RHENEN, The Netherlands, June 3 (Xinhua) -- Over 50 table tennis fans in the Netherlands contested on Sunday in the 2018 Panda Cup Tournament in the Dutch city of Rhenen where Wu Wen and Xing Ya, two giant pandas, live.
It is the second edition of this tournament organized by the Chinese Embassy in the Netherlands, after the first in 2017 was held to celebrate the 45th anniversary of Sino-Dutch diplomatic relations and to welcome the two giant pandas from China.
Pingpong fans of various age from public institutions, enterprises, research institutes, embassies and international organizations played six hours of intense matches at the sports center in the city.
Marco Langerak, member of the Vreeswijk Table Tennis Association (VTV), grabbed the title of champion of men's professional group from Chang Jin from TU Delft, last year's winner.
VTV is one of the largest table tennis associations in Central Netherlands with around 150 members. According to the Dutch Association of Table Tennis, there are over 30,000 table tennis clubs in the country and more than 1 million people play it regularly.
In women's final match, Zhang Yu from Wageningen University, defended her champion title. Amateur group men's final match winner goes to Fank van Schaik. The second place winner, 16-year-old Pieter Bakers, the youngest player of the tournament, also won huge applause.
Chinese Ambassador to the Netherlands Wu Ken, who is passionate for the Pingpong game, played in the tournament. After a fierce match, he narrowly won over Marcel Boekhoorn, owner of Ouwehands Zoo where the two giant pandas live. Fan of both giant panda and table tennis, the zoo owner proudly told Xinhua that he was twice table tennis champion in his native province some 30 years ago.
"If last year's tournament was to welcome the giant pandas, this year it is even more special. We are not only playing the national game of China, but also visit the giant pandas, the national treasure of China. To make these two most identifiable Chinese hallmarks perfectly combined we are continuing the Sino-Dutch friendship," said the Chinese ambassador at a reception at Ouwehands Zoo.
Xing Ya and Wu Wen living at a specially designed enclosure in the zoo were seen by public for the first time on May 30 last year after six weeks in quarantine since their arrival on April 12. Earlier this month the zoo said it had a "successful panda year" in 2017 with the number of visitors exceeded 1 million for the first time in history.