Lily Zhang

Sport: Table Tennis

Nation: United States of America

DOB: June 16, 1996

Hometown: Palo Alto, CA

Career Highlights: The 15-year-old Zhang earned her spot on the Olympic team by defeating Canada’s Anqi Luo in five games in April qualifying. The win capped a difficult tournament in which Zhang rallied from a two-game deficit for a 4-3 victory over 43-year-old Chris Xu of Canada. Zhang took part in the trials while playing with a shoulder injury, refusing to skip training even though her doctor advised her to take six weeks off. A member of the 2011 Pan Am Games team, Zhang has enjoyed a tremendous rise since winning the 2009 Canadian Junior Open for one of her first major breakthroughs. Zhang and teammates Ariel Hsing and Timothy Wang trained together for a four-year span at the India Community Center in California under coach Rajul Sheth, a former member of India's national team. She thinks the chemistry that arose from that experience can only help in London. "The whole U.S. team, we're really good friends, so it's a great friendship thing and we really support each other," Zhang said.

Olympic History: None