Curlers Ling Zhi and Fan Suyuan presented a set of commemorative pins to Christopher Plys and Vicky Persinger after the Americans prevailed 7-5 in their mixed doubles round-robin encounter on Saturday.

“These will be on my desk for a very, very long time,” Plys said of the pins, which he called “just beautiful, something super unique”.

“I don’t know what it is with the Chinese curlers. We can’t really communicate that well, but we always seem to give each other a smile and a fist bump.”

Ling, who hails from the wintry northeastern China city of Harbin, said the bonhomie was a “tradition of curling – athletes are friendly to each other”.

Ling invited Plys to visit his hometown.

The Beijing Olympics opened on Friday under the shadow of the pandemic and a diplomatic boycott of the Games by the US and several of its allies over China’s record on human rights.

Plys said he doesn’t “let our countries’ politics get in the way of what’s going on”.

“At the end of the day, we all bleed the same blood and play the same game. It’s fun to experience each other’s cultures a bit and show them it’s all love.”