(XINHUA)

Zhuang Zedong, former world ping-pong champion, died of cancer at the age of 73 in Beijing on February 10.

The star played a pivotal role in "ping-pong diplomacy" that led to the thaw in Sino-U.S. relations during the 1970s.

Zhuang was born in Yangzhou, east China's Jiangsu Province, and became one of the world's top players in the 1960s, when he claimed three single world titles in a row .