On October 19, the 2024 First Chinese and Foreign Table Tennis Friendship Tournament in Dalian, hosted by the Dalian People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, was held at the Citizen Fitness Center in Zhongshan District. The competition attracted 171 table tennis enthusiasts from 27 countries. Eighteen international students from our school, who are from eight countries, participated in the competition. Xiao Shengfeng, the president of the Dalian People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, attended this event.

The competition process was filled with one climax after another. The players exhibited vigorous postures and nimble steps. The contestants from our institute fully flaunted their own styles and spared no effort to complete each game. After intense rivalry, Gheisizadeh Ebrahim, a 2023-level undergraduate student majoring in pharmacy in our school, advanced to the top 8 in the singles, and Kundusupratik, a doctoral student, made it to the top 16 in the singles.

Table tennis is regarded as China’s “national ball” and holds particular significance in enhancing friendly relations between China and foreign countries. The international students competing on the same stage with Chinese players is not merely a splendid collision of culture and skills but also a vivid social practice and experience, offering lively materials for international students to tell good Chinese stories well.