Many end up eventually choosing college, even if they’re good enough to make the Olympics.

ABC News reports.

In Quest for World-Class US Table Tennis, College the Enemy

When Lily Zhang, the American table tennis ace, decided she wanted to make her sport a priority, she took a year off from college to devote to practice, including three months playing with pros in Austria. It paid off, landing her on the Olympic team for the second time.

But her decision — leaving behind friends, family and studies at the University of California at Berkeley to put in grueling six-hour-a-day sessions for months — highlights an unfortunate truth for U.S. table tennis: In the quest to build a team of professionals to challenge powerhouse China, school is the enemy.