It was&nbsp;50&nbsp;years&nbsp;ago but Zhang Xielin still remembers vividly&nbsp;how&nbsp;a shaggy-haired American&nbsp;table&nbsp;tennis&nbsp;player stepped onto the Chinese team's bus, a chance encounter which would shape history.

It was the&nbsp;world&nbsp;championships in Nagoya, Japan, and Glenn Cowan mistakenly hopped in with Zhang and his teammates -- an awkward moment because the United States and China were then deeply at odds.

"We were&nbsp;on&nbsp;the bus and were talking and laughing," Zhang, now 80, told AFP.

"But when we realised that an American had come onto the bus, we fell silent."

The Chinese triple&nbsp;world&nbsp;champion Zhuang Zedong eventually came forward and famously broke the ice, giving Cowan a silk embroidery as a souvenir from China.

They did not know it at the time, but it was the spark for China and the United States to begin normalising relations, in what became known as 'ping-pong&nbsp;diplomacy'.

Zhang, a doubles&nbsp;world&nbsp;champion and later China's coach, recalled: "Mr. Zhuang understood that there was a difference between the American people and the American government, and that we should be nice to American people, so he took the initiative to chat with Glenn."

Photographers captured Zhuang and a 19-year-old Cowan shaking hands and smiling.

"The newspaper came out the next day and it seemed that China and the United States were about to have a relationship," said Zhang.

Days later,&nbsp;on&nbsp;April 10, 1971 the US team became the first Americans to step foot in China for nearly a quarter of a century when they were invited to play friendly matches in the country.

The thaw saw President Richard Nixon visit China in February 1972, and a Chinese&nbsp;table&nbsp;tennis&nbsp;squad visit the US.

In 1979 formal relations were established between the two countries.

<h2>'Compete peacefully'&nbsp;</h2>

Yao Zhenxu played Cowan, who died in 2004, during the Americans' ground-breaking trip.

Yao still remembers the score, he won 21-12, 21-14, and says that Cowan thanked him afterwards for "a serious game".

The American team were vastly inferior to the Chinese, so the hosts sometimes let their visitors win points in the spirit of sportsmanship and goodwill.

Now 74, Yao says that it was only afterwards that he realised that he had played a part in something historic.

"Because of&nbsp;ping-pong&nbsp;diplomacy we&nbsp;changed&nbsp;the&nbsp;world&nbsp;order, and the people of China and the United States started friendly exchanges," he said.

Yao appeared alongside Zhang in Shanghai&nbsp;on&nbsp;Saturday to mark&nbsp;50&nbsp;years&nbsp;of&nbsp;ping-pong&nbsp;diplomacy, with the city authorities hosting an event with speeches and friendly amateur matches.

But the anniversary comes at a time when relations between Washington and Beijing have deteriorated markedly over a number of issues, notably trade, the fate of China's Uyghur minority and a clampdown in Hong Kong.

In a recorded speech to mark the 50th anniversary, China's ambassador in Washington, Cui Tiankai, accused some in the US of "ideological bias and zero-sum thinking".

But he and Chinese state media took a largely positive tone, with Xinhua news agency hailing&nbsp;ping-pong&nbsp;diplomacy's "wonderful legacy".

Yao and Zhang hope that the spirit of 1971 can help shape future relations between the&nbsp;world's top two economies for the better.

"Everyone knows that the relationship between China and the United States is a bit tense nowadays," said Yao.

"We hope that we can agree to disagree and keep friendly relations.

"Don't be afraid of competition, we can compete peacefully."

It was 50 years ago but Zhang Xielin still remembers vividly how a shaggy-haired American table tennis player stepped onto the Chinese team's bus, a chance encounter which would shape history.

