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Some may scoff at the Table Tennis, once of the most recent editions to the Commonwealth Games, but if you want a test of precision and fast reflexes, you’ll be hard pressed to find a sport that’s more demanding.
What is it?
Tennis, on a smaller scale. You may well have grown up with a table in your garage, as many Aussies did. This is no garage sport through – at the professional level it is as competitive as they come.
Table Tennis originated in 1880s England as a popular after-dinner game. Players would line up a row of books on a table to serve as a net, and then use more books as racquets to hit a golf ball back and forth.
The sport was brought into the Commonwealth Games in 2002, and has featured in every edition of the games since. Australia is yet to win an event at the Games, but we have come close on several occasions.
The Table Tennis begins on 24 July and finishes on 2 August. There are seven events; men’s and women’s singles, doubles, teams, and mixed doubles.
The Aussies
The Australians may be yet to win gold in Table Tennis at the Commonwealth Games, but we have brought home our fair share of silver in recent years.
William Henzell snagged silver in the men’s singles at the 2006 Melbourne games, Australia’s first Table Tennis singles medal in the Commonwealth Games. He has also represented Australia in the 2002 and 2010 Commonwealth Games, and at the Olympics in 2004, 2008 and 2012.
Australian women’s duo Lay Jian Fang and Miao Miao have both seen success in the game. They have five silver medals and four bronze between them, most of them won either as doubles partners or as part of the Australian women’s team.
Also named to represent Australia are Heming Hu, David Powerll, Kane Townsend, Chris Yan, Vivian Dederko, Melissa Tapper and Sally Zhang.
The Competition
The powerhouse of the Commonwealth’s Table Tennis scene is Singapore, who have won no less than twelve gold medals in the sport since it first became a part of the games in 2002. That’s three times as many as the next best, England, who have won four. Singapore won six of eight events at the 2010 Games in Delhi.
Team captains Gao Ning and Feng Tianwei will lead Singapore into battle. Ning won gold as part of the men’s team at Delhi 2010, and Tianwei won gold as part of the women’s team and in the women’s singles.
The Aussies will be up against it to win their first gold in the sport at Glasgow, but don’t rule them out. We have the most silver medals of any team except for Singapore, and it’s only a matter of time before our breakthrough comes.
Fast Facts
– Globally the Chinese dominate Table Tennis. Five of the top six male players and six of the top seven female players, as ranked by the International Table Tennis Federation, are Chinese. Nao Ging (12th – mens) and Feng Tianwei (6th – womens), both of Singapore, are the highest ranked players appearing at the Commonwealth Games.
– Lay Jian Fang (115th – women’s) and William Henzell (125th – men’s) are Australia’s highest ranked competitors at the Commonwealth Games, according to the International Table Tennis Federation.
What to Drink while watching
Fast and furious, with eyes moving as fast as the ball and the bats, espresso is the only thing to keep you alert enough for this. Or an ever-popular espresso martini, if you’re that way inclined.
This article was first published on the Tenplay website here.