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 relative to other ball sports, which can heavily affect the ball's trajectory.
Ai Fukuhara is a retired Japanese table tennis player and Olympic medalist, winning silver at the 2012 Summer Olympics and bronze at the 2016 Summer Olympics with the Japanese women's team. She is sponsored by All Nippon Airways.
The Republic of the Congo sent a delegation to compete at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China.
Feng Tianwei is a retired Singaporean table tennis player. Born in Harbin, China, she permanently moved to Singapore at the age of 20 under the former Foreign Sports Talent Scheme in March 2007 and commenced her international career in competitive table tennis the following month.
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.
Liu Jia is a Chinese-born Austrian left-handed table tennis player.
Shen Yanfei is a female Chinese-born table tennis player who now represents Spain and resides in Cartagena, Murcia.
Ni Xia Lian is a Chinese-born table tennis player who represents Luxembourg since 1991. She was born in Shanghai, and resides in Ettelbruck.
Kasumi Ishikawa is a retired Japanese table tennis player. A regular member of the Japanese national team, she won a silver medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics, a bronze at the 2016 Summer Olympics, and a silver medal at the 2020 Summer Olympics, in Women's team.
Yu Mengyu is a retired Chinese-born Singaporean table tennis player. Born in Liaoning, China, Yu left China in 2006 at the age of 17 to join the Singapore Table Tennis Association (STTA) under the former Foreign Sports Talent Scheme. In the same year, Yu made her international debut for Singapore.
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.
Congo competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, United Kingdom from 27 July to 12 August 2012. This was the nation's eleventh appearance at the Olympics, excluding the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City, and the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal because of the African boycott.
On 4 March 2012, a series of blasts occurred at an army arms dump in Brazzaville, the capital of the Republic of the Congo. At least 300 people were killed by the explosions. Additional bodies were said to be "unfindable." Among the dead were six Chinese workers from a Beijing Construction Engineering Group work site close to the armoury. Interior Minister Raymond Mboulou said that nearby hospitals were overflowing with injuries, with many wounded lying in hallways due to lack of space. Total injuries exceeded 2,500. More than 121,000 people were left homeless and 672 million dollars in damages were done. One survivor described the event as feeling like "the apocalypse;" others described it as "like a tsunami" or "earthquake".
Han Xing is a Chinese-born Congolese table tennis player. She competed for Congo at the 2012 Summer Olympics and the 2016 Rio Olympics.
Table tennis at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro took place from 6 to 17 August 2016 at the third pavilion of Riocentro. Around 172 table tennis players competed in both the singles and team events. Table tennis had appeared at the Summer Olympics on seven previous occasions beginning with the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul. In addition to men's and women's singles, the team events were staged for the third time since replacing doubles events at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.
Kou Lei is a Ukrainian table tennis player of Chinese origin.
Crystal Huang Yaoxi is an American table tennis player of Chinese origin.
Shaimaa Abdul-Aziz Muhammad is an Egyptian table tennis player. She won a silver medal, along with her partner Moselhi Emad, in the mixed doubles at the 2007 All-Africa Games in Algiers, Algeria. As of March 2013, Abdul-Aziz is ranked no. 566 in the world by the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF). She is also right-handed, and uses the classic grip.
Congo, officially Republic of the Congo, competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, from August 5 to 21, 2016. This was the nation's twelfth appearance at the Summer Olympics, since its debut in 1964. Congolese athletes did not attend the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City, and the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal because of the African boycott.
Petrissa Solja is a German table tennis player. Solja won silver in the team event in the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. She reached her highest world ranking of thirteenth in March 2016.
