The origin, history and development of table tennis
Table of Contents
Introduction
What is Table Tennis or Ping Pong
Table Tennis, also known as Ping-Pong, is a ball game played on a flat table. This table is separated into two equal courts by a net fastened across the table’s width in the middle.
Tips: By the way, if you just want to learn table tennis, as a professional coach, I always recommend the best table tennis racket for beginners: Killerspin Jet800 or Nibiru Sport Ping Pong Paddle Set
The goal is to hit the ball over the net and bounce on the opponent’s half of the table.
By doing this, you prevent the opponent from reaching it or returning it correctly.
Lawn tennis is the forerunner of Table Tennis.
Ping-Pong is a brand name for table tennis and its accessories. So how did ping pong come from?
When and Who Invented Ping Pong?
At the end of the 1800s, the English firm J. Jaques and Son invented the name “Ping-Pong”.
It was later trademarked in the United States by Parker Brothers, a board game company.
The game is well-known throughout the world.
It is heavily structured as a competitive sport in various nations, particularly in Europe and Asia, particularly in China and Japan.
Brief History of Table Tennis
When and Where Was The First Table Tennis Game Played?
Table tennis was first played in England in the late nineteenth century.
The original players were middle-class Victorians who drew inspiration from lawn tennis.
In the first game, a champagne cork would have served as the ball, cigar boxes as bats, and books as the net.
Table tennis was regarded as a trivial diversion for the upper crust at the time.
The Development of Table Tennis
On July 15, 1890, David Foster of England filed an English Patent (number 11,037) for the first action game of tennis on a table.
In 1897, the first national championships were held in Hungary.
In 1901, James Gibb returned from a tour to the United States with the first celluloid ball, much lighter than rubber balls.
People initially used several different titles to refer to the game when it originally began.
“Whif whaf”, “Gossamer” and “flim-flam” described the term onomatopoetically.
However, English manufacturer J. Jaques& Son Ltd registered one of the more famous names, Ping-Pong, as a copyright in 1901. He sold the trademark to Parker Brothers in the United States.
In the 1920s, the name and sport re-entered Europe like table tennis.
In 1927, Dr. Jacobi won the inaugural world championships.
In 1929, there was news of the great Fred Perry redressing the balance for England.
In the 1930s, the Hungarians were about to embark on an unprecedented run of dominance, dominating the game throughout the 1930s. The renowned Victor Barna coached their team, and his vision helped in elevating the game to the level of a sport.
The Concept of Table Tennis and Ping Pong
History
The terms Table Tennis and ping pong are interchangeable.
Is Ping Pong a game of table tennis?
The key is to determine whether the terms refer to the same thing or to different movements.
Yes, they are distinct in terms of playing style, game speed, scoring, service, and equipment.
Table tennis appears to be the original name for the sport, with references to it dating back to at least 1887.
Ping pong is a nickname for the sport that several companies have trademarked.
Regulations
A player should make a serve by throwing the ball six inches above the palm while hitting it from the back in table tennis.
Ping pong, on the other hand, does not have any hard-and-fast serving regulations.
Some players follow Table Tennis regulations when serving, whereas others drop the ball and hit. Before serving the ball, some players will even let it bounce once.
Matches in Table Tennis typically end at 11 points, with players receiving two serves before swapping servers.
Matches in ping pong can play in either an 11-point or a 21-point format, but they usually end up with 21 points.
Ping pong games feature lengthier rallies than table tennis games because of this.
In a 21-point match, each player usually has five alternative serves.
Olympic
Table Tennis is a highly competitive sport that achieves a greater level of competition than ping pong because it is an Olympic sport. Below the championship level, there are leagues and championships.
While anyone can play table tennis, some players refer to the competitive sport as Table Tennis and the hobby sport as ping pong.
For serious players, ping pong, like table tennis, has national and international championships and leagues. It is not, however, recognized as an Olympic sport.
Different individuals refer to ping pong and table tennis players as ping pong players without minding their separate rules.
While ping pong does not have a structured history like Table Tennis, it also does not have serious rules.
It is worthy of note that table tennis and ping pong once referred to the same sport.
In the 1920s, certain persons trademarked ping pong, and table tennis thus became more prominent.
Paddle
Many people still perceive Table Tennis and ping pong to be the same sport, yet the most skilled players distinguish between the two games’ regulations.
Table tennis players rely on their feet to spin the ball using a variety of paddles. Only sandpaper paddles are used in ping pong, and participants play with their hands rather than their feet.
Table Tennis in Philippine
Some American soldiers introduced Table Tennis to the Philippines during the first American colonial period.This happened in the Philippines around 1900. They took early Table Tennis boxed sets with them.
In their spare time, they taught the locals how to play table tennis. It was known as ‘ping-pong,’ and the Americans themselves introduced this to the Philippines.
Following the departure of US service members from the Philippines, the Thomasites continued to spread table tennis throughout the islands.
Peter Cua rediscovered these early efforts, and he was a former member of the Philippine National Table Tennis Team. He was also a table tennis historian and Liha Ambassador.
Cua learned about this long-forgotten history in 2008, after no one had remembered it for decades. While the history is ancient, Cua learned that many people were playing in private homes and back alleys.
Sandbat play, also known as liha Table Tennis, is a direct descendent of a game that existed over a century ago. In the Philippines, the native Tagalog term liha refers to it, which means sandpaper.
