Olympic gold medal-winning former Chinese table tennis player Ding Ning played an exhibition match against the advanced Chinese-made “AgiBot Expedition A3” robot in Beijing, China’s capital, on Saturday. The robot exchanged rapid shots with Ding Ning during the demonstration, drawing attention to its table tennis capabilities.

The robot was shown quickly responding after recognizing the speed and direction of its opponent’s shots. The contest offered spectators a view of a robot competing with a world-class player and renewed discussion around advances in artificial intelligence and robotics technology.

China’s artificial intelligence and robotics development has been advancing rapidly, according to the report. Beyond industry and research, the use of these technologies is increasing in sports. The match involving Ding Ning and the robot is being viewed as a demonstration of that technological progress.