During the tense years of the Cold War, it was table tennis that bridged the frozen gaps between China and the United States.
In 1971, during the World Table Tennis Championships, two players from the opposing countries were kind to one another. Instead of seeing the other with suspicion, they exchanged gifts.
This interaction brought Chinese Chairman Mao to extend an invitation to the U.S table tennis team. He gave them an all-expenses-paid trip to China. From there, ties between the United States and China were able to heal after many years of suspicions. All thanks to table tennis.
When watching a table tennis match, sometimes it’s easy to lose track of the ball. This is even truer when you watch professionals play the game!
For example, in 1993, players Lisa Lomas and Jackie Bellinger set the fastest record of hitting the ball back and forth across the table. In a mere 60 seconds, they hit it 173 times! That’s almost 3 hits per second!
The rubber patterns on the paddle are more than for show. Certain patterns give players the ability to control their hits in certain ways. One style of rubber is never quite like any other.
There are over 1,500 types of these rubber coatings. From bumped to lined, from soft to hard, there are a ton of different options to customize your game.
It hasn’t always been called by its official tourney name of table tennis. It’s often called ping pong, for example. Though some people alter the rules of ping pong depending on who’s playing.
But there are other names that are lesser known. Some people speculate that Wiff Waff was the first name for this beloved sport, but others are certain that Gossima is the correct one.
Regardless of those, the sport didn’t kick off to be the one we all know and love until after the game rebranded itself as Ping Pong. From there, the rest is history!