00:00Table tennis, ping-pong, jiu-jitsu, whatever you call it, it's one of the world's most loved sports with 300 million registered players in China alone.
00:13But passion for the game crosses many borders and here at the Loop Table Tennis Club Dublin, Ryan and Adam both represent Ireland at underage level.
00:24One day I would love to be the first Ireland Olympic medalist.
00:28I'd love to go to China to play with all the really good professionals and train with the really good coaches.
00:35Ask them who their favourite players are and one name always pops up.
00:39Ma Long.
00:41That's China's six-time Olympic gold medalist. But Irish inspiration isn't hard to find either.
00:48Two-time Irish national champion Sean McEnany is here too. He's dedicated a lifetime to the sport and to Sino-Irish understanding too.
00:58Well, I've done a number of cultural exchange programmes over the years. Both Irish kids going to China and Chinese kids coming to Ireland.
01:06And they've integrated very, very well over the years and friendships have continued for many years.
01:12This Friday night training session is in full swing here in Dublin with Irish and Chinese people playing together.
01:20But sport isn't the only universal language that Sean has used to bring people together.
01:24He's also used music and dance. Remember the Irish dancing scene from the Titanic?
01:33McEnany has toured China with the Titanic dance show he co-created.
01:39Music, song, dance relates to China. Storytelling in China is also very, very important. Music and dance.
01:46So I think from a culture and from an arts point of view, I think there's a big communication between Ireland and China.
01:55He's been helping get China and Ireland in step for decades, bringing two cultures together from playing on tables to dancing on them.
02:05Ken Brown, CGTN, Dublin.
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