It was 50 years ago but Zhang Xielin still remembers vividly how a shaggy-haired American table tennis player stepped onto the Chinese team's bus, a chance encounter which would shape history. It was the world championships in Nagoya, Japan, and Glenn Cowan mistakenly hopped in with Zhang and his teammates -- an awkward moment because the United States and China were then deeply at odds. "We were on the bus and were talking and laughing," Zhang, now 80, told AFP. "But when we realised that an American had come onto the bus, we fell silent." The Chinese triple world champion Zhuang Zedong eventually came forward and famously broke the ice, giving Cowan a silk embroidery as a souvenir from China. They did not know it at the time, but it was the spark for China and the United States to begin normalising relations, in what became known as 'ping-pong diplomacy'. Zhang, a doubles world champion and later China's coach, recalled: "Mr. Zhuang understood that there was a difference between the American people and the American government, and that we should be nice to American people, so he took the initiative to chat with Glenn." Photographers captured Zhuang and a 19-year-old Cowan shaking hands and smiling. "The newspaper came out the next day and it seemed that China and the United States were about to have a relationship," said Zhang. Days later, on April 10, 1971 the US team became the first Americans to step foot in China for nearly a quarter of a century when they were invited to play friendly matches in the country. The thaw saw President Richard Nixon visit China in February 1972, and a Chinese table tennis squad visit the US. In 1979 formal relations were established between the two countries. 'Compete peacefully' Yao Zhenxu played Cowan, who died in 2004, during the Americans' ground-breaking trip. Yao still remembers the score, he won 21-12, 21-14, and says that Cowan thanked him afterwards for "a serious game". The American team were vastly inferior to the Chinese, so the hosts sometimes let their visitors win points in the spirit of sportsmanship and goodwill. Now 74, Yao says that it was only afterwards that he realised that he had played a part in something historic. "Because of ping-pong diplomacy we changed the world order, and the people of China and the United States started friendly exchanges," he said. Yao appeared alongside Zhang in Shanghai on Saturday to mark 50 years of ping-pong diplomacy, with the city authorities hosting an event with speeches and friendly amateur matches. But the anniversary comes at a time when relations between Washington and Beijing have deteriorated markedly over a number of issues, notably trade, the fate of China's Uyghur minority and a clampdown in Hong Kong. In a recorded speech to mark the 50th anniversary, China's ambassador in Washington, Cui Tiankai, accused some in the US of "ideological bias and zero-sum thinking". But he and Chinese state media took a largely positive tone, with Xinhua news agency hailing ping-pong diplomacy's "wonderful legacy". Yao and Zhang hope that the spirit of 1971 can help shape future relations between the world's top two economies for the better. "Everyone knows that the relationship between China and the United States is a bit tense nowadays," said Yao. "We hope that we can agree to disagree and keep friendly relations. "Don't be afraid of competition, we can compete peacefully."

How table tennis changed the world, 50 years on

India's Manika Batra on Wednesday became the first Indian Table Tennis player to be decorated with the 'Breakthrough Table Tennis Star' award at the prestigious International Table Tennis Federation Star Awards in Incheon.

"I am really honoured and happy to have received the award. I feel, 2018 has been the best year of my career so far and I am happy for what I have achieved," Manika said at the ceremony.

"I would like to thank the Government, the Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI) and most importantly, my family, who has been there for me and motivated me along this journey," she added.

Manika started the year on a high at the 2018 Commonwealth Games, guiding India to its first-ever gold medal in the Women's Team category as they defeated four-time gold medallists and defending champions Singapore 3-1.

She bagged another gold in the women's singles category, defeating former World No. 4 Feng Tianwei. She added two more medals to her kitty by winning a silver in the women's doubles' and a bronze in the mixed doubles categories.&nbsp;

The 23-year-old Arjuna awardee then partnered India's legendary Sharath Kamal to clinch a bronze in the mixed doubles category of the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta, Indonesia.

Manika also reached her career-best ranking of 52 in 2018 and became India's highest ranked female player.

TTFI's General Secretary MP Singh congratulated the Indian star.

"The year has been great for Indian Table Tennis and this award for Manika perfectly caps it well for the sport. We are proud of Manika and all the others," he said.&nbsp;

India's Manika Batra on Wednesday became the first Indian Table Tennis player to be decorated with the 'Breakthrough Table Tennis Star' award at the prestigious International Table Tennis Federation Star Awards in Incheon.

