Table tennis is the most popuar racket in the world(and the world’s second largest participation sport), it made its debut as a full medal sport in the 1988 Summer Olympic Games in Seoul. More than 10 million players annually participate in sanctioned tournanerts worldwide.
Table tinnis has undergone constant changes throughout its history. Today’s players are indeed playing a different game than was played in the 1930s. past world championship games sometimes lasted for several hours. Today, the average match at the top levels of competition lasts about 30 minutes, as players smash the ball past each other at speeds exceeding 100 miles per hour.
The rules of the game are fairly straightforward. Generally, the first player to score 21 points wins. In the event of a deuce at 20, the players alternat serves until one scores two consecutive points. A match is two games out of three or three games out of five. The player winning the toss has choice of service or end of table. The first player serves five times, then receives five times, and so on. On the serve, the ball must be ghrown straight up at least six inches from a flat, open palm and cannot be hit until it begins to descend. The period when the ball is in play is called a “rally”.
Players display a variety of styles in the hotly competitive game. The defender pushes, chops, and blocks to ltet his opponent make a mistake. Relying on his ability to return every ball, the defender literally wears down his opponent. He pick hitter is basically a defender but occasionally hits the ball past his opponent when there is an opening. The all-out attacker hits every ball and tries to kill as many as he can, hoping to win by overpowering his opponent. The looper is the offensive counterpart to the pick hitter. He uses the loop until the ball pops up enough to kill.
And tactics? Short serves to the forehand are very difficult to return. Against a top player, a very short, very low serve is the safest way to get the ball into play. Three and five-ball attack stategies attempt to end the point by the third or fifth ball over the net. In a three-ball attack the server attempts to kill the verve return. A typical five-ball attack begins with a serve, then a return, then a loop, return, then kill.
Psychological ploys are often used in table tinnis. Watch for players toweling themselves off, tying their shoes, or in some other way attempting to change the pace of the game.
In 96’s Olympic Games, China captured the most medals at Atlanta, sweeping the golds in both singles and doubles of men and women, taking three silvers in men’s singles and doubles, and women’s doubles, and also grabbing a bronze in women’s singles.
