Opening Volley.

The article focuses on events in ping-ping history that had implications towards diplomacy and foreign relations between China and the U.S. Particular attention is given to the encounter Glenn Cowan, U.S. Olympic ping-pong player, had with Zhuang Zedong, a world singles ping-pong champion for China. The positive encounter between the two players resulted in a political crisis for China and the U.S.