THE PING IS STILL HEARD
Ring, ring…The ringing phone shattered the silence of the night, forcing Dell Sweeris, his eyes fogged with sleep, to pick up the receiver groggily. It was midnight of April 6, 1971, in Michigan, the United States, where he lived.
His wife Connie was on the line. “I’m going to China,” she said, bubbling with excitement. The 20-year-old, a table tennis player, was in Japan as part of the American team, taking part in the 31st World Table Tennis Championships in Nagoya. It was her last day of matches and she was supposed to be home soon.
“You are going to China!” Dell Sweeris exclaimed. At that time, the U.S. had no diplomatic ties with the People’s Republic of China (PRC), a vacuum that had continued since the PRC was founded in 1949. Travel to the Chinese mainland was banned.
But on that historic day, Connie Sweeris and her fellow U.S. players were invited to play friendly matches with the Chinese team in China, all of it thanks to a miraculous mistake.
An impromptu invitation
Three days before the midnight call, Glenn Cowan, another American table tennis player taking part
