“Aww sad lil boy lost money he never had” - Lily Zhang responds to profanities, fixing allegations by fans after WTT final loss to Sreeja Akula

Lily Zhang has hit back at trolls after she lost her finals against a lower-ranked opponent at the WTT Feeder Corpus Christi 2024. Playing in Texas, Zhang, who is ranked 46th in the world, fell short to India's Sreeja Akula in three games.

For Akula, who is currently 94th in the world, her time in Texas wielded her first international trophy. On the way to the top of the podium, she beat both Zhang and her compatriot Amy Wang, with the latter being a top seed at the event.

The finals at the WTT Feeder Corpus Christi wasn't a very closely contested affair. Zhang conceded the match in straight games with a score of 6-11, 16-18, 5-11. Post this, the American faced a significant amount of abuse on social media for her loss.

Taking to her Instagram stories after the match, Lily Zhang shared a screenshot of a certain DM (direct message) she had received, which accused her of match-fixing, alongside calling her racial slurs and more. The paddler kept her response crisp, writing,

“Awww sad lil boy lost money he never had”

Via Lily Zhang's Instagram story

Lily Zhang’s career highlights

Lily Zhang began playing the sport of table tennis as a child, given that her mother was a paddler herself. The American was full of promise from a young age, making the US Women's team at age 12, the youngest person to ever achieve that feat.

She has since gone on to win the US National Championships 6 times throughout her career. On the international stage, Zhang is a three-time Olympian having competed in London, Rio, and Tokyo.

She is a six-time Pan American Games medalist, including a gold she won in 2015 alongside her teammates. The 27-year-old has also won seven medals at the Pan American Championships. At the Pan-Am Championships in 2019, the paddler swept the podiums, taking home gold in the singles, women's doubles, mixed doubles, and team events.

One of the biggest milestones in Zhang's career came when she, alongside partner Lin Gaoyuan, claimed a bronze medal at the 2021 World Championships in the mixed doubles.