EnronMillennium Friendship Tour

We spent most of the day traveling to Shanghai. First, we took a bus ride to the Beijing airport and from there flew to our new destination. On the airplane, I was lucky to sit between Enron's Greg Grissom and Ben Nisbet. I thought about how fortunate we've been to have Greg join us on the trip. His and Enron's interest in our sport indicated that there is potential for a great future for table tennis in the United States. Also, as I listened to Ben talk about the future plans of USATT, I concluded that our organization will greatly prosper through some new programs and services that USATT plans to implement soon.

Upon arrival in Shanghai, we were told that this city's population is 12million. I realized that Shanghai is one of China's most modern cities when we arrived at the Pudong Airport, which was built last year to commemorate 50 years of Chinese independence. Our tour guide, Florence, told us that the Pudong side of Shanghai, which is located east of the Yellow River, was developed only in the last ten years. I was impressed! There were hundreds of skyscrapers throughout the city. In fact, Florence said that there were a total of 3,000skyscrapers in Shanghai. In China, a skyscraper is defined as a building over 30stories. This evening I was very exhausted from traveling and I certainly looked forward to going to bed at the luxurious, four-star Jianguo Hotel.

I was very tired at the end of the day. In the morning, we attended a practice session at Shanghai High School. Instead of playing many practice matches, we mostly did footwork and consistency drills. I was paired up with a left-handed girl who was very consistent and had especially quick and smooth footwork. Also, Ashu was very happy to play with a 19-year-old boy. For once he wouldn't feel bad about struggling with a player who was five or six years younger than him.

After practice we went to eat a light lunch before our afternoon competition. As always, Ashu and I had to specially order our food because we are vegetarian. Both of us felt very lucky that the people at the restaurants were willing to experiment with cooking vegetarian meals and they always delivered tasty dishes. Our last formal team match ended very successfully as Misha (Mikhail Kazantsev)and Ashu won the final matches in their team tie. Katherine and I lost our team match 2:4. I lost against the girl whom I had practiced with in the morning. She played well and I simply failed to perform once again. However, this time I wasn't very upset. I just realized that I needed to go home and practice much more to gain consistency using the big ball.

This evening we went on a cruise on the Xuang Pu River. While most of the Tour participants remained on deck, I decided to stay inside the boat because it was very cold. Still, I was able to see the entire Bund, or shoreline, filled with new and modern buildings. The entire Bund was lit up with translucent colors, and I was able to realize the immense size of the city and the large number of new buildings that are being constructed. I think that the mix of traditional and modern architecture in Shanghai is what makes this city so exciting and popular.

Before our last practice session, we attended a lecture at Shanghai High School. According to the principal, dozens of the high school's alumni have held high positions in the Chinese government. Our lecture was about Chinese history and culture. I learned so many interesting things about the famous Chinese dynasties, and about the cultural differences between China and the United States. For example, the teacher who was giving the lecture explained that the Chinese, unlike the Americans, had special finger symbols for expressing numbers. Then I understood why the Chinese players had a hard time comprehending scores that I tried to articulate with my hands. We have completely different symbols for numbers!

In the afternoon we were given tours of the Double Happiness factories where rackets, tables and balls were being produced. We were able to see the step-by-step process for completing the final products, from measuring the roundness of the balls to evaluating the thickness of the rubbers. Having seen where and how the Double Happiness products are produced, I think I will appreciate them more in the future because I will remember the hard work and attention to detail that was put into them.

This evening we all dressed up for a dinner banquet hosted by Double Happiness. On the bus trip to the restaurant, I saw through a window of another restaurant a TV which was showing a match of the World Cup in Yangshou. I wanted to ask the bus driver to stop so we could all get out and enjoy the telecast, but we had an appointment and we were already late. At the banquet, not only did we receive gifts from the company, but we also had a great time. After enjoying tons of tasty dishes, we watched Mr. Yu Bin's entertaining karaoke performance. Before the night was over, all the Tour participants, the Chinese hosts, the Double Happiness representatives, and even the TV camera crew, were either singing, laughing, clapping, or cheering. Our last evening in Shanghai ended up being unforgettable.

Yangshou, here we come! This is where the Men's World Cup is taking place and our Tour team has been invited to watch by the ITTF. Not only were we able to watch, but we were so close to the players that we could practically hear them breathing! That is, our VIP seats were located only feet away from the playing table. I was extremely excited to watch the quarterfinal and semifinal matches.

