Table Tennis

You are bored. Your friends are bored too. You have a whole evening stretched ahead of you, with nothing to do. There is no good movie in horizon – you have seen all of them anyway. You guys are all out of cash, so no point in going to blow it all away on shopping or at some restaurant. What do you do? The best option that comes to mind is simple. Yes! You guessed it! It’s table tennis. This is one of the best indoor sports ever invented. It is simple to play, and is a great way of passing time. Volleying a couple of shots across a table to your buddies while enjoying a great conversation is one of the many joys of life.

Table tennis, also known as ping pong, consists of a table and usually requires 2-4 players. You are required to bounce tiny balls with the help of special table tennis rackets (which are usually the size of a large person’s palm) across to your opponent. The entire idea is to be able to return any ball that comes to you, while at the same time breaking your opponent’s serve. It appears easy enough when you watch other people playing it, but it does require some amount of skill. Since the game is played in a closed room, and the ball is very light and delicate, you cannot just use all the force you have in your body. It requires technique and style to be able to bounce the ball across the table without making it fly off the table. The ball bounces very fast and easily, so returning shots require you to be quick on your feet. The placement of each shot is also extremely vital. Well placed shots confuse your opponents, and earn you points. A skilled and experienced player infuses a spin into his shot, so that the ball can bounce away in unexpected directions. The ball must not hit or even touch the net that demarcates the player’s interior boundaries.

Table tennis is an international game whose rules are decided and the events are controlled by the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF). It was founded in 1926. Due to its widespread popularity in countries all over the world, and the amount of skill required, table tennis has been categorised as an Olympic sport since 1988. Here, it includes four event categories as singles and doubles events for men, women and mixed teams. From 2008 onwards, doubles events have been replaced by team events.

If you want to develop a new hobby and you love sports, you must consider Table tennis. It is extremely popular especially among youngsters. It is an excellent sport, and contrary to what people think about indoor sports, it does require the player to be fit and agile. Above everything else, it helps you develop a faster response time, and gives you a great physical as well as mental exercise. Table tennis equipment is maintained by most college hostels, canteens, corporate recreational facilities, gyms and sports parlours. You can enjoy these games at any time, and have enjoyable moments with your buddies.

By:  Anindita Chatterjee

Tags: Balls, Indian Sports, ITTF, Ping Pong, Rackets, Sports, Sports India, Table Tennis