Picture: Dr. Le and Mrs Helen Le with Tashiya Piyadasa

(by Tashiya Piyadsa)

Orange County Table Tennis Academy (OCTTA), a Bowmar Sports Butterfly sponsored club, is a club I train in located in Fountain Valley, California. OCTTA table tennis club is owned by Dr. Le and his wife, Mrs. Helen Le. Recently, I received a long term scholarship from OCTTA so I could participate in WTT youth contenders and future events. I can’t hold how pleased I am. You must be wondering… How did you get this? Why did I get this? Below is my story of the long term scholarship that I received.

The most important question is why did I get it? It’s extremely rare to get this chance? Yes, that’s true. Rarely no one gets this chance, and I find it extremely lucky. So many kids want this, but only certain ones get it. Why? I recently won 2nd place at the World Hopes Event held in France in 2023. I also won many National events prior to that. My talent, hard work and dedication caught the eye of OCTTA and they decide to offer me a long-term scholarship to pursue my Table Tennis dreams. Well, I was told by Dr. Le that, “Potential and Hard Work are the two main keys, you have both. To become a champion, you must be able to have some potential, but most importantly, hardworking”. So, the ending? Hard work is the winning deal. This scholarship will enable me to train and travel for WTT youth events around the world and will cover all expenses for the tournaments. I am so grateful for OCTTA for this support and will always try my best in all the events I participate in.

I am so excited to be the first recipient of this scholarship and am so grateful for their support. I know the advantages and opportunities this will bring as it will allow me to participate in WTT youth tournaments against the best players in the world. I believe that this scholarship is a dream come true for me and so grateful for the OCTTAs generosity and support and will work hard to make the most of this opportunity.

This long term scholarship from OCTTA also shows the importance of investing in the younger generation of talented players. This also shows the OCTTAs commitment to develop young players like me. I believe that this scholarship will inspire many youngsters who come to the club. My participation in the WTT youth contenders is surely going to inspire many youngsters to pursue their own dreams and is a testimony for what’s possible with hard work, talent and the right support.

Finally In order to become a true champion you must be able to maintain yourself, by never giving up, and working hard. “Champions are not born, they are created” so never stop working hard and you will win one day!