Table Tennis

Table tennis (also commonly known as ping pong), is a sport where two or four players hit a ball back and forth to each other with paddles. The game takes place on a table divided by a net. Players must allow a ball played towards them only one bounce on their side of the table and must return it so that it bounces on the opponent's side. Play is fast and demands quick reactions. A skilled player can impart spin to the ball, which makes its bounce and its reaction on the opponent's bat difficult to predict or return with confidence.

Table tennis is very popular, especially in East Asia and is among the most popular sports in the world in terms of player numbers, as well as one of the newest of the major sports.

(Ping Pang Qiu) is the official name for the sport in the mainland China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong.

(Takkyu) is the official name for the sport in Japan as well as Taiwan (zuo-chiou).

(Taak-gu) is the name for the sport in Korea.

History

Table tennis making an 'impression' on the world of sportsTable tennis has its origins in England as an after dinner amusement for upper class Victorians in the 1880s. Mimicking the game of tennis in an indoor environment, everyday objects were originally enlisted to act as the equipment. A line of books would be the net, a rounded top of a Champagne cork or knot of string as the ball, and a cigar box lid as the bat.

The popularity of the game led game manufacturers to sell the equipment commercially. Early bats were often pieces of parchment stretched upon a frame, and the sound generated in play gave the game its first nicknames of "whiff whaff" and "Ping pong." A number of sources indicate that the game was first brought to the attention of Hamley's of Regent Street under the name "Gossima". The name ping pong was in wide use before English manufacturer J. Jaques & Son Ltd trademarked it in 1901. The name ping pong then came to be used for the game played by the rather expensive Jaques equipment, with other manufacturers calling theirs table tennis. A similar situation came to exist in the United States where Jaques sold the rights to the ping pong name to Parker Brothers.

The term is now used as a generic name for table tennis.

The next major innovation was by James Gibb, an English enthusiast of the game, who discovered novelty celluloid balls on a trip to the U.S. in 1901 and found them to be the ideal balls for the game. This was followed by E.C. Goode who in 1903 invented the modern version of the racket by fixing a sheet of pimpled, or stippled, rubber to the wooden blade. Table tennis was growing in popularity by 1901 when table tennis tournaments were being organized, books on table tennis were being written, and an unofficial world championship was held in 1902. During the early 20th century the game was banned in Russia due to the belief that was held by the rulers at the time that playing the game had an adverse effect on players' eyesight. In 1921, the Table Tennis Association was founded in England, and the International Table Tennis Federation followed in 1926. London hosted the first official world championship in 1927. Table tennis was introduced as an Olympic sport at the Olympics in 1988. In the 1950's rackets that used a rubber sheet combined with a underlaying sponge layer changed the game dramatically, introducing greater spin and speed. These were introduced to England by the sports goods manufacturers S.W. Hancock Ltd. and the Hancock bat gave Johnny Leach the edge when he became World Champion in 1949. The use of speed glue increased the spin and speed even further, resulting in changes to the equipment to "slow the game down."

Toward the end of 2000, the ITTF instituted several rules changes aimed at making table tennis more viable as a televised spectator sport. First, the older 38 mm balls were officially replaced by 40 mm balls. This increased the ball's air resistance and effectively slowed down the game. By that time, players had begun increasing the thickness of the fast sponge layer on their bats, which made the game excessively fast, and difficult to watch on television. Secondly, the ITTF changed from a 21 to an 11 point scoring system. This was intended to make games more fast-paced and exciting. The ITTF also changed the rules on service to prevent a player from hiding the ball during service, in order to increase the average length of rallies and to reduce the server's advantage.

Variants of the sport have emerged. "Large ball" table tennis uses a 44 mm ball which slows down the game significantly. This has seen some acceptance by players who have a hard time with the extreme spins and speeds of the 40 mm game.

There is a move towards reviving the table tennis game that existed prior to the introduction of sponge rubber, Classic table tennis or "Hardbat" table tennis players reject the speed and spin of reversed sponge rubber, preferring the 1940-60s style of no-sponge, short pimpled rubber of play which makes defense less difficult by decreasing the speed and eliminating any meaningful magnus effect of spin. Because hardbat killer shots are almost impossible to hit against a skilled player, hardbat matches focus on the strategic side of table tennis, requiring skillful maneuvering of the opponent before an attack can be successful.

