Teammates reunite

Major international events such as the Olympics have also become a stage for reunions of old friends and former teammates born in China.

In Paris, Luxembourg's Ni reconnected with her former teammate Zeng Zhiying, 58, almost four decades after they both played for Team China in the 1980s. Zeng made her Olympic debut in Paris representing Chile.

Zeng was born in 1966, and her mom was a table tennis coach. She picked up a paddle as soon as she could hold one, and joined the junior team at a military sports school in Beijing at the age of 11. Zeng started to compete at national-level events the next year.

Like all her peers, she aspired to make her country proud on the international stage, and harbored a longtime dream to compete at the Olympics. However, Zeng's attempt to qualify for the Los Angeles 1984 Olympics came up short due to the intense competition among her peers, including Ni, for spots on the national team.

Failing to make it to Los Angeles, Zeng retired and moved to Chile, and accepted an invitation to coach school children in the northern city of Arica. She said she "adored" her coaching job.

Zeng didn't pick up a table tennis paddle again until 2003 when she wanted to introduce her 13-year-old son to the sport to try and drag him away from video games and watching television.