China-US transnational teams get ready for competition

For American table tennis player Lily Zhang, it's a great feeling to work with Lin Gaoyuan, her Chinese counterpart in mixed double at the 2021 World Table Tennis Championships (WTTC) which opened Tuesday in Houston.

"Quite a few times I thought we would lose on the incoming ball, but he managed to hit the ball and land it on the other side. I was a little surprised," Zhang said of the joint training session Monday night.

For the first time, China and US are teaming up to form two pairs of mixed doubles to enter the WTTC. The four conducted the joint training session and mock match on with 1:1 result.

Liu Guoliang, chair of the World Table Tennis Council and president of the Chinese Table Tennis Association, said this year's tournament is extraordinary and significant because it marks the 50th anniversary of Ping-Pong Diplomacy, and it is also the first time that the tournament is being hosted by the US.

"I think this is the continuation of China-US Ping-Pong Diplomacy. Fifty years are not a period. Instead, we have to figure out how to continue the legacy into Ping-Pong Diplomacy 2.0," Liu said. "It also shows that Chinese team is very strong in the sport of table tennis, we can help any team in the world."

Liu said he is curious to see what such pairing would achieve, but it isn't important regardless of the results. "I hope the players of the two countries, by working together and moving forward together, attract more people to pay attention to the sport of table tennis."