Sportsmanship has been on full display as American curlers Chris Plys and Victoria Persinger gave badges in return on Sunday after receiving a commemorative gift - pin badges of the Beijing Winter Olympic mascot Bing Dwen Dwen - from their Chinese rivals, winning heartfelt praise from netizens and media worldwide on friendship among athelets.

The American mixed doubles curlers defeated the Chinese team Ling Zhi and Fan Suyuan at the National Aquatics center, also known as the Ice Cube which was reconstructed from the renowned Water Cube, on Saturday, a day after the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games kicked off with a grand and splendid ceremony. 

The US curlers received the gifts from their Chinese counterparts after the match. The four competitors posed together while displaying the pin sets. The American duo displayed the pin sets on Twitter on Saturday, saying that they were "honored to receive these beautiful Beijing 2022 pin sets in a wonderful display of sportsmanship by our Chinese counterparts." 

According to media reports, the Chinese team wished their American counterparts good luck during the next round of match and highly praised their performance and gave them the two sets of Bing Dwen Dwen pin badges as gifts. 

Plys and Persinger were overwhelmed by the surprising gifts and said the gesture was "so cool."

"The pins are beautiful and so special. We'll remember this forever," Persinger said. 

Ling told media on Sunday that the Chinese duo also received gifts from the US rivals in the dressing room after the matches, saying curling is a social sport event and athletes maintain good relations.

The touching moment also caught the attention of NHK which reported that friendly exchanges also happened between the US and China teams at the curling match despite the political tensions between the two countries. 

The Japanese media commented that with a serious game on the ice, the relationship between the players of the two countries became closer. 

The exchange between the competitors of the two countries also touched many foreign netizens who left messages on the American duo's post. 

"This is what Sports is about, competition is fair but friendships are made. Wonderful!" said a netizen named Allan Featherstone. 

Another netizen left a message in both English and Chinese saying "Friendship first, competition second."

Ling told media on Sunday that the Chinese duo also received gifts from American curlers in the dressing room after the matches on Saturday, saying curling is a social sports and athletes maintain good relations.

Global Times