根據國際乒聯訊息，中國乒乓球協會聯合美國乒乓球協會向國際乒聯提交了允許中美混雙配隊參賽的申請。國際乒聯執行委員會11月21日召開會議並批准了該請求。
Chinese and US players will team up in the mixed doubles competition at the 2021 Houston World Table Tennis Championships, said the International Table Tennis Federation.Chinese player Lin Gaoyuan will partner with US player Lily Zhang, and US player Kanak Jha will partner with Chinese player Wang Manyu.國際乒聯宣佈，中美選手將跨國配對出戰2021年休斯敦世乒賽混雙比賽。中國選手林高遠將搭檔美國選手張安，美國選手卡納克將搭檔中國選手王曼昱。
張安（左）和林高遠
林高遠表示：
I’m really happy to be partnering with Lily Zhang for the Mixed Doubles event. She’s the top table tennis player in the US, our goal is to come out on top for this event. The biggest advantage about pairing with her is that she speaks Mandarin. I hope we can get into the groove soon, develop good chemistry and work hard towards a great performance. And I hope fans from both China and the US will cheer on the China-US Mixed Doubles pairs.
很高興能夠與張安配對參加世乒賽的混雙比賽，張安是美國隊一號， 我們的目標是爭第一。我們配合最大的優勢是她也會說中文，希望我們能夠迅速進入狀態，配合默契，透過努力取得好的成績。希望兩支球隊的球迷都能為我們這兩對混雙組合加油。
張安表示：
It’s going to be amazing; it is so cool to be able to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Ping-Pong Diplomacy here in the US where the World championships will be held for the first time. I think it will be a historical moment, and I am really glad that our two countries are able to work together through sport. I am very excited to play with Lin Gaoyuan, it’s so cool to pair with a Chinese national team player. They’re the best in the world, so I will do my best and hopefully we can work well together and get a good result.
世乒賽首次在美國舉行，同時慶祝“乒乓外交”50週年，真是太棒了！我認為這將是一個歷史性的時刻，我很高興我們兩國能夠透過體育進行良好的合作。能和林高遠一起打球我很興奮，和中國國家隊球員搭檔真是太棒了。他們是世界上最棒的，所以我會盡我所能，希望我們能很好地合作並取得好成績。
卡納克（左）和王曼昱
國際乒聯集團執行長史蒂夫·丹頓表示：
Once again, we are all witnessing the unique power of sport and how table tennis can create dialogues and foster mutual understanding. This will inspire us to deliver an extraordinary and historical Championships and to encourage the dreams, hopes and aspirations of not only the entire table tennis community but also the next generation worldwide.
我們要在休斯敦再次見證體育獨特的力量，以及乒乓球在建立對話、促進相互理解方面發揮的作用。這將激勵我們展示一場精彩又深具歷史意義的世乒賽，激發整個乒乓球界乃至下一代追求夢想、希望和抱負。
世界乒乓球職業大聯盟（WTT）理事會主席、中國乒協主席劉國樑是促成本次中美混雙配對的關鍵人物，他表示：
A few days ago, when the Chinese team arrived in Houston, I was deeply moved by the efforts ITTF, USA Table Tennis and Houston Sports Authority put into organizing a sports event during a pandemic. We have been thinking about how we can build on the China-US friendship kickstarted by our predecessors 50 years ago, and further enhance this relationship through sports events, sports activities and community events. On this basis, the CTTA alongside USA Table Tennis proposed to ITTF to have Chinese and American players paired up for Mixed Doubles – so that these athletes, who are friends with each other, can work together in the competition; so that fans from both countries can cheer them on, opening a new chapter of Ping-Pong Diplomacy in this new era.
幾天之前，當中國隊到達休斯敦，看到疫情期間國際乒聯、美國乒協、休斯敦體育局在組織賽事方面的努力，備受感動。我們一直在思考，“乒乓外交”50年後的今天，我們如何在前輩夯實的中美友誼的基礎上，再深一步地透過體育賽事、體育活動、民間活動來增進兩國的友誼。基於此，中國乒協聯合美國乒協向國際乒聯提出混雙中美跨國配對的建議，讓這幾位原本就是朋友的運動員並肩上場，兩個國家的球迷們共同為他們歡呼和吶喊，奏響新時期“乒乓外交”新篇章。
【知識點】
“乒乓外交”（Ping-Pong Diplomacy）始於1971年在日本名古屋舉行的第31屆世界乒乓球錦標賽（World Table Tennis Championships）期間美國選手科恩誤上了中國隊的大巴車，該事件促成了中華人民共和國與美國兩國乒乓球隊互訪的一系列事件（the series of history-making reciprocal visits by the US and Chinese national table tennis teams），從此結束了中美兩國20多年來人員交往隔絕的局面。中美兩國乒乓球隊的友好往來，不僅推動了中美兩國關係正常化（normalizing the countries' strained relations）的程序，也加速了新中國走向世界的步伐。
這並非世乒賽首次出現跨國配對。2015年蘇州世乒賽，在中國乒協的提議和推動下，國際乒聯重新允許跨國組合參加世乒賽。
China's Ma Long and Germany's Timo Boll played doubles together at the Qoros 2015 World Table Tennis Championships held in Suzhou, China.中國選手馬龍搭檔德國選手波爾參加蘇州世乒賽的男子雙打比賽。
2015年蘇州世乒賽，許昕和韓國選手梁夏銀搭檔。
Xu Xin paired with Yang Hae-un of South Korea to win the World Championships mixed doubles title in 2015.許昕和韓國選手梁夏銀搭檔，拿到了2015年蘇州世乒賽的混雙冠軍。
兩年後的杜塞爾多夫世乒賽，方博搭檔德國選手索爾佳獲得了混雙季軍，也實現了德國隊的一大突破。
【相關詞彙】
友誼賽 friendship match
小組賽 group match
半決賽 semi-final
種子選手 seed/seeded player
男子單打 men's singles
女子單打 women's singles
男子雙打 men's doubles
女子雙打 women's doubles
衛冕冠軍 defending champion
參考來源：新華網、中國日報、國際乒聯官網
編輯：Helen
來源：中國日報網
