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.
Michael Maze is a professional table tennis player from Faxe, Denmark, in men's singles and doubles. In 2005 he was one of the top five left-handed players in the world. His strength was in his strong forehand loop and lobbing. He was one of the best defensive lobbers in the world. His strong forehand loop, his forehand pendulum serve, and his confident defensive play away from the table made him a solid all-around player. He competed at four Olympic Games.
Wang Hao is a retired Chinese table tennis player. He became the world champion in men's singles in Yokohama, Japan, in May 2009, defeating three-time World Champion Wang Liqin 4–0. His other notable accomplishments include being a three-time World Cup Champion in 2007, 2008 and 2010, a singles silver medalist at the 2004 Summer Olympics, 2008 Summer Olympics and the 2012 Summer Olympics. In January 2010, he was replaced by Ma Long as the #1 rank on the official ITTF world rankings. He was previously ranked #1 on the official ITTF world rankings for 27 consecutive months, from October 2007 to December 2009. In April 2011, he was again the top ranked male player in the world. He is known to execute the Reverse Penhold Backhand (RPB) with exceptional skill.
Tie Ya Na or Tie Yana is a table tennis player from Hong Kong, China who won two silver medals at the 2006 Asian Games in the singles and doubles competitions.
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.
Pär Håkan Gerell is a Swedish table tennis player. He has been playing for French club Chartres ASTT since 2010. Based on his June 2011 world ranking, Gerell qualified for the London 2012 Olympic Games. He also competed at the 2008 Summer Olympics.
Chuang Chih-yuan is a Taiwanese table tennis player. He won the ITTF Pro Tour Grand Finals in 2002 and doubles title at the 2013 World Table Tennis Championships. He participated in the Summer Olympics five times, making the most appearances at Olympic Games among Taiwanese athletes.
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.
Krisztina Tóth is a Hungarian table tennis player from Gödöllő (Hungary), who currently resides in Augsburg, Germany. She has won several medals in single, doubles, and team events in the Table Tennis European Championships, the Table Tennis World Cup, and the World Table Tennis Championships.
Ma Long is a Chinese table tennis player who is currently world rank number 3 ITTF 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.
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.
Denmark competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, from 27 July to 12 August 2012. The National Olympic Committee and Sports Confederation of Denmark sent the nation's second largest delegation to the Games after the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. A total of 113 athletes, 63 men and 50 women, competed in 17 sports, although two additional athletes played as team reserves. Handball was the only team-based sport in which Denmark was represented in at these Olympic games.
The men's singles table tennis event was part of the table tennis programme at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. The event took place from Saturday 28 July to Thursday 2 August 2012 at ExCeL London. The tournament was a single elimination tournament with a third place playoff played between the two losing semi-finalists. In the 2008 event all three medals were won by Chinese athletes with Ma Lin taking gold.
Liam Pitchford is a British table tennis player. As of January 2023, he is ranked the No. 23 player in the world. He is currently sponsored by Victas.
Allan Bentsen is a Danish table tennis player. He won the European championship for national teams with Michael Maze and Finn Tugwell in 2005, defeating Zheng Weiching from Austria in the last and decisive match. He also competed at age 44 in the 2012 Summer Olympics in the Men's singles, but was defeated in the first round.
Kazeem Nosiru is a Nigerian table tennis player. He shared a bronze medal triumph with Egypt's El-sayed Lashin in the men's singles at the 2007 All-Africa Games in Algiers, Algeria. As of September 2012, Nosiru is ranked no. 269 in the world by the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF). He is a member of Lascala Sports Club in Barcelona, Spain, and is coached and trained by Obisanya Babatunde. Nosiru is also right-handed, and uses the attacking grip.
Dmitry Vyacheslavovich Mazunov is a Russian table tennis player. He won a bronze medal, along with his brother Andrey Mazunov, in the men's doubles at the 1991 World Table Tennis Championships in Chiba, Japan, representing the Soviet Union. As of January 2010, Mazunov is ranked no. 105 in the world by the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF). Mazunov is a member of TTF Liebherr Ochenhausen in Ochsenhausen, Germany, and is coached and trained by Mikhail Nosov. He is also right-handed, and uses the attacking grip.
Mattias Falck is a Swedish table tennis player.
The 2005 World Table Tennis Championships men's doubles was the 48th edition of the men's doubles championship.
Including the parasport events, there was a nominal total of 192 quota places available for table tennis at the 2022 Commonwealth Games; 96 each for men and women.
