Zhuang Zedong
| Zhuang Zedong 庄则栋 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Zhuang Zedong in 2007 (photo: Tom Nguyen) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Nationality | Chinese | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 25 August 1940 Yangzhou, Jiangsu, China | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | 10 February 2013 (aged 72) Beijing, China | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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| Zhuang Zedong | |||||||||
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| Traditional Chinese | 莊則棟 | ||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 庄则栋 | ||||||||
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Zhuang Zedong (Chuang Tse-tung; August 25, 1940 – February 10, 2013) was a Chinese table tennis player, three-time world men's singles champion and champion at numerous other table tennis events. These accomplishments lead Zhuang as one of the greatest table tennis players of all time. And a well-known political personality during the tumult of the Cultural Revolution. His chance meeting with American table tennis player, Glenn Cowan, during the 31st World Table Tennis Championship, later referred to as ping-pong diplomacy, triggered the first thawing of the ice in Sino-American relations since 1949. Zhuang was once married to the pianist Bao Huiqiao, and his second wife was the Chinese-born Japanese Atsuko Sasaki (佐々木敦子).