt qualify for Rio. He took online courses during his sophomore year in high school.Theres a consistent training system, Constantini said of the European circuit. A coach, trainer, physiotherapist. Its something you cant find in the U.S.Jhas parents are from India, and he was born in the U.S. His father Arun came to America to study business and works at Oracle. His mother Karuna worked at Sun Microsystems before starting her own hypnotherapy and reiki business.She feels my energy, Kanak said of the reiki treatments.Kanak uses positive imagery and self-talk before and during matches.Its kind of a ritual, he said. I just keep reviewing strategy and say some motivational things to myself. I talk (silently) to myself a lot. More than other athletes.The personal pep talks and affirmations seem to be working. Even so, his mom says she was so nervous watching the Olympic qualifying event in April in Markham, Ontario.Jha says hes looking forward to the athletes village and mingling with players from all over the world.Its a great opportunity at this young age to see how the Olympics works, Constantini said. He will be ready by 2020. Cheap Miami Marlins Jerseys . Still, Brewers manager Ron Roenicke thought taking him out before the fifth inning was an unusual move. "Im looking up at the board and hes got two hits given up and one run, and Im taking him out after the fourth inning," Roenicke said. Cheap Baseball Jerseys .com) - The game was all punts and field goals before Kodi Whitfields catch. http://www.cheapworldseriesjerseys.com/cheap-oakland-athletics-jerseys/ . Manuel was offered a position the day he was fired. He accepted earlier this week and the team made the announcement Friday. Cheap Boston Red Sox Jerseys . The Cleveland Indians, Tampa Bay Rays, and Texas Rangers all won on Sunday meaning the Rangers will host the Rays in a play-in game on Monday. Cheap Kansas City Royals Jerseys . Team physician Dr. Steve Traina performed the surgery Friday. Robinson was injured in a spill underneath the Nuggets basket during the first quarter of Wednesday nights loss to the Charlotte Bobcats. The Washington Wizards wasted no time in locking up shooting guard Bradley Beal, agreeing to a five-year maximum contract worth $128 million not long after the free agent markets opening bell Friday.The sides started talks as soon as possible, just after midnight Eastern, and moved quickly to wrap things up in the morning, agent Mark Bartelstein said. The deal cannot be signed until the free agent moratorium ends on July 7.Beal averaged 17.4 points in his fourth season for the Wizards. He has teamed with John Wall to form one of the most dynamic young backcourts in the NBA but has had difficulty staying healthy. Beal has never played more than 70 games in a season and has been bothered by stress fractures in his right leg throughout his career.He played in only 55 games with 35 starts during Washingtons disappointing 2015-16 season. But he just turned 23 and the Wizards are banking on his ability to put those injuries behind him as they try to push back into the playoff field in the Eastern Conference.The Wizards have designs on landing some other big names on the free agent market, so Beals deal will not be signed until Washington knows who else will be coming from outside the organization. The Wizards have so-called Bird Rights on Beal, meaning they can go over the salary cap -- expected to be around $94 million -- to keep him. The clause in the collective bargaining agreement, named after Larry Bird, gives teams an advantage in retaining players.The deal makes Beal the highest paid player on the Wizards by a wide margin, but Wall didnt seem to have anny gripes about that off the top.ddddddddddddCongrats to my lil bro (at)RealDealBeal23, Wall tweeted Friday. Now everything on u lol...Welcome back !!One player the Wizards wont be getting is the prize of the class: Kevin Durant. Earlier in the spring there was some hope in Washington that Durant would choose to leave Oklahoma City and come home to the D.C. area to join Wall and the rest of a team that appeared to be on the rise just two seasons ago. But it became apparent as the summer dragged on that Durant was not interested in a homecoming, so the Wizards are continuing their plan to build around that dynamic backcourt with a new coach in Scott Brooks.When Beal is healthy, he brings a scoring touch from the perimeter to complement Walls quickness and penetration at point guard. Beal is a career 39.7 percent shooter from 3-point range and also has shown the ability to create his own shot and the versatility to play with the starting unit or come off the bench to provide instant offense.Washington was one of the bigger disappointments in the league last season, going 41-41 and missing the playoffs in the muddled Eastern Conference a year after winning 46 games and advancing to the conference semifinals.The Wizards made the switch from Randy Wittman to Brooks, but Beals ability to stay healthy and productive will prove critical to their plans of bouncing back next season.Yahoo Sports first reported the agreements completion. 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