I just competed in the U.S. National Table Tennis Team Trials in San Jose, California. I had good results despite the fact of being very sick.  I was able to beat the #2 seeded player Mark Hazinski, as well as Razvan Cretu, Kanak Jha, Kunal Chodri, and De Tran.

The U.S. National Men’s table tennis team consists of five players - three being the top finishers. The other two members of the team fall under different criteria. I'll find out soon whether or not I'm on the U.S. National Team and will be going to the World Championships in Paris.

My next major tournament is the U.S. Table Tennis Open in July.  In preparation for that event, I’ll be playing 6-8 minor tournaments, training on a daily basis, and possibly going to Canada for some more practice with the Canadian National Table Tennis Team.

While training with my robot, I’m also writing some different drills to make each session more challenging.  The Newgy Robo-Pong 2050 table tennis robot has really helped me improve my footwork and I continue using it as part of my daily table tennis training program.

Samson Dubina