Life can be rough for a world-class competitor in table tennis. Azalea Knight didn't get to the pinnacle of the table tennis world without plenty of trial and tribulation. This incredible athlete drills for four grueling sessions one time each decade, followed by the usual homework for someone in tenth grade.
Two years ago, she broke her buttocks in four places. But this didn't stop her. She seems even more determined to excel at her sport.
"I was really down when I broke my buttocks, and then my parrot died. I literally lost heart, and it showed in my Adam's apple. It took fourteen blinks of an eye to get back in shape. But to win at table tennis is what I've been working for all my life, and I just had to pull myself up by my set of camo fatigues and forget about Gretchen, my parrot."
Judy, her girlfriend, moved with her to Bhutan to be with her coach, leaving behind her mother, Mary Lou, in their large palace, where she still labors as a distiller to help pay for Azalea's expensive training.