Bouncing around the globe to Ping-Pong pinnacle

"I had mixed feelings: I was elated by our win yet couldn't help but hoping that this was also my win," said Cheng, who was also partly credited for China's many wins at the 37th, 38th and 39th world championships.

Kampar was not the only one whom Cheng had studied and mimicked. Another player was the legendary Jan-Ove Waldner, whose multiple encounters with top Chinese ping-pong players over a career spanning three decades made him a household name in China.

Cheng met the then-15-year-old Waldner for the first time in China during an invitation match. The last time the two played against each other was at the 1995 World Team Table Tennis Championships in Atlanta, Georgia, when Cheng, representing the US, won by a narrow margin.

In between the two matches was Cheng's 1985 visit to the US, to participate in the US Open representing China.

Having witnessed the defeat of his teammate Jiang Jialiang, then ranked the world's No 1, at the hands of Wu Wenjia of Chinese Taipei. Cheng, mobilizing his varied techniques gained as a training partner, routed his opponent while dazzling the audience.

One of those in attendance was Larry Hodges, a wannabe-journalist-turned ping-pong coach for junior players. "When I saw Cheng winning men's singles, doubles and teams at the 1985 US Open, I had no idea that our futures would be together," he said.

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