The same can be said about China’s superstar Lin Dan, who is also a household name in the country as both players, arch nemeses on the badminton court, remain good friends on the sidelines.

Since their first encounter during Thomas Cup qualifiers at the Kuala Lumpur Badminton Hall in Cheras in 2004, both athletes have forged a special relationship. They enjoy celebrity-like status in both countries and are treated like rock stars.

Both athletes are ambassadors for their respective countries as there were attempts to get both players to play a charity match to ease tension between both countries following the disappearance of Flight MH370 on March 8.

But the Malaysia-China sporting relationship is beyond badminton.

Beijing-born Yuan Yufang, who gave up her China citizenship to represent Malaysia, has made the nation proud on several occasions.

The former international walker won five consecutive Sea Games gold medals in the 20km race (1997 to 2005). She won the bronze medal in the 2002 Manchester Commonwealth Games in the same category.

Yufang now spends much time at the grassroots, having coached more than 100 teachers and students from schools in and around Kuala Lumpur.

Malaysia has also dominated the traditional Chinese martial art of wushu.

Now a sport which is organised in most major events, several of our exponents have made a name for themselves in the international scene, including the likes of Ho Ro Bin and Diana Bong. The country finished third with four gold, five silver and five bronze medals in the World Wushu Championships held at the KL Badminton Stadium in Cheras last year.

China were the eventual overall winners with 17 gold medals while Iran came in second with seven gold medals.

Tai chi is a form of traditional Chinese exercise which is widely practised, even by non-Chinese, in Malaysia.

The dragon boat race, also known as tuan wu, dates back to the 4th century in China. Races were often held in commemoration of the life and death of legendary poet Chu Yuan, who lived during the Chou dynasty.

The race was introduced in Malaya by migrants from China and dragon boat racing was recognised as a sporting activity in Malaya in 1934 — the first country outside China to give the sport such recognition.

Penang hosted the nation’s first dragon boat race in 1956 and the International Dragon Boat Federation world championships in 2008.

Several Chinese board games have also made an impact on Malaysians, mainly xiangqi (Chinese chess) and mahjong.