King Pong

Carlos Ko, 40, has traveled the world, playing table tennis — and taking steps at mastering the game — at nearly every stop along the way. But these days Ko finds himself making his home in Albany, where he now resides with his wife, Chelsea, and runs his business, Homeboy Jewelry, which looks like your average jewelry story upon first glance — that is, until you walk to the back of the store. It’s there that you’ll find a whole other world filled with green and white tables, racquets, posters of his table tennis heroes and trophies to document his numerous accomplishments. But Ko, the 2010 U.S. Open champion, is still far from where he wants to be, although in a matter of days, he may very well return to the Good Life City from the 2011 U.S. Nationals as the top table tennis player in country.