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WASHINGTON: In yet another bid to enhance ties through sports
diplomacy, the United States is sending its baseball “iron man”
to China to promote America’s po-pular game in the world’s most
populous nation.
Hall of Famer Cal Ripken was on Monday named by
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice as a special sports envoy for
the State Department as part of efforts to improve the United
States’ image abroad.
His first stop, in October, will be China, where
the people are more comfortable flicking a ping pong paddle than
swinging a baseball bat.
“Baseball is America’s national pastime, a
sport that truly defines American culture. It is only fitting that
the face of our national pastime would be one of the faces that
America shows the world as our next public diplomacy envoy,” Rice
said at Ripken’s appointment ceremony.
She called him “the real-life iron man.”
The only other special US sports envoy appointed
by the administration of President George W. Bush was
American-Chinese Michelle Kwan, a five-time world figure skating
champion.
Ripken, known for his record-breaking streak of
playing in 2,632 consecutive major league games, is looking forward
to his China stint.
“I happen to think that sport—baseball, in
particular—is very magical. It can go across cultural lines,”
said the bald 46-year-old icon.
--AFP
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