Bill Gates Hailed American Ariel Hsing, 16, Who Gave Tough Time to Li Xiaoxia

London (Sunday, Jul 29) - The 16-year-old Table Tennis player Ariel Hsing from U.S. showed her guts in the third round match against Chinese veteran Li Xiaoxia.

Ariel Hsing was heavily supported by the crowd - including Microsoft co-founder and chairman Bill Gates and American billionaire Warren Buffett.
(Image Credit: AP)

No one would have ver think that the battle between Ariel Hsing, ranked 114th, and the World No. 2 Li Xiaoxia would be that interesting and nerve-wrecking in the end.

Hsing, an American from the Bay Area, was heavily supported by the crowd - including Microsoft co-founder and chairman Bill Gates and American billionaire Warren Buffett - eventually fell to a valiant 4-2 defeat after giving Xiaoxia a very tough time through out the best-of-seven match.

Xiaoxia and Hsing split the first four sets. Despite a great comeback attempt late in the fifth set, Xiaoxia battled back to win and go up 3-2. She then won the sixth set to clinch a victory.

Gates said "Ever since we (he and Buffett) first played with her we have supported her ever since."

Speaking directly to Hsing, he added: 'You were so amazing.'

It was a tough loss for Hsing, but she has an incredibly bright future in table tennis. Look for her to come back better than ever when the 2016 Olympics begin.

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London, London Olympics, London 2012, Olympic Games, Table Tennis, Ariel Hsing, Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, Li Xiaoxia, Olympics 2012