Table tennis, also known as ping-pong and whiff-whaff, is a sport in which two or four players hit a lightweight ball, also known as the ping-pong ball, back and forth across a table using small rackets. The game takes place on a hard table divided by a net. Except for the initial serve, the rules are generally as follows: players must allow a ball played toward them to bounce one time on their side of the table and must return it so that it bounces on the opposite side at least once. A point is scored when a player fails to return the ball within the rules. Play is fast and demands quick reactions. Spinning the ball alters its trajectory and limits an opponent's options, giving the hitter a great advantage.
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.
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.
Karl Peter Karlsson is a table tennis player. He was 1991 World Champion in men's doubles, and 2000 European Champion in men's singles.
Werner Schlager is a table tennis player and former world champion from Austria.
Tamara Boroš is a Croatian table tennis player. She is one of the relatively rare European players who competed at the highest level of the sport together with the players from the Far East.
Hugo Hoyama is a retired Brazilian table tennis player of Japanese origin who has won several medals in single, double and team events in the Latin American Table Tennis Championships. Along with Gustavo Tsuboi and Thiago Monteiro, Hoyama was part of the winning team at the 2007 Pan American Games and 2011 Pan American Games.
A basic table tennis paddle is used by table tennis players. The table tennis paddle is usually made from laminated wood covered with rubber on one or two sides depending on the player's grip. Unlike a conventional "racket", it does not include strings strung across an open frame. The USA generally uses the term "paddle" while Europeans and Asians use the term "bat" and the official ITTF term is "racket".
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.
Chen Weixing is an Austrian table tennis player of Chinese origin. He has played for SVS Lower Austria for several years.
Ichiro Ogimura was a Japanese table tennis player, coach, president of the ITTF and former World No. 1 who won 12 World Championship titles during his career. Ogimura was also a key figure in the Ping Pong Diplomacy events of the early 1970s, as well as being instrumental in Korea playing as a unified team at the 1991 World Table Tennis Championships.
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.
Tvin Carole Moumjoghlian is a Lebanese table tennis player currently playing for Homenetmen Beirut. With her win at the West Asia Women's Qualification Tournament, she qualified for the London 2012 Olympic Games.
The 1967 World Table Tennis Championships were held at the Johanneshovs Isstadion in Stockholm from April 11 to April 21, 1967.
Ariel Yenhua Hsing is an American table tennis player who competed in the 2012 Summer Olympics.
Yo Kan, or Han Yang in Chinese, is a Japanese table tennis player of Chinese origin. He won two gold medals in the men's singles at the 2007 ITTF Pro Tour series in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, and in Santiago, Chile. As of December 2012, Kan is ranked no. 99 in the world by the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF). Kan is a member of the table tennis team for Tokyo Art Club in Tokyo, Japan, and is coached and trained by Ryo Yuzawa. Kan is also right-handed, and uses offensive, penhold grip.
Shen Qiang is a Canadian table tennis player of Chinese origin. As of August 2010, Shen is ranked no. 366 in the world by the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF). He is also right-handed, and uses the shakehand grip.
Stefano Bosi is a former Italian table tennis player, and currently President of the European Table Tennis Union (ETTU). He is a candidate for presidency of the International Table Tennis Federation ITTF.
Adham Sharara is a Canadian sports official. He is current Chairman and Honorary President of the International Table Tennis Federation, having succeeded Xu Yinsheng in 1999. He retired as ITTF President on 2014, and was succeeded by the Deputy President the German Thomas Weikert.
Table Tennis Canada, colloquially known as TTCAN, is the non-profit governing body for table tennis in Canada and is responsible for cataloging and sanctioning tournaments within Canada. It was founded in 1929 as the Canadian Table Tennis Association. In addition to processing tournaments, TTCAN maintains a national rating and ranking system. It also oversees the Canadian National Teams. In total, TTCAN has over 9,000 members. The headquarters of Canada Table Tennis is located in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, which is also home to the Canadian Olympic Training Center.
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