A handful of US journalists were allowed to travel with them, breaking a news blackout from the communist country that had lasted more than two decades. Time magazine called the trip “the ping heard around the world” and Americans became obsessed with the story.

Team member George Braithwaite, now 69, recalled that his passport contained a list of countries that were off-limits to Americans. Before boarding the plane in Tokyo, he said, a US embassy official simply took out a pen and crossed the People’s Republic of China off the list.

“We were very naive about the whole thing. For us, it was an opportunity to go to China ... to try to learn some of their skills and techniques that we could apply to our game,” he said.

“But when we were being ushered through side doors to get away from the media, that’s when it began to dawn on us that this trip had much more significance than simply a table tennis outing.”

An official with the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, which is co-sponsor of the upcoming event, said the rematch will remind modern-day Chinese about the importance of nurturing the relationships they now take for granted.