Landers' Olympic dreams end with loss

CARY, N.C. -- The dream of playing table tennis in the London Olympics ended Saturday night for Michael Landers of Old Westbury. Landers, 17, lost in four straight games to Canada's Pierre-Luc Theriault, knocking him out of contention for the final of three U.S.-Canada berths.

Barney Reed and Timothy Wang will play Sunday morning for the right to represent the United States in London. Landers, who finished last in the round-robin phase of the tournament, will play Sunday in the game for overall fifth place.

After dropping the final game to Theriault, 11-8, Landers left the playing area at the Bond Park Community Center in this suburb near Raleigh and found a quiet space in the back of the building.

"It's hard for me to talk," he said between deep breaths. "It's been a great ride and I'm just thankful to everyone who helped me out. Everyone was so supportive and I gave it my best, that's it. There was not much else I could do."

Landers -- who went 9-2 and finished first in the USA qualifying tournament held in the same venue just two months ago -- struggled to find his touch over the weekend, winning only two of his six matches.

Landers' elimination match was set up by a loss to Pierre-Luc Hinse in the semifinals of the weekend's second qualifying tournament. Hinse went on to defeat Landers' teammate, Timothy Wang of Houston, 4-3, for the right to go to London.