TOPIC 1:
HISTORY and
DEVELOPMENT
HISTORY
The history of table tennis (or ping-pong as it is also commonly
known) is a long and interesting sequence of events, which would
require a book to do it justice. This article provides a brief overview
of the origins of the game, as well as what are generally
acknowledged as many of the important highlights of the game’s
development. There is often conflicting information available
regarding the early days of table tennis and all differing opinions are
presented here for completeness.
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TABLE TENNIS
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.
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Ping Pang Qiu
Is the official name of the sport in
Mainland China, Hong kong, Taiwan
and Macau.
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Takkyu
Is the official name of the
sport in Japan.
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Tak-gu
Is the name of the sport in
Korea
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12th Century AD 1880’s
The game of table tennis Some sources claim that the
probably descended from sport was once known as
the game of “Royal Tennis”, indoor tennis, and was
which was played in the played in the early 1880’s
medieval era. by British army officers
stationed in India and South
Africa.
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1880’s 1887
The name had become According to the ITTF
fashionable among the website, the first use of the
upper classes in England. name “Table Tennis”
appeared on a board and
dice game made by J.H.
Singer of New York.
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1890 1891
The earliest existing John Jacques of London
evidence of a table tennis introduce their “Gossima”
game is a set made by game, which used drum-
David Foster, patented in type paddles, a 50mm web
England, which included wrapped cork ball, and a
table version of Lawn 30cm high net.
Tennis, Cricket and
Football.
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1890’s 1900
Inventor of the modern ping
By this time, several patents
pong ball is credited with
with basic rules had been bringing hollow celluloid
registered. balls to England from the
USA. Some sources also
Parker Brothers begin credit James Gibb with
making an indoor tennis kit inventing the name "Ping
which included a portable Pong" which was supposed
net, a small ball covered in to have been derived from
the sound of the ball
netting and paddles.
bouncing off the drum
battledores.
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1901
John Jacques register “Ping
Pong” as a trade name in
On the 12th December 1901,
England. The American
“The Table Tennis
rights to the name are sold
Association” is formed in
to Parker Brothers.
England. Four days later,
“The Ping Pong
Association” is also formed
in England.
Table Tennis is first
brought to China via
western settlements.
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1902 1903
Englishman E. C. Goode is On the 1st May 1903, “The Table
credited with putting pebbled Tennis Association” and “”The Ping
rubber on his wooden blade, Pong Association” amalgamate,
allowing him to put more spin forming “The United Table Tennis
on the ball. This is the and Ping Pong Association”. This
forerunner of the ordinary association will later revert its name
pimpled rubber racket, which to “The Table Tennis Association”,
will dominate table tennis until before becoming defunct in 1904.
1952
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1920’s – 1950’s
Classic hard Bat Era /
Europe Dominates the Sport
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1920’s 1922
“The Table tennis
In the early 1920’s the game Association” is
began to revive in England reconstituted , with the
and Europe name “English Table Tennis
Association” being adopted
in 1927.
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1926 1926 - 1931
Maria Mednyanszky of
The International Table Hungary wins the Women’s
Tennis Federation is Singles Event at the World
formed. Championships five times
in a row.
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1930 - 1935 1935
Victor Barna of Hungary The American Ping Pong
wins five of the six Men’s Association, US Amateur
Singles events at the World Table Tennis Association,
Championships and was and National Table Tennis
runner up in 1931. Association merge to form
the US Table Tennis
Association.
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1936 1938
Repainted tables and a high net The ITTF lowers the net
combine to make attacking play very from 6 ¾ inches to 6 inches,
difficult at the World Championship and bans the finger spin
in Prague, Czechoslovakia. This serves which had been used
results in the longest rally ever in a with devastating effect by
World Championships taking place, American Players.
lasting over two hours.
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1940 - 1946 1950 - 1955
Angelica Rozeanu – Adelstein of
Romania wins six Women’s Singles
No World
titles in a row at the World
Championships held due
Championships. Since her last title
to World War II
win in 1955, every World Champion
in Women’s Singles has been an
Asian Player
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1950’s – 1970’’s 1952
Hiroji Satoh of Japan is
credited with inventing
Sponge Bat Era / Rise of Japan the Wooden Racket. He
and China wins the 1952 World
Championships over
Jozsef Koczian of
Hungary, and begins a
period of Asian male
domination in the sport.
