h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Let us not forget that ping pong was once instrumental in changing the course of world politics, and indeed, that the term "Ping Pong Diplomacy" entered common language for a while. The year was 1971, and the United States and China were fierce enemies, with almost no contact with one another. The Nixon administration was determined to change that (and did, a feat for which Nixon does not always receive sufficient credit). The initial opening was the dispatch of a team of 15 U.S. ping pong players to China. If you were alive then, you'll recall this as a media spectacle, complete with front-cover impact on TIME magazine. If you weren't, you might buzz by http://www.sdtta.com/pp_diplomacy.html for some more details.

and I do believe that Forest Gump played in that team!