----NYTimes    |    Published: February 22, 2008----

Wang Chen is one of two American table tennis players ranked high enough in the world to automatically qualify for the Olympics this summer in Beijing. Yet she has no coach and she receives no direct financing from the sport’s national governing body.

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Joyce Dopkeen The New York Times
Wang Chen will represent the United States in table tennis at the Olympics.
 What Wang does have is the support of Jerry Wartski, a 77-year-old New York City landlord who, like Wang, ended his formal education at 9 and was separated from his family, albeit under entirely different circumstances. He is a Holocaust survivor.

----Yahoo!Sport    |    Aug 21, 9:35 am EDT---- 

BEIJING (AP)—When Wang Chen came to Beijing, she began her final preparations for the Olympics by practicing on a pingpong table in her dad’s office.

A native of the city and a veteran of the indomitable Chinese national table tennis team, Wang is representing the U.S. at the Olympics. In America, where pingpong is known more for its diplomatic successes, athletes often have to rely on themselves when it comes to training and competitions.

“It was really tough,” Wang said. “I trained on that one table, it’s where the bosses in my dad’s work unit play. I found some European players who were on break to play with me.”