The origins of table tennis have never been pinpointed, even though it’s a relatively young sport, much younger than lawn tennis and not much older than late breaking sports such as basketball.
The earliest known form of the sport, called indoor tennis, was played in the late 19th century by British army officers in India and South Africa, using lids from cigar boxes as paddles and rounded corks from wine bottles as balls, with a row of books set up across the middle of a table to form the net.
Though most popular in Asian countries such as China and Korea, who tend to dominate the world championships year in and year out, table tennis has gained in popularity across the globe and is one of the most played amateur sports in the world.
In South Africa table tennis remains more of an amateur than professional sport, though the national controlling body, the South African Table Tennis Board, is amongst the best run sporting bodies in the country and, like squash, was one of the first to achieve unity in the early ‘90s.
The national teams, chosen solely on merit and with upwards of 70% black participation, have enjoyed some success internationally, competing in such events as the World Team Championships, World Individual Championships and the Commonwealth Championships. The men’s team is currently ranked 71st in the world with the women’s team coming in at 68th.
Links:
For further information visit www.tabletennis.co.za