Ping-Pong Diplomacy's Advent Sports ♥ President makes a surprise visit to the World Cup site for mixed teams of Chengdu
Photo source=ITTF
Photo source=ITTF
During a state visit to China, French President Emmanuel Macron visited the site of the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) Mixed Team World Cup in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China.
The French President, the host of last year's Paris Olympics, is well known for his sports affinity. He appeared in a soccer uniform at Evelyn Football Stadium in western Paris and made a surprise appearance in charity matches, and made headlines when he publicly pressured Real Madrid to transfer Kylian Mbappe to the French national soccer team ahead of last year's Paris Olympics.
Even during his state visit to China, he did not miss the site of the table tennis tournament in China, which has 30 million registered table tennis players. Chinese President Xi Jinping also made an unusual move to hold another informal meeting with President Macron in Chengdu after the official meeting in Beijing.
Photo source=ITTF
On this day, President Macron met with French and Chinese athletes participating in the competition under the guidance of ITTF President Petra Schuring and Chinese Table Tennis Association (CTTA) President Wang Liqin. President Macron greeted key players such as Wang Chuqin, Sun Yingxia, Wang Man Yu and Lin Shidong of the Chinese table tennis team and coaches Marin, Wang Hao and Xiao Zhan of the French national team, and met with Felix LeBrugn, Alexis LeBrugn brothers, Pritika Pavade, Simon Gozi and Jananyuan through coaches Nadael Molin and Ludovik Remy to cheer for the good fight.
Photo source=ITTF
Following President Macron's greetings, a gift exchange was held between the delegations of the two countries, where ITTF Chairman Petrang Søring presented President Macron with a racket commemorating the 100th anniversary of the ITTF's founding next year. Wang Liqin, chairman of the China Table Tennis Association, and Nana El Molin, coach of the French national team, presented uniforms for each team. Shortly after the brief welcome and encouragement event, President Macron held a surprise friendly match with the players of the two countries in front of the table tennis table with a racket presented by Chairman Söring.
ITTF is honored to include table tennis in Macron's state visit to China"This means continuing the long tradition of diplomacy between countries through table tennis." "Table tennis is a sport with a special ability to unite people across borders and cultures. From the historic 1970s to the present day, the sport of table tennis continues to demonstrate the positive power of the sport, promoting friendship, mutual respect, and understanding between countries," he said, expressing his pride.
Meanwhile, the 2025 ITTF Mixed Team World Cup will be held in Chengdu, China, until the 7th, and the world's top players gathered to experience mixed team table tennis, which will debut at the 2028 LA Olympics. In the second stage of the mixed group World Cup, eight teams that made it to the finals will play a full league.
South Korea lost to Japan with a game score of 2 to 8 on the 5th, recording 3 wins and 2 losses (8 points) in the second stage. China fell to fourth place by giving up 2-3rd place to Japan (10 points) and Germany (8 points) with an overwhelming number of first place. France is in fifth place. As Korean men's and women's representatives Jang Woo-jin and Shin Yoo-bin did not play due to injuries and poor condition, there was a big gap in their power. Among the quarterfinals, they won 8-7 against France, 8-5 against Hong Kong, and 8-3 against Sweden (first round), but lost 0-8 to China and 2-8 to Japan. Germany is in a war against Germany for third place with eight points on the 6th.
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
