Ping Pong Diplomacy

Sports Illustrated had a recent article on the so-called "ping pong diplomacy" that took place between China and the US in the early 1970's. A chance meeting between a Chinese and American player set the groundwork for relations between the two countries to change dramatically. It's an interesting article.

I asked Dan Seemiller from the South Bend Table Tennis club if he was a part of this, but he indicated he was on the U.S. junior team and this all took place just before his time on the world stage. Although he said he played Glenn Cowan once and beat him (Cowan is the American player featured in the article).

I read that the arena being used at the Beijing Olympics was designed "specifically with table tennis in mind." Kinda shows you that the Chinese take this sport seriously.