Military tension simmers between the entities but a mixed doubles match in Paris still managed to turn into a minor classic
Military tension simmers between the entities but a mixed doubles match in Paris still turned into something of a minor classic
This is an occasion that should be treasured for its rarity value if US intelligence is correct, a fixture that will no longer be possible at the next Games in Los Angeles, given 2027 is the due date for China’s full‑scale military invasion. A couple of months ago China ran an exercise, which included releasing a simulation video of itself literally invading Taiwan from the sea.
China is by some distance the dominant ping-pong superpower, not just on the table but off it, with Beijing selected to host the next five editions of the World Table Tennis Grand Smash. There were Chinese flags in almost every tier, not just held aloft but rippled and waved, some with huge stylised prints of the mixed doubles pair on them, like a rock‑and‑roll wedding shot, like Kurt and Courtney, but in ping‑pong and Chinese.
In return China has always viewed Taiwan as its own province, doesn’t see it as capable of having a sports team, or indeed being invaded. Come back into the bosom of the motherland little brother, with your incidentally vital microchip production capacities. In this context even the label Made In Taiwan, once the world’s most common sticker, is a pointed political statement.
CTP held on to take the opening set with some tight little fist bumps, a stunning opening. From there the Chinese pair rallied, Wang unleashing some huge booming forehands, hopping in on his tip-toes like pelvis-era Elvis, and sprinting through the second set.
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