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Diplomats play ping-pong to mark China’s 60th anniversary
By Qi Xiao (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2009-06-22 16:52

A table tennis competition between foreign diplomats living in China was held at the Beijing Gymnasium last Saturday.

Some 100 foreign diplomats from 37 embassies and international organizations, including Australia, Pakistan, Venezuela and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), participated in the contest, which was organized by the Maldives embassy in China.

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"We are organizing this event to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China," Ahmed Latheef, the Maldives Ambassador to China, told chinadaily.com.cn.

Mr. Latheef said that as the national sport of China, ping-pong is "the best choice" for foreign diplomats to commemorate the 60th anniversary.

"It is an important milestone which we thought, as diplomats, will celebrate jointly with the people of China to mark this important occasion." said Mr. Latheef.

As a table tennis player himself, Mr Latheef represented Maldives in table tennis in 1973 at the AAA Friendship Invitational Tournament and in 1990 at the Asian Games.

Diplomats play ping-pong to mark China’s 60th anniversary
Foreign diplomats and organizers pose for a photo before the "2009 Diplomats' Table Tennis Tournament" at the Beijing Gymnasium in Beijing, June 20, 2009. [chinadaily.com.cn]

Being the second of its kind, this year's "Diplomats' Table Tennis Tournament" marked 60th Anniversary of the People's Republic of China".

The first tournament, initiated and also organized by the Maldives embassy in China, was held last year to observe the 50-day countdown to the 2008 Olympic Games.

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