PHILADELPHIA -- For the first time ever, the Womens Table Tennis World Cup is coming to the U.S. -- bringing 20 top-ranked players from powerhouses as far afield as Singapore, Japan and Germany to Philadelphia.Its so cool, its absolutely amazing, said Lily Zhang, one of two Americans competing. Im so excited that we can finally host the World Cup. Thats huge, you know.Stakes are high. After the Olympics, the World Cup is one of the most prestigious titles in ping pong, and winners will split a $150,000 prize pool.I really want to win, said Elizabeta Samara, 27, a Romanian player seeded 10th in the tournament. Yes, I also want to enjoy, but enjoying not just for fun, you know?Among the competitors are Olympians, a 15-year-old from Japan, a Korean player coached by her mother since the age of six and eight players fresh to the tournament. They will be smashing ping pong balls at speeds of over 60 miles an hour. The players will be whittled down to one champion over six rounds and three days.China has won every World Cup since the tournament began 20 years ago -- but because of injuries -- it wont be participating. That means a different country will now have the opportunity to snag the title.I expect everybodys level of all the countries to be very close, said Lily Yip, coach of the American team. Maybe our U.S. team can win. You never know.Table tennis has enjoyed an uptick in popularity over the past few decades, but recently, player numbers have been stagnating, dropping from over 19 million in 2010 to around 16.5 million last year, according to USA Table Tennis.Many Americans dont understand that ping pong is actually a very difficult, very high-level sport, said Yip. They still think of it as a `basement sport.Tournament organizers are optimistic the World Cup will breathe new life into the game, proving its worthy of more than just a casual round or two.I think that if we can pack this place, well have no choice but to bring this tournament back here, said Gordon Kaye, CEO of USA Table Tennis, one of the sponsors of the event.Matches will be played over the weekend, with the final showdown scheduled for Sunday night. Cheap Jerseys From China .B. - Sebastien Auger made 44 saves as the Saint John Sea Dogs edged the visiting Acadie-Bathurst Titan 2-1 on Saturday in Quebec Major Junior Hockey League action. Cheap Soccer Jerseys Free Shipping . -- About a third of the way through the regular season, the Washington Wizards are at . http://www.authenticcheapsoccerjerseys.com/ . 1 position. The Mustangs (6-0), who beat Queens 50-31 last weekend, earned 17 first-place votes and 287 points in voting by the Football Reporters of Canada. 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She then returned to her record-breaking wheelchair racing career.I really wanted to go back to where I was from, so I chose cross-country skiing and it was quite a ride, said the 27-year-old McFadden, who was born in St. Petersburg but moved to the U.S. after being adopted.McFadden is singular in wheelchair racing, likely to collect medals at the Rio Paralympics in distances from the 100 meters to the marathon (she already has won 100-meter silver and 400-meter gold here).But as a Paralympian excelling in more than one sport, she is not alone.Nine athletes are competing in more than one sport at the Rio Games, according to the International Paralympic Committee, and dozens of others are competing in a different sport than they did at previous Paralympics.IPC spokesman Craig Spence does not expect the trend to continue.I think the more the Paralympics Games develops as a movement, the harder it will be for an athlete to double up, Spence said. Because as the quality of the competition improves, the more an athlete will have to specialize to win gold.For now, athletes are taking advantage of the chance to represent their countries in multiple sports. Switzerlands Sandra Graf and Heinz Frei, who are competing in both athletics and cycling in Rio, are participating in their second and third consecutive Paralympics, respectively, as dual-sport athletes.Two U.S. women, Grace Norman and Allysa Seely, won gold Sunday in the Paralympic debut of triathlon, Norman in the PT4 class and Seely in PT2. On Monday evening, Norman will compete in the 400-meter sprint in the T44 class. Seely ran in the first round of the T36 200-meter sprint on Monday morning, setting a new personal best of 32.36 seconds to qualify for the Tuesday final.Running is my heart and my soul, Seely said. I love triathlon with my whole being, but running is my strength and I wouldnt give it up.British track and field sprinter Kadeena Cox took up road cycling about 18 months ago and decided she would compete in both sports rather than choosing one.They probably dont benefit each other that much, Cox said of her training for the two sports. They actually kind of work against each other. But its working foor me, and it doesnt when I just do one.dddddddddddd My body doesnt like it.Cox earned a bronze medal in the 100-meter sprint in Rio on Friday and set a new world record during her gold-medal performance in the cycling time trial Saturday afternoon.Prior to the London Games in 2012, U.S. athlete Cassie Mitchell qualified for the Paralympic trials in cycling and track and field. She was named only to the track and field team and placed fourth in the 100- and 200-meter sprints and discus throw. She also competed in wheelchair racing and club throw.As soon as she returned from London, Mitchell started planning for Rio. When it looked as if wheelchair racing for her T51 classification would not be a part of the 2016 games, she shifted her focus to swimming.I absolutely love to race, Mitchell said. And swimming had an event where I could compete against people of a similar disability. I figured I could throw in track and field and then maybe continue my racing career -- just move it to the pool, because thats what was offered.The 35-year-old qualified for the Paralympic trials in both sports but was unable to participate in swimming trials due to illness. She did qualify in track and field.In August, the IPC announced a ban of all Russian athletes due to alleged doping, opening 267 spots for additional athletes. Mitchell was added to the U.S. swim team and had about three weeks to prepare for the games.For Mitchell, who has always cross-trained by swimming, the addition of a second sport may be beneficial to her overall performance. She compares the backstroke to doing the club throw as many times as you can, as fast as you can, for 50 meters.Competing at an elite level in multiple sports, Mitchell said, is a manifestation of Paralympians daily lives.Paralympic sports are about using problem-solving to do what you can, despite the obstacles, said Mitchell, who also competed in wheelchair basketball and wheelchair rugby at Oklahoma State. Paralympians have to have more problem-solving abilities to make the most of our performances. We are always trying to overcome, so in that process you get more creative.--Emily Greenwood is a journalism student at the University of Georgia. Penn State and Georgia are partnering with The Associated Press to supplement coverage of the 2016 Paralympics. 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