Spirit of Ping-Pong Diplomacy lives on

Brooke Leonard, a 32-year-old table tennis enthusiast, has been playing the sport for a decade. He is a member of the Los Angeles Table Tennis Association and runs his own social media channel called "Ping-Pong Weekend".

Leonard hopes Ping-Pong Diplomacy can continue to foster friendship between China and the United States.

"Table tennis allows me to meet more Chinese people. Just being in this sport, I met a lot of Chinese people that I probably wouldn't have met (ordinarily)," Leonard told Xinhua.

He envisions a future where table tennis can deepen mutual understanding and enhance cooperation between the two nations.

Leonard believes that promoting the sport in the US is essential, and his YouTube channel aims to contribute to this cause.

"That's part of the reason why I have my YouTube channel, just to help ping-pong grow in America. Some of the members of my group are Chinese, so we all love to see it around the whole world," he added.

The legacy of Ping-Pong Diplomacy lives on — not only in the fierce rallies on the table but also in the camaraderie shared by athletes across borders.

As Wu Bohan, Zhang Yuwen, Leonard and the Sweerises continued their matches, they carried forward the spirit of cooperation and friendship that began over half a century ago.

The Ontario Convention Center, with its rhythmic echoes of bouncing balls, became a microcosm of global unity — a place where table tennis transcended mere competition and became a symbol of hope and understanding.

Xinhua