2 former Olympians win US table tennis qualifiers

GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) Former Olympians Chen Wang and Timothy Wang won qualifying tournaments Thursday night on the first day of the U.S. Olympic table tennis trials.

Top-seeded Chen Wang claimed a spot in the North American Trials by beating Ying Lu 9-11, 12-10, 11-4, 11-6, 11-8 in a women's final.

Timothy Wang, the No. 7 seed, beat Sharon Alquetti 19-17, 11-9, 6-11, 11-7, 7-11, 12-10 in a men's final.

They advance to the North American Trials, which will be held in April in Markham, Ontario.

Chen Wang lost in the quarterfinals of the 2008 Beijing Games - still the best Olympic performance by an American - but stepped away from the sport until 2015 while she started a family. Timothy Wang competed in London in 2012.

The U.S. trials continue Friday and Saturday, with two players - one from each gender - qualifying each day.