Judy Hoarfrost reflects on U.S. Table Tennis team’s China trip in 1971

World Today

 

Fifty years ago, during the 1971 World Table Tennis Championships in Nagoya, Japan, a Chinese player and an American player had a friendly handshake on a shuttle bus.

Days later, Chairman Mao Zedong shocked the world by inviting the U.S. team to visit China, setting the stage for what became known as “Ping Pong Diplomacy.”

What was it like to be part of that historic trip?

Mark Niu caught up with the youngest member of that U.S. team – Judy Hoarfrost – who was a teenager at the time.