My favorite quarterfinal match was between Saive and Primorac. The two players exchanged numerous counterloops while the audience watched in awe. The venue provided seats for about 3500 people. There was only one table so all eyes were on the two players. During each match the participants who were not playing at across from us on the opposite side of the table. It was entertaining to watch them when they left their seats because they would immediately be surrounded by many people who wanted their autographs.

I also enjoyed watching Ma Lin and Jorgen Persson playing against each other. The audience obviously went crazy every time Ma Lin won a great point. Frequently, we heard young children yelling "Ma Lin Jia You!" The direct translation for this is "Ma Lin, add oil (or gas)!", but really they were just cheering him on. The match was especially entertaining for the audience when Persson won several points lobbing against Ma Lin.

After the quarters and semis, we headed back to our hotel. Since we were staying at the same one as the World Cup players, security was very tight at the door. Outside, dozens of people were waiting for the players to arrive so they could take the stars' pictures and get autographs. Even in the hotel lobby, security had to escort the players because so many people wanted to meet them or take photographs. Some of us thought it was funny that the players could barely walk from one place to another without being surrounded by a crowd. Meanwhile, in the U.S. I remember seeing Waldner walk around many times without any interruption. I went to sleep eager for the morning to come when we would watch Kim Teak So and Ma Lin in the World Cup Final.

After breakfast, we went on a relaxing tour of the beautiful Slander West Lake. At about 3:00 P.M. we departed for the arena. We were all very excited to hear that Misha would put on an exhibition match against a young Chinese player before the Quarterfinal match of Saive and Wang Liqin, who would play for the third place title. Misha was a little nervous to perform in front of a large crowd, which was in excess of 4,000 people, but he actually won! Also, Sheri gave a speech thanking everyone and concluded by saying that "I love you, China." We were treated like kings the entire time and our tour had the perfect finale - a close-up view of the World Cup Final.

Between the third place match and the final, I saw Zoran Primorac waving tome from across the hall. We walked toward each other and talked for a few minutes. I know him because we lived in the same country and Lupulesku, my father's player, was his doubles partner. Zoki, as we called him, told me that the was disappointed with the way he played here and at the Olympics. I asked if the ball changed had anything to do with it and he didn't think so. I guess the top players are not too affected by the 40mm ball. At least it didn't seem like it made a big difference in their playing level at the World Cup. They were still amazing.

Zoki and I departed and went to watch the final match, in which Ma Lin overpowered Kim Teak So and won 3-0. He seemed unstoppable. Kim Teak So simply couldn't return Ma Lin's loop. After the match, Ma Lin hid his face in his towel and began crying. He had won his first World Cup at age 20.

I will never forget this evening. Since we were traveling with a journalist from Table Tennis World magazine, she allowed me to join her for an interview with Ma Lin. I even had a chance to ask him a few questions. He told me about his table tennis career; he started when he was 6, played for his city team at 8, the province team at 10, the Shantou City team at 13, and the Chinese National Youth Team at 14. To prepare for major tournaments he practices six hours per day. And he cried because, after all the hard work, one of his dreams actually came true tonight. Ma Lin says that he likes going to the U.S. for tournaments and he plans on coming to the U.S. Open in 2001. I left the interview feeling honored and overwhelmed with excitement.

On my way up to my room I encountered Kim Teak So and his coach in the elevator. He asked me where I was from and when I told him, he replied that he has been to the States and really enjoyed it. Before I reached my floor, I received his bouquet of flowers, which was given to him at the awards ceremony. My night had just gotten better, but that was not the end. Later in the evening, Katherine, Misha, and I encountered Waldner in the lobby and all of us took pictures with him. I've spoken to Waldner in the past, but now I had a picture with the legend which will go up in my room.

A chat with Primorac, Kim Teak Soo's flowers, a picture with Waldner, and a personal interview with Ma Lin - overall, I'd say this was a pretty good day.

We said good-bye to all our Chinese friends today and we were a little sad knowing that we wouldn't be in their company any longer. Before we boarded the plane, we had our final meal at a very nice restaurant in Shanghai where Sheri, Greg, Mr. Yu Bin, Florence, and Misha gave farewell speeches and final thank you's.

The trip home was very long and I had plenty of time to reflect on my entire experience in China. Our hosts treated us so much better than I had ever dreamed. I went home having learned so many things about table tennis, about Chinese culture, and about the extent of human generosity. I made many new friends and many lasting memories.

Thank you China, thank you USATT, thank you CTTA, thank you Enron. This experience will be hard to match in my lifetime.