Although I belong to a country where the game of Cricket has enjoyed great importance, Cricket has never been my cup of tea. The sport that I play and enjoy playing is Table Tennis or Ping Pong as it is referred to sometimes.

Table tennis originated in England, but became popular also in the USA around 1900, when celluloid balls began to replace rubber and cork ones. It was first played with improvised equipment on dining-room tables.

The International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF), comprising about 140 member countries came into force in 1922. The ITTF sponsors individual and team play at the world championships held every two years. This body aims at the promotion of sport of Table Tennis throughout the world. The national sports federation responsible for the promotion of the Sport of Table Tennis in India is the Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI)

From the 1960s through the early 1980s China often dominated the championships organised by International Table Tennis Federation. The Sport of Table Tennis is the National Game of China.

Interim title holders of these tournaments include Japan, Sweden and Hungary. From the late 1980s, however, with the entry of table tennis into the Olympic Games, South Korea and Sweden finally ended China’s dominance.

Although being an Olympic Sport, Table Tennis enjoys very less importance in India, thanks to meagre Corporate Sponsorship and very less Media Publicity. In spite of that, India has managed to produce players who have competed at the top-most level and at times have performed very well. One such example is Chetan Baboor, who is at present the Highest Ranked Indian player in the International Circuit.

With Table Tennis Federation of India and the Indian Olympic Committee joining hands and taking initiatives to promote the sport, one can surely hope that in the coming years, India will be able to produce Table Tennis players who will win laurels for the nation at the highest level.

Who is your favorite sports player in this field?

Jan Ove Waldner