(by Steve Hopkins)

Last week, China Daily, the largest English media portal in China, ran a recap article about the World Championships focused on Kanak Jha and his thoughts about his pairing with Wang Manyu.  The original article was posted on January 3 and can be read in its entirety on their site. Below, we have pulled the quotes of Kanak Jha outlining his excitement about the event, its meaning, and the result:

“It’s really exciting just to play with the Chinese national team, who are the best in the world,” said Jha. “I really wanted to be like a sponge, just absorb as much knowledge and information they have. And it’s definitely something I’ll remember in my career.”

“For me, it was a huge honor to be a teammate with Wang Manyu and also be a part of this historic 50th anniversary of Ping-Pong Diplomacy, something very important to the history of our two countries.”

“A huge part of what sports means for my whole career and for many people is to bring people together,” he said. “Maybe we don’t speak the same language, we don’t have the same culture, but we all speak the language of table tennis. That’s something really important about sports and what it does for humanity.”

“Actually, the table tennis itself is a common language and a way of communication for us,” she said. “I’m very lucky and delighted to have the opportunity to pair with the US player and hope here in Houston we can make our story become a part of history by our effort.”

“Manyu was able to guide me quite well with her experience and knowledge,” Jha said, noting that she was a former doubles world champion in 2019. “So she has a lot of knowledge and experience about the tactics of doubles and how to move, and ways to win a point.”