Table tennis changed the world. It would have changed anyway, but the specific point where China emerged from its cocoon to become the emerging world power it is today revolved around the sport.
In 1971, American table tennis players carried their bats, balls and nets across the border at Lowu - passing Chinese soldiers armed with automatic rifles - into a forbidden land. The nine players, an entourage of officials and 10 journalists received a personal invitation by chairman Mao Zedong .
It was a trip of almost no sporting significance, but it shook the world as the first hesitant public contact between the feuding nations. History has immortalised it as 'ping pong' diplomacy. It was a weird twist of fate that baffled sportsmen, politicians and China watchers, and left the world scratching its head.
But the nine American table tennis players were the only ones who took the seminal political tremor at face value. Their concern was the sport, but the rest of the world was consumed with amazement.
Amid the frenzy and suspicion of the Cultural Revolution, China's sportsmen and women stayed firmly at home, taking no part in international competition.
In 1971, the sports federation in Beijing asked for permission to play at the 31st world table tennis championships in Japan. Mao's answer was yes, and 64 players were on their way. In Nagoya, Chinese and American players mingled. Gifts were exchanged and the Americans said that they would love to go and play in Beijing.