A student from Fuqian Experimental Primary School in Zhangjiagang, Jiangsu province gains professional directions from a coach. [Photo from WeChat account zjgcitynews]

Table football may sound a little bit strange to most Chinese people, but for teenagers studying at Fuqian Experimental Primary School in Zhangjiagang, Jiangsu province, the sport is far more than familiar.

Seven pupils from the school, along with two backup partners from the city's Yunpan Primary School and South China's city of Guangzhou, have teamed up on behalf of China's younger generations to show off their skills at the table football "World Cup" to be held in Germany in April.

"It is a great honor to compete overseas, and we should stay modest and prudent," one student said.

And they well deserve the honor. After first encountering the sport two years ago, the students' hard work over the years has helped them produce impressive results, not only in individual and team competitions, but also in national and Asian games.

After gaining regular support from professional coaches from home and abroad, the youngsters regarded the training more fruitful and were confident of the coming competition.

And now, the Fuqian Experimental Primary School, once a humble rural school in the northern part of Zhangjiagang, has also developed into a table football feature school – equipped with 24 world-class tables and a published, school-based textbook on table football.

The table football team from Zhangjiagang Fuqian Experimental Primary School has won outstanding achievements at competitions held in China and Asia, including the 2016 Asia Foosball Classic. [Photo from WeChat account zjgcitynews]