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.
The 2008 Summer Paralympic Games, the 13th Summer Paralympic Games, took place in Beijing, China from September 6 to 17, 2008. As with the 2008 Summer Olympics, equestrian events were held in Hong Kong and sailing events in Qingdao. It was first time the new Paralympic logo featured in the Summer Paralympics since its rebranding after the 2004 Summer Paralympics.
Jan-Ove Waldner, in Sweden commonly J-O Waldner (Swedish:[ˈjiːuː], is a Swedish former professional table tennis player. He is often referred to as "the Mozart of table tennis." A sporting legend in his native Sweden as well as in China, he is known in China as 老瓦 Lǎo Wǎ or 常青树 Cháng Qīng Shù, because of his extraordinary longevity and competitiveness. As of July 2023, he is the only person to win an Olympic table tennis gold medal representing a non-Asian country.
Hong Kong competed at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece, from 13 to 29 August 2004. It was the territory's thirteenth appearance at the Olympics and, at the opening ceremony, its team was the last to enter the stadium before the host nation because of the use of the Greek alphabet.
Jing Junhong, also stylized as Jing Jun Hong, is a Chinese-born Singaporean former professional table tennis player. Born in Shanghai, she was a highly ranked player in China before she moved to Singapore with her husband, Singaporean table tennis player Loy Soo Han, whom she married in 1992. She represented Singapore in sporting events starting in the 1990s, and was naturalized as a Singaporean citizen in 1994. After retiring as a player, she served as deputy head coach, then as head coach, of the women's national table tennis team, before being reassigned to leading the country's table tennis youth development program in late 2015.
Sports in Hong Kong are a significant part of its culture. Due to British influence going as far back as the late 19th century, Hong Kong had an earlier introduction to Western athletics compared to other Asia regions.
The all-time medal table for all Olympic Games from 1896 to 2022, including Summer Olympic Games, Winter Olympic Games, and a combined total of both, is tabulated below. These Olympic medal counts do not include the 1906 Intercalated Games which are no longer recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) as official Games. The IOC itself does not publish all-time tables, and publishes unofficial tables only per single Games. This table was thus compiled by adding up single entries from the IOC database.
Originally having participated in Olympics as the delegation of the Republic of China (ROC) from 1924 Summer Olympics to 1976 Winter Olympics, China competed at the Olympic Games under the name of the People's Republic of China (PRC) for the first time at the 1952 Summer Olympics held in Helsinki, Finland, although they only arrived in time during the last days to participate in one event. That year, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) allowed both the PRC and ROC to compete with the name "China", although the latter withdrew in protest. Due to the dispute over the political status of the "two Chinas", the PRC started a period of isolationism, withdrawing from several international sporting bodies and the UN system until the mid-1970s, when the country participated for the first time in the Asian Games in 1974 and the World University Games in 1977. Returning to the IOC officially only in 1979, which gave it the right to send an official delegation, starting from the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, United States. Their first appearance at the Summer Olympic Games after 1952 was the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, United States. The People's Republic of China staged boycotts of the Games of the XVI Olympiad in Melbourne, Australia, Games of the XVII Olympiad in Rome, Italy, Games of the XVIII Olympiad in Tokyo, Japan, Games of the XIX Olympiad in Mexico City, Mexico, Games of the XX Olympiad in Munich, Germany, and Games of the XXI Olympiad in Montreal, Canada. China also boycotted the Games of the XXII Olympiad in Moscow, USSR due to the American-led boycott and the ongoing Sino-Soviet split, together with the other countries.
Li Ching is a table tennis player from Hong Kong. He is best known for the joint silver medal he won for Hong Kong at the Athens Olympic in 2004.
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.
Kong Linghui is a retired Chinese table tennis player. He competed in the 1996 Summer Olympics, as well as in the 2000 Summer Olympics and the 2004 Summer Olympics.
Table tennis at the 2008 Summer Paralympics was held in the Peking University Gymnasium from September 7 to September 15.
The 2009 H.I.S. World Table Tennis Championships were held in Yokohama, Japan, from 28 April to 5 May 2009. The Chinese team dominated the competition, following their sweep of the gold medals in table tennis at the 2008 Summer Olympics. It was the tenth world table tennis championships at which China won all five available titles.
Tang Peng is mainland Chinese-born table tennis player who now represents Hong Kong. He recently married Tie Yana, another Chinese-born table tennis player representing Hong Kong. As of December 2016, he is ranked the number nineteenth player in the world.
Hong Kong competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, from 27 July to 12 August 2012. This was the territory's fifteenth appearance at the Olympics, having not attended the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow because of its support for the United States boycott.
Cheung Yuk is a Hong Kong table tennis player. As of February 2013, Cheung was ranked no. 80 in the world by the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF). Cheung is also left-handed, and uses the offensive, shakehand grip.
Hong Kong competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 5 to 21 August 2016. This was the territory's sixteenth appearance at the Summer Olympics, since its debut as a British colony in 1952.
Hong Kong competed at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan, marking the territory's seventeenth appearance at the Summer Olympics since its debut as a British colony in 1952. More medals were won at the 2020 Summer Olympics by athletes representing Hong Kong than ever before, and Hong Kong also won its first gold medal since the handover back to China.
Venus Ng Wing Nam is a Hong Kong table tennis player. Since 2007, she became a full time athlete in Hong Kong Sports Institute. Her highest career ITTF ranking was 28 in July 2014. She was the first local player to win medals at the Asian Table Tennis Championships and the ITTF World Tour Grand Finals.
