Lily Zhang Secures Medal in Women’s Singles at the Pan Am Games
by Barbara Wei
Singles – Lily Zhang competing in the Women's singles knockout phase at the Olympic Training Center for the Santiago 2023 Pan American Games. Santiago, Chile. October 31, 2023.
Lily Zhang sailed through her opponents on Day 3 of competition to earn her spot in the semifinals and guarantee at least a bronze at the 2023 Pan Am Games. She opened the 3rd day with a stunning match against 57-year-old Zhiying Zeng of Chile. The two had met at the Pan Am Championships in Cuba in September, with Lily eking out a victory. This time, Lily was much more prepared against the defensive specialist. She took her time to attack, even if the ball was high, and comfortably won the match 4-0, despite extensive cheers from the Chilean crowd.
In the quarterfinals, Lily faced Arantxa Cossio (Mexico) who has rapidly improved in the last few years. Nevertheless, Lily easily overcame Arantxa with her consistency and serve receive game. “Not so bad”, Lily said as she exited from her quarterfinal match, with eyes set on gold.
Tomorrow at 11 AM local time, Lily will face Bruna Takahashi in a pivotal semi-final. The two have met many times before, with Bruna having the upper hand. Lily will look to turn the tide, in a bid to earn her first Pan Am Games Singles gold in her 4th appearance at the games.