Foul!

As published in Malay Mail today - special focus on Malaysia-China celebrating 40 years of diplomatic ties.   It was an experience Soong Poh Wah will never forget.   In early 1971, the Table Tennis Association of Malaysia announced it would be holding trials as the best players would compete in the Afro-Asian Friendship Invitational tournament in Beijing in November the same year.   The meet was China's way of reaching out to the world as it had then struggled to communicate with other countries due to its communist ideology. For Soong, who was then a 21-year-old student pursuing his Bachelor of Science in University of Malaya, it was an opportunity to visit the mainland.   "We were excited as we were able to compete in China and visit the country for the first time. We didn't really, at that time, give much thought about the importance of the tournament," recalled Soong, who turns 64 on October 18. "But we soon realised it was China's way ...

Haresh Says, as published in The Malay Mail today. ONE was a nation with a rich history that had just undergone a cultural revolution. The other was a new country, eager to progress quickly. Both had differing ideologies but came together through a simple game of table-tennis. The Malaysian table-tennis team was invited to Beijing in 1971 to participate in the Asia-Africa-Latin America tournament. It was dubbed the “Ping-Pong diplomacy”. Three years later, Malaysia established formal ties with China – the first Asean country to do so despite differing political views. Former national champion Soong Poh Wah remembers the tournament well. He was 21 when he participated in the historical meet. “All of us enjoyed our stay. It was a well-organised tournament and China was a gracious host,” recalled Soong, 64. “They (organisers) arranged gatherings and even took us around, including visiting the Great Wall of China and the Forbidden City. It was a memo...