Table Tennis in India is considered as one of the most widely played sports among the young adults. The game is played quite extensively in almost all the schools, colleges and universities in India and the young generation is the highest admirers of this game.
Origin of Table Tennis
Though the game was originally invented in England during the 1880s, Table Tennis in India started its journey during the first half of the twentieth century. The popular game of Table Tennis in India is commonly known as Ping-Pong in India. The game is played on a rectangular table divided by a net in the centre. Two or four players can play the game at a time and the players usually hit a ball to and fro over the net, with the help of a small bat.
Table Tennis is actually a smaller version of Lawn tennis and the two games have a lot of similarities regarding their rules and regulations. The game requires high level of physical fitness on behalf of the players, as they need to move on both sides, sometimes within a fraction of second.
History of Table Tennis in India
Table Tennis in India started to be played in an organised manner from the year 1937, when the Table Tennis Federation of India came into existence in Kolkata (Calcutta). The TTFI was formed with four State Association affiliated to it. The TTFI is an active member of the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) that was established in 1926. India was one of the founder members of the ITTF. After operating for over a decade to promote and improve the status of Table Tennis in India, the TTFI became successful to produce a number of quality Indian Table Tennis players. India participated in the inaugural World Championships and it also hosted the World Championship at Mumbai (Bombay) in 1952. It was the first time that the World Championship was held in Asia.
Table Tennis in National Spectrum
Table Tennis in India has also found favour with institutional organisations like oil companies and banks. The organisations like the Petroleum Sports Promotion Board (PSPB) regularly holds inter unit tournaments and recruits national level Table Tennis players, to provide necessary support to them.
Indian Table Tennis in International Arena
India has so far performed quite nicely in the international arena, both in the individual and team categories. The Indian Table Tennis players also took part in the Seoul Olympic Games in 1988, when Table Tennis was first included in Olympics.
So far, the most successful and cherished performance for India in the team events, was in the World Championships in Gothenburg. India got the 12th position in the championships. India is quite famous for its wonderful organisation capabilities and it has so far organised three World Championships.