World Champions

Men - Singles
2005—Wang Liqin, China
2003—Werner Schlager, Austria
2001—Wang Liqin, China
1999—Liu Guoliang, China
1997—Jan-Ove Waldner, Sweden
1995—Kong Linghui, China
1993—Jean-Philippe Gatien, France
1991—Jorgen Persson, Sweden
1989—Jan-Ove Waldner, Sweden
1987—Jiang Jialiang, China
1985—Jiang Jialiang, China
1983—Guo Yuehua, China
1981—Guo Yuehua, China
1979—Seije Ono, Japan
1977—Mitsuru Kohno, Japan
1975—Istvan Jonyer, Hungary
1973—Xi Enting, China
1971—Stellan Bengsston, Sweden
1969—Shigeo Itoh, Japan
1967—Nobuhiku Hasegawa, Japan
1965—Zhuang Zedong, China
1963—Zhuang Zedong, China
1961—Zhuang Zedong, China
1959—Rong Guotuan, China
1957—Toshio Tanaka, Japan
1956—Ichiro Ogimura, Japan
1955—Toshio Tanaka, Japan
1954—Ichiro Ogimura, Japan
1953—Ferenc Sido, Hungary
1952—Hiroje Satoh, Japan
1951—Johnny Leach, England
1950—Richard Bergmann, England
1949—Johnny Leach, England
1948—Richard Bergmann, England
1947—Bohumil Vana, Czechoslovakia
1939—Richard Bergmann, England
1938—Bohumil Vana, Czechoslovakia
1937—Richard Bergmann, Austria
1936—S. Kolar, Czechoslovakia
1935—Viktor Barna, Hungary
1934—Viktor Barna, Hungary
1933—Viktor Barna, Hungary
1932—Viktor Barna, Hungary
1931—M. Szabados, Hungary
1930—Viktor Barna, Hungary
1929—F.J. Perry, England
1928—Z. Mechlovits, Hungary
1926—R. Jacobi, Hungary

Women
(A Chinese woman has been world champion every year since 1979, except when Hyun Jung Hwa of Korea won the title in 1993). 1937 is the only year, men or women, in which there were co-champions.

Women’s Singles

Zhang Yining (???), at 2004 Korea Open.2005—Zhang Yining, China
2003—Wang Nan, China
2001—Wang Nan, China
1999—Wang Nan, China
1997—Deng Yaping, China
1995—Deng Yaping, China
1993—Hyun Jung Hwa, Korea
1991—Deng Yaping, China
1989—Qiao Hong, China
1987—He Zhili, China
1985—Cao Yanhua, China
1983—Cao Yanhua, China
1981—Tong Ling, China
1979—Ge Xinai, China
1977—Pak Yung Sun, North Korea
1975—Pak Yung Sun, North Korea
1973—Hu Yu-lan, China
1971—Lin Huiqing, China
1969—T. Kowada, Japan
1967—S. Morisawa, Japan
1965—N. Fukazu, Japan
1963—K. Matsuzaki, Japan
1961—Qiu Zhonghui, China
1959—K. Matsuzaki, Japan
1957—F. Eguchi, Japan
1956—T. Okawa, Japan
1955—A. Rozeanu, Romania
1954— A. Rozeanu, Romania
1953—A. Rozeanu, Romania
1952—A. Rozeanu, Romania
1951—A. Rozeanu, Romania
1950—A. Rozeanu, Romania
1949—G. Farkas, Hungary
1948—G. Farkas, Hungary
1947—G. Farkas, Hungary
1939—V. Depetrisova, Czechoslovakia
1938—G. Pritzi, Austria
1937—Ruth Aarons, United States/G. Pritzi, Austria (co-champions)
1936—Ruth Aarons, United States
1935—M. Kettnerova, Czechoslovakia
1934—M. Kettnerova, Czechoslovakia
1933—A. Sipos, Hungary
1932—A. Sipos, Hungary
1931—M. Mednyanszky, Hungary
1930—M. Mednyanszky, Hungary
1929—M. Mednyanszky, Hungary
1928—M. Mednyanszky, Hungary
1926—M. Mednyanszky, Hungary

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Table tennis. (2007, March 25). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 01:54, March 26, 2007, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Table_tennis&oldid=117853682