Table Tennis in China
Table Tennis, also known as “Ping Pang Qiu”, is a popular and revered sport in China. It was the sole sport in China for a long time, similar to a combination of football, basketball, and baseball, but a hundred times more prevalent.
The game is thought to have been brought to China from Japan by a Shanghai stationery shop owner in the early twentieth century.
In Shanghai, China’s first “ping pong house” debuted in 1916. Only “rich people could afford to play in it” at the time, it was alleged.
According to Edgar Snow, an American writer, in his book “Red Star Over China,” the sport was “bizarrely” popular among the Communist Party of China’s military troops in the 1930s.
RongGuotuan, the People’s Republic of China’s first Table Tennis world champion (and the country’s first world champion in any sport), was crowned in 1959.
Hundreds of millions of people in China play the game at work, school, and public parks. Top Chinese players are revered as national heroes and pop stars.
Table Tennis in Nigeria
Around 1904, tennis was introduced to Nigeria.
It rose to prominence in 1920, when local tournaments were held between clubs, government departments, and, later, neighboring colonial countries such as Ghana and Togo.
In the year 1927, a watershed moment in the history of Nigerian tennis occurred.
The site was Lagos Tennis Club Onikan, and the event was the first edition of a country-wide tournament sponsored by the Slazenger Sports Company.
Mr. Galvo was the tournament’s official winner.
Since the Europeans invented the game, it’s no wonder that they dominated the competition for ten years. Until Etim B. Ironbar and Effom Sprang a surprise by winning the Doubles Championships in 1938 and 1940.
European dominance in the Men’s Singles Division lasted until 1949 when Herbert B. Oranye was crowned Men’s Singles Champion.
In the same year, he won the Men’s Double with Walter C. Obianwu. Nigerians quickly took control, and the winning streak continued, with a few European triumphs thrown in for good measure.
Senior players began to flood the tennis court in the late 1950s.
As a result, a series of Junior and School Championships were held.
Names like Thompson Onibokun, Late Charles Itabor, Christian Ofodili, Late Lawrence Awopegba, Emmanuel Edu, Koffi Fidelis, Mrs. Elizabeth Ekong, etc rose to prominence.
Nigeria has competed in the Davis Cup Tournament since 1985, after withdrawing for several years in protest of South Africa’s apartheid regime.
Nigeria has also competed in the All-Africa Games and other international tournaments.
Table Tennis in India
In 1937, the Table Tennis Federation of India was founded in Kolkata. It is India’s central authority for table tennis administration and promotion.
Following India’s independence, the Table Tennis Federation of India, formerly known as the All-India Table Tennis Association (AITTA), was renamed.
Since then, it has worked tirelessly to promote and raise the standard of table tennis in India.
The Indian Table Tennis Federation is a member of the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF).
The federation has increased in size and now has practically all of the state table associations as members.
In addition to state associations, the Table Tennis Federation of India has institutional members such as the Indian Railways, Petroleum Sports Promotion Board, and Bank Sports Board.
In addition, the federation maintains a large network of district organizations, each of which has shown to be quite effective.
The Table Tennis Federation of India offers a variety of national table tennis championships and instructional camps.
Young people who are dedicated competitors and want to make it big in sports can work for the Federation.
They receive extensive training to do well at competitions and bring honor to the country.
Table Tennis and Olympic Sport
Many people have questioned whether table tennis should be an Olympic sport. The Olympic Games admitted the Table Tennis sport for the first time in 1988 in Seoul, South Korea.
In 1932, the International Table Tennis Federation took steps to draft table tennis competitions as a demonstration sport at the 1936 Berlin Olympic Games.
That, however, did not occur.
So, in 1927, the International Table Tennis Federation started to try to obtain table tennis sports in the 1940 Olympics, following a proposal by Yugoslavia and Japan, supported by Hungary and Germany.
However, England was opposed to the concept, despite having the greatest Table Tennis membership of any country.
The Best Table Tennis Player of All Time
Based on his accomplishments and professionalism, Ma Long is China’s top table tennis player.
In his early years, he was also the captain of the Chinese team.
He is thus the best player, with the best forehand grip and a strong backhand.
From 2006 to 2013, he won a total of 16 medals at the world championships.
Ma Long has won 9 World Cup gold medals in a row from 2009 to 2019.
Ma Long has a remarkable record, having held the number one position in the International Table Tennis Federation for a record-breaking 64 months.
In the history of Table Tennis, no other male player has risen to this level.
In addition, he became the first male tennis player in history to win every singles title in Table Tennis.
Ma Long is also the first and only player in China National Games history to win two consecutive singles titles.
Based on his impressive track record, he is the most excellent player in this sport.
His teammates regard him as the most tactical player, capable of solving any problem in a matter of minutes.
His conventional pendulum serves are very visually deceptive in the game, as they layer with a subtle spin and service motion.
Conclusion
Table Tennis, or Ping Pong, is a pleasant sport but can be extremely competitive. Each player attempts to outscore his opponent by utilizing skill, strength, speed, stamina, and strategy.
The game is similar to tennis in that players hit the ball back and forth across a net.
The game is played on a tabletop with paddles and a ping-pong ball.
The goal of the game is to be the first person to score 11 points. Table Tennis is also an Olympic sport.
Today, both in England and abroad, the sport is well established and growing year after year.
My name is Cosmos Boll and I’m 26 years old. I’m Chinese and live in Shanghai.
I am a table tennis enthusiast and a professional table tennis coach.
My idol is Timo Boll who is the greatest player in the world.