Ping-Pong Diplomacy chalks up 50 years

Golden memories

Connie Sweeris, 73, a member of the US delegation to China in 1971, sent a table tennis bat and ball she signed to organizers of the anniversary event from her home in Michigan.

She said that in addition to meeting Premier Zhou Enlai and shaking hands with him at the Great Hall of the People, other highlights of the trip included playing a friendship match in Beijing in front of 18,000 people and walking on the Great Wall.

"During the trip, the Chinese players let us train with them and showed us drills to practice so we could improve our game. The matches were very friendly and they even let us win some games," she said.

Judy Hoarfrost, whose maiden name is Bochenski, was the youngest player on the US delegation in 1971, when she was 15.

"I was told we were the first US group invited to China since the founding of the People's Republic of China. I felt that my role was to be a player and also a good ambassador for our country," she said.

Hoarfrost said international media attention remained focused on the trip for a long time and resulted in many interesting opportunities for herself and her teammates.