India's Manika Batra on Wednesday became the first Indian Table Tennis player to be decorated with the 'Breakthrough Table Tennis Star' award at the prestigious International Table Tennis Federation Star Awards in Incheon. "I am really honoured and happy to have received the award. I feel, 2018 has been the best year of my career so far and I am happy for what I have achieved," Manika said at the ceremony. "I would like to thank the Government, the Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI) and most importantly, my family, who has been there for me and motivated me along this journey," she added. Manika started the year on a high at the 2018 Commonwealth Games, guiding India to its first-ever gold medal in the Women's Team category as they defeated four-time gold medallists and defending champions Singapore 3-1. She bagged another gold in the women's singles category, defeating former World No. 4 Feng Tianwei. She added two more medals to her kitty by winning a silver in the women's doubles' and a bronze in the mixed doubles categories. The 23-year-old Arjuna awardee then partnered India's legendary Sharath Kamal to clinch a bronze in the mixed doubles category of the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta, Indonesia. Manika also reached her career-best ranking of 52 in 2018 and became India's highest ranked female player. TTFI's General Secretary MP Singh congratulated the Indian star. "The year has been great for Indian Table Tennis and this award for Manika perfectly caps it well for the sport. We are proud of Manika and all the others," he said.

Manika Batra becomes first Indian Table Tennis player to win Breakthrough Star award

Indian women's table tennis team outplayed four-time defending champions Singapore 3-1 to clinch the gold medal at the 21st Commonwealth Games on Sunday.

India has become the only second country to win gold in the table tennis event in the history of Commonwealth Games. India has bagged seven gold medal in total so far, including three today.

World No. 58 Manika Batra first scored the biggest of her career by humbling world number four and multiple Olympic medallist Feng Tianwei 3-2 before brushing aside 100th-ranked Yihan Zhou 3-0 to engineer a sensational win over the mighty Singapore side.

While Batra was the architect of India's historic win, the experienced pairing of Madhurika Patkar and Mouma Das played the supporting role to perfection by winning the crucial doubles tie 3-1 (11-7 11-6 8-11 11-7) against Zhou and Mengyu Yu for a 2-1 lead in the final.

After Batra stunned Feng 3-2 (11-8 8-11 7-11 11-9 11-7) in the opening singles, Mengyu had equalised for Singapore with a straight game win over Patkar.

Batra then proved to be too good for Yihan, who failed to read her deceptive strokes. The Singaporean put a backhand long as the Indian completed a 3-0 (11-7 11-4 11-7), leading to wild celebrations.

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&nbsp

Indian women's table tennis team outplayed four-time defending champions Singapore 3-1 to clinch the gold medal at the 21st Commonwealth Games

Indian women's table tennis team outplayed four-time defending champions Singapore 3-1 to clinch the gold medal at the 21st Commonwealth Games on Sunday. India has become the only second country to win gold in the table tennis event in the history of Commonwealth Games. India has bagged seven gold medal in total so far, including three today. World No. 58 Manika Batra first scored the biggest of her career by humbling world number four and multiple Olympic medallist Feng Tianwei 3-2 before brushing aside 100th-ranked Yihan Zhou 3-0 to engineer a sensational win over the mighty Singapore side. While Batra was the architect of India's historic win, the experienced pairing of Madhurika Patkar and Mouma Das played the supporting role to perfection by winning the crucial doubles tie 3-1 (11-7 11-6 8-11 11-7) against Zhou and Mengyu Yu for a 2-1 lead in the final. After Batra stunned Feng 3-2 (11-8 8-11 7-11 11-9 11-7) in the opening singles, Mengyu had equalised for Singapore with a straight game win over Patkar. Batra then proved to be too good for Yihan, who failed to read her deceptive strokes. The Singaporean put a backhand long as the Indian completed a 3-0 (11-7 11-4 11-7), leading to wild celebrations. #HappyGold...#HappyTeam!#Hurray #TeamIndia #GC2018 #GC2018TableTennis @ttfitweet pic.twitter.com/UHBS2vZBw1 — IOA - Team India (@ioaindia) April 8, 2018 × Take a Bow!!#GC2018TableTennis #TeamIndia sends home their greetings and #GoldMedal ???form #GoldCoast Women's Team Event!!#Congratulations Well done ladies...#MoumaDas#MadhurikaPatkar#ManikaBatra#GC2018 @GC2018 @ttfitweet @Media_SAI pic.twitter.com/66CHstxRef — IOA - Team India (@ioaindia) April 8, 2018 × Making history today for #TeamIndia Women's #TableTennis team winning their first #Gold! So proud of you girls!! #GoldQuest in #GoldCoast #GC2018 #CommonwealthGames #GC2018TableTennis #Congratulations pic.twitter.com/YAn9I2Z0XP — IOA - Team India (@ioaindia) April 8, 2018 ×

CWG 2018: Indian women's TT team grabs gold after historic victory against Singapore

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