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.
The International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) is the governing body for all national table tennis associations that use ITTF-approved sponge table tennis rackets. 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.
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.
Dimitrij Ovtcharov or Dmytro Ovtcharov is a Ukrainian-born German table tennis player. His father Mikhail, a Soviet table tennis champion in 1982, moved his family to Germany shortly after Dimitrij was born.
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.
Lily Ann Zhang is an American table tennis player who competed in the 2012 Summer Olympics in London with teammates Ariel Hsing and Erica Wu. She also competed in the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio with teammates Jiaqi Zheng and Jennifer Wu. She is a six-time US national champion in women's singles. Zhang has won the US national championship in 2012, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2019 and 2022. In 2011, she was a bronze medalist in women's singles and women's team at the Pan American Games and won the women's doubles title at the Qatar Peace and Sport Cup. She is currently a member of the United States National Women's team. She has been ranked as high as #2 in the cadet (U-15) world ranking and #5 in the junior (U-18) world ranking.
The World Para Table Tennis Championships are the world championships for para table tennis where athletes with a disability compete. They are organised by the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) on a four-year rotation with the Paralympic Games.
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.
Hugo Marinho Borges Calderano is a Brazilian table tennis player. In January 2022, he peaked at number 3 in the world rankings, becoming the highest-ranked Americas player in history. By becoming the first table tennis player from the Americas to reach an Olympic semi-final, he returned to the world No. 3 position in August 2024.
Adriana Yamila Díaz González is a Puerto Rican table tennis player. As of November 2022, she was ranked 3 and 11 in the Table Tennis World Ranking according to the International Table Tennis Federation. Díaz is sponsored by Butterfly and Adidas. Adriana is the sister of the table tennis player, Melanie Díaz, and cousin of Brian Afanador.
Wang Manyu is a Chinese table tennis player. She won women's singles titles at the World Championships, Asian Games and Asian Championships. Wang also won Olympics gold medals as a member of Chinese women's team in 2021 and 2024.
Sutirtha Mukherjee is an Indian table tennis player from West Bengal. She has won national table tennis championship and also was a part of gold medal winning Indian women's team at the 2018 Commonwealth Games. Mukherjee also represented India at the 2020 Summer Olympics and 2022 Asian Games.She won the bronze medal for India in women's doubles table tennis in the 2022 Asian Games.
Tomokazu Harimoto is a Japanese professional table tennis player who is currently world rank number 3 in ITTF. Born to Chinese parents, he became a naturalized Japanese citizen in 2014. He won the world junior singles and team title at the 2016 World Junior Table Tennis Championships for Japan.
Wang Chuqin is a Chinese professional table tennis player, Olympic champion, and World Champion. He is currently ranked world No.1 in men's singles.
Sun Yingsha is a Chinese professional table tennis player, Olympic champion, and World Champion. She is the current world No. 1 in women's singles. At the closing ceremony of Paris 2024 Olympic games, Sun was selected to extinguish the Olympic flame as the representative of the continent of Asia, the first female to be selected for the role.
The 2024 World Team Table Tennis Championships were held in Busan, South Korea from 16 to 25 February 2024. Quarterfinalists of the event qualified for the 2024 Summer Olympics.
Miyuu Kihara is a Japanese table tennis player.
The Asian Junior and Cadet Table Tennis Championships is an annual table tennis tournament regarded as continental championships between juniors and cadets. The Asian Junior and Cadet Table Tennis Championships (AJCTTC) is one of the most prestigious events of the world junior table tennis circuit. It will be held under the supervision of the Asian Table Tennis Union (ATTU) and International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF). Cadet Championships was added in 1986 (2nd). The table below gives an overview of all host cities and countries of the Asia Junior Championships.
Anton Sten Anders Källberg is a Swedish professional table tennis player.
The 2021 ITTF World Youth Championships were held in Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal, from 2 to 8 December 2021. It was the first edition of the ITTF World Youth Championships, which replaced the World Junior Championships in the ITTF calendar.
China 
Japan 
France 
Kazakhstan 
Egypt 
Hungary 
Slovakia 
South Korea 
Australia 
Poland 
Belgium 
Portugal 
Spain 
Romania 
Chinese Taipei 
Germany 
India 
Sweden