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1957 1958
The World Championships changes The first European
to a biennial event (once every two Championships is
years), due to the logistics of hosting conducted in Budapest,
an event of such size, and difficulty Hungary, and sees the
in finding suitable venues. USSR's debut in
international table tennis.
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1959-1960 1960
In the early 1960's, the loop
drive was invented and
The ITTF standardizes the thickness become popular around the
of ordinary pimpled rubber and world.
sponge rubber.
From around 1965 to 1971,
China under the rule of Ma
Tse-Tung disappears from
world table tennis events.
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1961-1965 1960’s
In the early 1960's, Xhang
Xi Lin of China uses a
Zhuang Zedong of China wins 3 "Yin-Yan" bat with normal
Men's Singles titles in a row at the rubber on one side, and long
World Championships, each time pimples on the other the
over compatriot Li Furong. first recorded instance of
successful combination bat
play.
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1971
Jean-Paul Weber of France uses the
China returns to International first anti-spin rubber in the World
Competition at the 1971 World Championships in Nagoya, Japan, and
Championships. enjoys some success with its use.
The US Table Tennis Team takes a "Ping- The first Commonwealth
Pong Diplomacy" trip to China, in a Championships are held in Singapore.
world first effort to use sport to establish The first Commonwealth
and improve diplomatic relations. Championships are held in Singapore.
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1970's-2000's 1970's
The discovery of the use of
bicycle tyre repair glue to put
rubber on a table tennis blade
The Age of Speed Glue & dramatically increases the
Technology speed and spin that can be
produced. This discovery is
often credited to Dragutin
Surbek of Yugoslavia, and
Tibor Klampar of Hungary.
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1970's-1989 1980
John Hilton of England
wins the European
China is the dominant force in both
Championships using a
men's and women's events on the
combination bat of normal
world scene, winning multiple events
rubber and anti-spin,
at all world championships.
twiddling the racket and
playing aggressively.
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1980
The first World Cup event is held in In 1985, the two-color rule
Hong Kong. 1982: The initial World is adopted to reduce the
Veteran's Championships is effectiveness of
conducted in Gothenburg, Sweden. combination rackets.
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1988 1989-1993
Sweden breaks Chinese stranglehold
in Men's World Championships,
Table Tennis becomes an Olympic
winning the 1989, 1991, and 1993
sport, in Seoul, South Korea.
Teams Events, and producing the
1989 and 1991 World Men's
Champions (Jan-Ove Waldner and
Jorgen Persson respectively). China
continues its dominance in female
ranks.
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1995-present 1997
Jan-Ove Waldner wins the
Mens Singles title at the World
China reasserts its control over the
Championships for the second
Mens Team and Mens Singles events
time, this time without the loss
at the World Championships.
of a single game!
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2000
A brief blip in the Chinese men's
dominance occurs when the aging
Swedish trio of Jan-Ove Waldner, The ITTF increases
Jorgen Persson and Peter Karlsson increases the ball diameter
combine to steal the Mens Team title to 40mm.
in a thrilling final.
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2001 2002
The ITTF changes the scoring Table Tennis becomes a
system, moving to 11 point games, Commonwealth Games
and using a best of 5 games or best Sport, at Manchester,
of 7 games match. England.
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2003 2000's
Werner Schlager of Austria breaks
the Chinese stranglehold on the In the early 2000's, frictionless long
Men's\r Singles World Championship pimples become popular among
title. He saves several match points many players, in an attempt to
along the way against opponents in negate the the power and spin
Wang Liqin and Kong Linghui. He produced by modern technology and
meets Joo Se Hyuk of South Korea speed glue.
in the final.
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2006 2007
The intended banning of frictionless
long pips and speed glues with toxic The ITTF withdraws its approval of
organic solvents is announced by the all table tennis glues, following a
ITTF.The intended banning of health incident involving a speed
frictionless long pips and speed glues glue user in Japan.
with toxic organic solvents is
announced by the ITTF.
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2008
The use of speed glues with illegal
VOCs is banned for all ITTF junior
competitions as of January 1.
Machines that test for illegal VOCs
are introduced to check for rules
infractions.
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THE END
