Table Tennis: China and US join forces at 50th anniversary of ‘ping pong diplomacy’, Sport News & Top Stories

(REUTERS, XINHUA) – China and the United States take part in a mixed doubles world table tennis tournament starting Tuesday (November 23), the 50th anniversary of the International Table Tennis Federation’s (ITTF) “ping-pong diplomacy.” ) said Monday.

“Ping-pong diplomacy” triggered a meeting between a Chinese and an American player at the 1971 World Cup and helped repair relations between the two countries.

This led to the American table tennis team being invited to China to play Chinese “ping-pong,” which eventually paved the way for U.S. President Richard Nixon’s trip to the country in 1972.

The ITTF said China’s Lin Gaoyuan and Wang Manyu will partner with Americans Lily Zhang and Kanak Jhan on March 23-29. November in Houston.

“I’m really excited to be collaborating with Lily Zhang in the mixed doubles game,” Lin said. “He is the best table tennis player in the United States. I am not yet the best player in China, but our goal is to rise to the top in this event.

“The biggest advantage in a relationship with him is that he speaks Mandarin. I hope we get into a career soon, develop good chemistry, and work hard for good performance.”

Echoed Zhang: “It’s so cool to pair with a Chinese national team player. They’re the best in the world, so I’m doing my best and hopefully we can work well together and get a good result.”

“It’s going to be a historic moment,” the five-time U.S. champion said he’s really happy that China and the U.S. can work together through sport.

The Chinese Table Tennis Association (CTTA) and the United States Table Tennis Association jointly filed a request to allow the ITTF and the ITTF Executive Committee to allow competition between China and the United States, which was approved on Sunday.

“We have been considering how we can build on our predecessors 50 years ago to start building a friendship between China and the United States and further strengthen this relationship through sporting events, sporting activities and community events,” Liu Guoliang, chairman of the World Table Tennis Council. and the president of the CTTA, said.

Virginia Sung, CEO of U.S. Table Tennis, commented: “We are really excited that China and the United States have had the opportunity to play mixed doubles in Houston.

“As many years ago, sports once again show the power of unity, and ping-pong is once again changing the course of history,” he said.

Fifty years ago, his Chinese colleagues invited the U.S. team to visit China at the end of the 31st World Championships in Nagoya, Japan.

The U.S. players landed in Beijing on April 10, 1971, when they became the first U.S. group to visit China since the People’s Republic in 1949.

The Chinese team made a return visit the following year.

“Once again, we are all witnessing the unique power of sport and how table tennis can create dialogue and foster mutual understanding,” said Steve Dainton, CEO of the ITTF Group.

“This inspires us to offer exceptional and historic championships and to encourage the dreams, aspirations and aspirations of the entire next generation tennis community, but also globally,” he added.

The event is the first time the tournament will be held in the United States.