Table tennis bridges friendship between China and Maldives

At 8:30 a.m., the sound of pingpong balls echoes through the Kunming Beijiaochang Sports Training Base, crisp and melodious. On over ten tables, young athletes from China and the Maldives are focused and agile, paired up in twos, deeply engrossed in their skill refinement and training.

On June 18, the second “Heart Connects Yunnan Journey” Maldives Youth Pingpong Summer Camp opened in Kunming. The camp is jointly organized by the Foreign Affairs Office of Yunnan Province, the Yunnan Provincial Sports General Administration, and the Maldives Table Tennis Association. From June 18 to July 3, 17 young pingpong players and coaches from the Maldives will train alongside Yunnan’s pingpong team and experience the rich and colorful ethnic culture of Yunnan.

With lean figures and darkcomplexioned faces, these children, aged between 9 and 17, are all from various school pingpong teams in the Maldives, having earned their spots through open tryouts. Minha, a 15-year-old girl, is a returning camper. “I met a Chinese player here last year, and we’ve kept in touch. Pingpong has shown me a broader world and introduced me to friends from all over the globe,” Minha says excitedly. “Although the camp has only been going on for three days, it has already left a deep impression on me, especially the martial arts performance at the opening ceremony, which gave me a firsthand experience of the charm of Chinese traditional culture.”

Nine-year-old Ravi is the youngest boy at the camp, having been playing pingpong for over a year. “I admire Fan Zhendong and Ma Long the most; they are so impressive,” he says with a shy smile. “Although the training is intense, I’m enjoying it because I get to practice with my Chinese brothers and sisters. In my free time, I get to taste the delicious food of Kunming and appreciate the beautiful scenery. If I have the chance, I’d love to come back.” Ravi’s words trail off as his gaze returns to the pingpong table, where the ball is in flight.

To deepen people-to-people friendly exchanges and cooperation between China and the Maldives, since 2023, Yunnan Province has dispatched 13 pingpong coaches to the Maldives in several batches, providing over 70 days of cumulative training and guidance. Hang Anguo, the head coach of the Yunnan Provincial Pingpong Team, is one of them.

“We mainly assist the Maldives team in establishing a complete, scientific, and standardized training system and provide systematic guidance on technical essentials,” Hang explains. “With the joint efforts of both sides, the players have made significant progress.” The Maldives team achieved impressive results in the 2023 South Asian Youth Table Tennis Championship and the Indian Ocean Islands Games, winning 2 silver and 6 bronze medals, and 3 gold and 3 silver medals, respectively. This July, athlete Dimah Ali will represent the Maldives national team at the Paris Olympics, becoming the country’s first pingpong player to participate in the Olympics.

“Compared to the last camp, there’s a notable increase in the number of participants this time, and many are familiar faces,” Hang says. “They generally feel that their skills have significantly improved, with two players even planning to stay in Kunming for an additional 2 to 3 months of training.”

Nashid, a coach from the Maldives Table Tennis Association, is also attending the camp. This is his fifth visit to China, and he has a particular fondness for Kunming’s environment and scenery. previously, he has led Maldivian youth athletes to participate in joint training activities in Beijing, Shanghai, Hangzhou, and other places.

Nashid notes, “The training environment in the Maldives and China is very different. Here, the training venues are more spacious, the facilities are more complete, and the training is more systematic. Both coaches and players benefit greatly.” He adds, “This is a fulfilling and enjoyable experience. China is vast and inclusive, respecting our culture and customs, which is very important for promoting exchanges and understanding between our peoples and deepening friendships.”

Source：Yunnan Daily; trans-editing by Guo Yao