Table Tennis

Table tennis is a sport that requires a mind that will think fast. Because the table is so small, you have to think where the ball will go before the moment it gets hit back from the opponent so you can return it back. This sport is played on a very small table that is divided into two halves and even four when playing doubles. The point of this game is to try to reach ten points first before your opponent does, but if the game is tied at ten a piece, then the first one to lead by two points is the winner. A match is won when a player has won the best out of the odd number of matches. Lets say that the match was played with three games max. If a player wins the first two games, then he is the winner automatically as the opponent can no longer win the match, but it may need a third game if both players have won 1 game a piece. A player may get a point if his opponent either fails to return the ball back to your side of the court either by a good serve, or a good return from yourself that may result him in getting a bad hit. It is also done the same with him if you cannot return his shot, then your opponent will get the point.

History of Table Tennis
Table tennis began as a mid social diversion. It is one of the descendents along with badminton and lawn tennis of the ancient medival sport of tennis. It was popular in the second half of the nineteenth century due to it's crazy names such as Gossima and Whiff-Whaff. The name ping pong was soon introduced by J. Jacques and Son and it was a huge craze to many. It only lasted a certain period in Europe though but was revived in England and Wales in the early twentieth century. Table tennis is now played worldwide with many competitive as well as less competitive players as it soon became popular again years after it was recived in England.

Table tennis is one of the sports that is played in the Athens 2004 olympics. It consists of the following 4 events.


This game was played using the rules from the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF). The qualification matches were played to the best of five games. Then the tournament matches were played to the best of seven games. This means that one player has to win four games to be declared a winner in each match, but in the qualifications matches, one player must win three to compete in the tournament with the best.

Results from Athens 2004
Below are shown the winners of the four events along with the scores that were played in those matches
  1. Womans singles
    Wang N defeats Guo Yue by a close match of seven games (12-10, 11-6, 8-11, 10-12, 11-13, 11-9, 11-5)
    Wang N - gold
    Guo Yue - silver
  2. Womans doubles
    Guo Yue and Niu J defeat Guo Yan and Li J in a match of five games by winning four (8-11, 11-9, 11-8, 11-6, 11-9)
    Guo Yue and Niu J - gold
    Guo Yan and Li J - silver
  3. Mens singles
    Wang H defeats Ma L in a match of seven games (9-11, 11-8, 11-5, 8-11, 11-9, 6-11, 11-5)
    Wang H - gold
    Ma L - silver
  4. Mens doubles
    Chen Q and Ma L defeat Kong L and Wang H in five games (11-8, 5-11, 11-8, 11-8, 11-7)
    Chen Q and Ma - gold
    Kong L and Wang H - silver


Back to Home
Basketball