Hu Won?
Sunday, 11th May 2008 ~ Maggie ~ Link ~ Comments (0)
Southern Metropolis Daily, May 9
On a diplomatic visit to Japan last week, 65-year-old Chinese President Hu Jintao played a table tennis match against two of the sport's stars and won. He beat Chinese Olympic champion player Wang Nan and a Japanese player, Ai Fukuhara, who has played for some Chinese teams. In the above photo, Wang is standing to the left of Hu in her red Team China jersey; Ai is shaking his hand.
Hu's match puts a distinctively Chinese twist on the great tradition of political leaders demonstrating their health with displays of athleticism. Today we have President Bush's bike rides and Vladimir Putin's topless fishing trips. And back in 1966, Mao Tsetung (in his early 70s) took a highly publicized swim in the Yangtze River, reportedly finishing 15 km in 65 minutes.
Related: The National Pastime (language lesson)
Image: Danwei.org
Tags: Hu Jintao, table tennis, Wang Nan