A PING PONG PRODIGY FOR THE OLYMPICS.
The Osgood File. Sponsored in part by Auto Owners Insurance, the No Problem People. Visit AutoOwners.Com. This is Charles Osgood.
Sixteen-year-old Ariel Hsing of San Jose, California has made the U.S. table tennis team at the London Olympics in July.
She is terrific - but if she wins a medal, she would be the first American to do so.
She's the daughter of Chinese immigrants, who think table tennis is fine - but they don't want the hours of daily practice to interfere with her studies.
And they've laid the law down, as you'll hear after this...
((( BREAK )))
Our CBS News colleague John Blackstone spoke with ping pong whiz Ariel Hsing's high school counselor, Erik Ellefsen...
SOT - Erik Ellefsen, Ariel's high school counselor - with John Blackstone, CBS News Correspondent
"(Ellefsen:) She's got the deal with her parents - that if she keeps A's, she can keep playing table tennis. (Blackstone:) She has to keep A's... (Ellefsen:) Yes. (Blackstone:) To keep playing? (Ellefsen:) Yes. (Blackstone:) Parents have told you this? (Ellefsen:) Yes." (:08)
It won't be easy, but no ping pong diplomacy required - Ariel thinks she can handle both the Olympics and the A grades.
SOT - Ariel Hsing, with John Blackstone
"(Hsing:) I've never tried to test out this theory. (Blackstone:) You're not going to get a B just to see what happens. (Hsing:) Yeah - no!" (:05)
She knows ping pong diplomacy wouldn't work, anyway - and her parents mean business.
But so do a couple of business heavyweights she crushed earlier this month - she told Blackstone...
SOT - Ariel Hsing, with John Blackstone
"(Hsing:) In Omaha, I was at the Berkshire Hathaway meeting. Uncle Warren invited me to... (Blackstone:) Who?! (Hsing, laughs:) Uh, Mr. Warren Buffett. (Blackstone:) Uncle Warren?" (Hsing:) Yeah." (:08)
VO - John Blackstone
"It turns out Warren Buffett, a ping pong enthusiast, has known Ariel since she was nine - when, along with her coach, she received a coveted invitation to his 75th birthday party." (:10)
SOT - Ariel Hsing, with John Blackstone
"(Hsing:) There was a table set up, and I got to play against Uncle Warren and Uncle Bill. And... (Blackstone, interrupting:) Uncle Bill? (Hsing, laughs:) Yeah. (Blackstone:) Is... (Hsing:) Mr. Bill Gates." (:08)
VO - John Blackstone
"In an email that praises her talents, Buffett told us: 'Bill Gates and I are still searching for a way to get a point off her.'" (:07)
Apparently, they did make an impression on the 16-year-old, though - careerwise.
SOT - Ariel Hsing
"Before, I wanted to be a teacher - or, maybe a doctor. Now that I've been to three Berkshire Hathaway meetings, I think business sounds really fun!" (:08)
Uncle Warren and Uncle Bill will be rooting for Ariel this summer - as she represents Uncle Sam.
The Osgood File. Charles Osgood on the CBS Radio Network. |
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