Table tennis, also known as ping-pong and whiff-whaff, 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 relative to other ball sports, which can heavily affect the ball's trajectory.
The International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) is the governing body for all national table tennis associations. The role of the ITTF includes overseeing rules and regulations and seeking technological improvement for the sport of table tennis. The ITTF is responsible for the organization of numerous international competitions, including the World Table Tennis Championships that has continued since 1926.
Mouma Das is an Indian table tennis player. Born and brought up in Kolkata, West Bengal, she has represented India in international events since the early 2000s. Das has won multiple medals at the Commonwealth Games including a gold in the Women's Team Competition in 2018. She was awarded the Arjuna Award, India's second highest sporting honour in 2013 for her contributions to the sport.
Li Xiaoxia is a Chinese table tennis Grand Slam champion.
The World Table Tennis Championships are table tennis competitions sanctioned by the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF). The World Championships have been held since 1926, biennially since 1957. Five individual events, which include men's singles, women's singles, men's doubles, women's double and mixed doubles, are currently held in odd numbered years. The World Team Table Tennis Championships, which include men's team and women's team events, were first their own competition in 2000. The Team Championships are held in even numbered years.
Ma Long is a Chinese table tennis player and the reigning Olympic singles champion. Widely regarded as the greatest table tennis player of all time, he is the first and only male player to complete a career Double Grand Slam as the Olympic gold medalist in men's singles in 2016 and 2020. He held the ranking of number 1 for a total of 64 months, the most by any male in the history of table tennis. He is also champion in World Championships in men's singles in 2015, 2017 and 2019. His records led the International Table Tennis Federation to nickname him as "The Dictator" and "The Dragon". Since 2014, he has been the captain of the Chinese national table tennis men's team.
The GAC GROUP 2011 World Table Tennis Championships was held at the Ahoy indoor sporting arena in Rotterdam, Netherlands from May 8 to May 15, 2011. This decision was announced in February 2008. It was the 51st edition contested. The tournament was organised by the ITTF and The Netherlands Table Tennis Association (NTTB). GAC GROUP was the title sponsor of the Championships.
Jun Mizutani is a retired Japanese table tennis player. He became the youngest Japanese national champion at the age of 17. His consecutive singles titles at the national championships from 2007 to 2011 made him the first man to win the event five times in a row.
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.
Ding Ning is a former Chinese table tennis player. She was the winner of women's singles in the 2011 World Table Tennis Championships.
Table tennis at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London took place from Saturday 28 July to Wednesday 8 August 2012 at ExCeL London. 174 athletes, 86 men and 88 women, competed in four events. Table tennis has appeared at the Summer Olympics on six previous occasions beginning with the 1988 Games in Seoul. In addition to men's and women's singles, the team events were staged for the second time since replacing doubles events at the 2008 Beijing Games. China was the defending champion in each of the Olympic events having won all 4 gold medals in 2008.
The 2012 Liebherr World Team Table Tennis Championships were held at the Westfalenhallen in Dortmund, Germany from March 25 to April 1, 2012. It was the 51st edition to be contested. 120 men's teams and 92 women's teams were allocated to different divisions according to the final ranking of the previous World Team Table Tennis Championships and the ITTF World Team Rankings. The winner of the first division, called the Championship Division, was crowned as the new champion.
The 2013 World Table Tennis Championships were held at the Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy in Paris, France, from May 13 to May 20, 2013. The Championships were the 52nd edition of the World Table Tennis Championships.
The 2016 World Team Table Tennis Championships was held in Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia from 28 February to 6 March 2016.
Mima Ito is a Japanese table tennis player. She won a bronze medal in the Women's Team event at the 2016 Summer Olympics when she was 15 years old. At the 2020 Summer Olympics, she won the gold medal with her partner Jun Mizutani in the Mixed Doubles event which made its debut, a bronze medal in the Women's singles, and a silver medal in the Women's Team event.
Xu Xin is a Chinese professional table tennis player who is currently ranked world No. 108 as of December 2022 for men's singles by the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF). He first reached his career-high singles ranking of world No. 1 in January 2013.
Fan Zhendong is a Chinese professional table tennis player who is currently ranked world No. 1 for men's singles by the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF). After joining the Chinese National Table Tennis Team in 2012 as the youngest member of the team, he went on to become the youngest ITTF World Tour Champion and the youngest World Table Tennis Champion. He achieved the top spot in the world rankings after holding position No. 2 for 29 consecutive months, starting from November 2015.
The 2017 World Table Tennis Championships were held in Düsseldorf, Germany, from 29 May to 5 June 2017. The decision to host the event in Düsseldorf was announced by the ITTF in April 2015. They were the 54th edition of the competition, and the seventh time that it has been staged in Germany.
The 2024 World Team Table Tennis Championships are scheduled to be held in Busan, South Korea from 16 to 25 February 2024. Quarterfinalists of the 2024 World Championships will be qualified for the 2024 Summer Olympics.
The 2021 World Table Tennis Championships was held in Houston, United States from 23 to 29 November. It was the 56th edition of the championships and the first time the competition was held in the United States. Houston became the host by beating Agadir, Morocco in 2019.
Ma Long 
Yang Ha-eun 
