Table tennis is a racket sport derived from tennis but distinguished by its playing surface being atop a stationary table, rather than the court on which players stand. Either individually or in teams of two, players take alternating turns returning a light, hollow ball over the table's net onto the opposing half of the court using small rackets until they fail to do so, which results in a point for the opponent. Play is fast, requiring quick reaction and constant attention, and is characterized by an emphasis on spin, which can affect the ball's trajectory more than in other ball sports.
Timo Boll is a German professional table tennis player, who currently plays for Borussia Düsseldorf. His last rank before retirement was rank 23rd in the ITTF world rankings as of August 2024. Boll is the most successful German table tennis player of all time, having won several medals at Olympic Games, world cups, and world championships. He was ranked world No. 1 in 2003, 2011 and in March 2018.
Ryu Seung-min is a South Korean table tennis player who won the gold medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics in the men's singles competition. His opponent was Wang Hao, a top-seeded player from the Chinese national team. Along the way, he defeated 1992 Olympic champion Jan-Ove Waldner with 4–1. At the 2008 and 2012 Summer Olympics he was part of the South Korean team that won the bronze and silver medals respectively. Ryu is ranked twenty-fifth in the world as of July 2013. In 2016, Ryu became a member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), he was a member and Chair of the Athletes' Commission of the South Korean National Olympic Committee from 2016 to 2019. Since 2018, he counts among the ITTF Foundation Ambassadors, promoting sport for development and peace.
Ma Lin is a retired Chinese table tennis player, Olympic champion, and the current Chinese Women's Team Head Coach.
The 2006 World Junior Table Tennis Championships were held in Cairo, Egypt from 10 to 17 December 2006. It was organised by the Egyptian Table Tennis Federation under the auspices and authority of the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF). The fourth edition of the tournaments consisted of mixed doubles competitions and singles, doubles and team competitions for both boys and girls.
Chen Qi is a retired Chinese table tennis player. He won the gold medal in men's doubles at the 2004 Summer Olympics with Ma Lin, and is the youngest male ever to hold this title at age 20. In December 2013, Chen Qi announced his retirement and became the head coach of the Jiangsu provincial table tennis team.
The ITTF World Youth Championships is an annual table tennis competition for juniors under 19 and under 15. From 2003 to 2019, the World Junior Table Tennis Championships was held for juniors under 18. The ITTF changed the U18 age group into U19 in 2020, and implemented the new World Youth Championships for U19 and U15 in 2021. The World Youth Championships is currently composed of two team events and five individual events in each of the U19 and U15 age groups.
Ma Long is a Chinese professional table tennis player, six-time Olympic champion, and three-time World Champion. He is the reigning World Cup singles champion. Widely regarded as the greatest table tennis player of all time, he is the only male player to complete a career Double Grand Slam as the Olympic gold medalist in men's singles in 2016 and 2020. He is also the only table tennis athlete to win 6 gold medals in summer Olympics — no other table tennis player has more than four. He holds the record for most Olympic gold medals won by a Chinese athlete.
Jun Mizutani is a retired Japanese table tennis player and Olympic champion. He became the youngest Japanese national champion at the age of 17. He has the distinction of being the first male singles titlist to achieve five consecutive national championships: 2007 to 2011.
Liu Shiwen is a Chinese table tennis player. She is a five-time World Cup champion, one-time World Champion, three-time ITTF World Tour Grand Finals champion and four-time Asian Cup champion. She is known to be one of the fastest players in the world.
Mima Ito is a Japanese table tennis player. She won a bronze medal in the Women's Team event at the 2016 Summer Olympics at age 15. At the 2020 Summer Olympics, she won the gold medal with her partner Jun Mizutani in the inaugural mixed doubles event, bronze in women's singles, and silver in the women's team event.
Fan Zhendong is a Chinese professional table tennis player. After joining the Chinese national table tennis team in 2012 as the youngest member, he went on to become the youngest ITTF World Tour Champion and the youngest World Table Tennis Champion. From December 2013 to December 2024, Fan was ranked top five in the world according to the ITTF -- this eleven year streak is the longest in men's singles history.
Lin Gaoyuan is a Chinese table tennis player. He was the Asian Cup champion in 2017, and was a member of the Chinese teams that took the gold medals at the World Team Championships in 2018 and 2022.
Hitomi Sato is a Japanese table tennis player. She won a bronze medal with Honoka Hashimoto at the 2019 World Table Tennis Championships.
Miyuu Kihara is a Japanese table tennis player.
The 2008 World Junior Table Tennis Championships were held in Madrid, Spain, from 6 to 13 December 2008. It was organised by the Real Federacion Española de Tenis de Mesa under the auspices and authority of the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF).
The 2005 World Junior Table Tennis Championships were held in Linz, Austria, from 10 to 17 December 2005. It was organised by the Österreichischer Tischtennis Verband under the auspices and authority of the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF).
The 12th Asian Junior Table Tennis Championships 2006 were held in Kitakyushu, Japan, from 25 to 30 July 2006. It was organised by Japan Table Tennis Association under the authority of the Asian Table Tennis Union (ATTU) and International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF).
The 11th Asian Junior Table Tennis Championships 2005 were held in New Delhi, India, from 23 to 28 July 2005. It was organised by the Table Tennis Federation of India under the authority of the Asian Table Tennis Union (ATTU) and International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF).
The 10th Asian Junior Table Tennis Championships 2004 were held in New Delhi, India, from 19 to 24 July 2004. It was organised by the Table Tennis Federation of India under the authority of the Asian Table Tennis Union (ATTU) and International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF).
China 
South Korea 
Chinese Taipei 
Japan 
Croatia 
Romania