Last updated on July 14th, 2024 at 04:20 pm
Table Tennis
Table tennis is a fast racket game. It is played with a light ball on the smallest game surface known as ‘table’.
It is also known as ping-pong and whiff-whaff. It is a sport in which two or four players hit a lightweight ball, back and forth across a table divided by a net by using small solid rackets (bat)
History of Table Tennis
This game was invented in Britain around 1880. It took its current form in 1900 with the celluloid balls. The sound balls made, when these bounces inspired the name “ping pong” and it later became table tennis.
The International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) was formed in Berlin in 1926. The first World Championship took place in the same year. The Hungarians, Czechs, Swedish and the English dominated this game until the 1950s.
Today Japanese and Chinese have taken over its dominance. Women’s table tennis has been dominated exclusively by Chinese.
Table tennis became an Olympic sport in Seoul (1988). It is a popular indoor game played over a specified table. This game is also very popular in urban India. In India table tennis is regulated by Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI).
India has hosted the World Championship in 1951, 1984, 1986. The new rules of the game were introduced in 2001 to increase the pace of the game.
Latest Rules
Choice of Side or Service : The choice of side or service is done by tossing the coin or spin of the paddle. The toss has the first option whereas the loser of the toss has the other option.
Service Rules : Service is performed to begin the rally where the ball has to be returned after two bounce across åe net (one bounce to the own side of the table and other bounce on the opponent side of the table across the net).
During service the ball has to be tossed-up (with open palm) without foot-fault. ‘Let’ service is re-delivered, if the ball touches the top edge of the net and lands correctly. Two consecutive services are done in a row by the player (for two points). For wrong service, the opponent gains the point.
Change of Service : A player has to deliver two successive services on two points, afterward the opponent ges åe right to serve from the other side of the table. After the end of each game the sides are changed.
Rally or Return of Service : A rally is an exchange of strokes after service. A player has to return the ball across the net legally after one bounce on his side of the table. Player pressurizes the opponent to commit a mistake or is unable to return legally. Player who wins the rally gains a point.
Game and Match : A ‘game’ consists of 11 points. The player who reaches at 11 points first, wins the game (wiül difference of two points). In most tournaments, a match is played for ‘best of five games’ for men and ‘best of three games’ for women.
Tie Rule : If there is tie of score on the last point, i.e., ’10-all points’ then service changes at each point until a difference of two points. This is also termed as ‘Deuce’.
Doubles Rules : The objective is the same in doubles. During service, the player performs the service diagonally across the net (over the centerline) to both the players alternately by changing sides.
In doubles, service rotates so that each player serves and receives them in turn. In rally, the team must hit the ball alternately, no matter
Measurements And Specifications
- Size of Table: 2.74 m (9 feet) x 1.52 m (5 feet) plane surface
- Height of Table: 76 cm (21/2 feet) above floor surface
- Net Size: 1.83 m (6 feet) length and 15.2 cm (high from table)
- Weight of Ball: 2.7g with 40 mm diameter
- Color of Ball: White or orange (made of Celluloid)
- Color of Table: Blue or green (Wood/Cardboard)
- Bat (Paddle): Circular shape of 20 cm diameter maximum
- Officials: Match Umpire, Assistant Umpire, Tournament Referee
Terminologies
Foot-Fault : The server during service should not change the position of feet.
Let-Service : It is given when service touches the top edge of the net. It is delivered again.
Tossing the Ball : During service the ball has to be tossed-up (with open palm), otherwise, service fault is given.
Service-Change : A player performs two successive services in a row to the opponent. Afterwards, the opponent gets the chance to do the same, no matter who wins the point.
Wrong-Side Service : In doubles games, the service is done diagonally on the opponent side and the same opponent returns both the services.
Chop : It is a kind of stroke in which the ball has little bounce after it touches the table, i.e., low bounce in the opponent table.
Spin : A stroke in which the ball rotates after it has been hit by the player’s bat, i.e., ball rotates as per the desire by the player over the opponent’s table after bounce.
Deuce : It is the scoring in a specific rule when the score is 10 all both sides.
Point : A rally in which a score has resulted.
Rally : Counter-attack of strokes during which ball is in play.
Racket-Hand : The hand in which bat or paddle is being carried.
Freehand : The hand other than that bat-carrying which is used during service.
A Game : A game is won by a player which reaches the score of 11 points first (with a lead of two points in case of deuce at 10 all).
A Match : A match winner is one who coins at least two or three games in the series of 3 to 5 games.
Fundamental Skills
Grips : There are generally two types of grips used in table tennis : Orthodox grip or shake hand (commonly used) and pen-hold grip (mainly used by Chinese and Japanese).
Services : Chopped service, side spin service, flat service, backhand spin service.
Strokes : Defensive strokes (Chopping forehand, Chop backhand, Flat return, Block, Balloon return, Lift return). Attack-ing strokes (Topspin hit, Backspin hit, Side spin hit, Loop topspin, Flat hit forehand, Flat hit backhand Chop attack forehand. Chop attack backhand).
Sidespin : In this the server spins the ball with the slant edge of the bat (paddle). This makes the ball spin sideward after bounce.
Topspin : In this spin, the ball accelerates fast after bounce and propels the opponent to play defensive stroke
Backspin : In this spin, the bat (paddle) hits the ball in such a way that it travels far. The bounce is low and slow. Counter-Attack : It is a powerful stroke in return for a good stroke.
Important Personalities And Tournaments
Important Personalities
National
(a) Arjuna Award Winners : J.C. Vohra (1961), G.R. Deewan (1964), Km Usha Sundararaj (1966), Farouk R. Khodaiji (1967), Mir Kasim Ali (1969), G. Jagannath (1970), Km Kaity Farouk Khodaiji (1971), N.R. Bajaj (1973), Km Shailja Solanki (1976), Km Indu Puri (1980), Manjit Dua (1981), V. Chandrasekhar (1982), R.N. Mehta (1985),
Km Monalisa Baruah Mehta (1987), Km Niyati Shah (1989), M.S. walia (1990), S. Raman (1999), C. Baboor (2001), Mantu Ghosh (2002), Achanta S. Kamal (2005), Soumyadeep Roy (2005), Subhajit Saha (2006), Paulomi Ghatak (2009), Mouma Das (2013), Soumyajit Gosh (2016), Anthany Amalraj (2017), Sathyan Gnanaskaran, Manika
Dronacharya Award : A. Srinivas Rao (2018).
International
Jan-Ove Waldner (SWE), Ding Ning, Li Ju, Lin Ling, Wang Tao, Kong Linghui, g Yining (CHN).
Important Tournaments
Olympic Games, Asian Games, World Championship, Grand League, ITTF ranking, National Games.
Also Read: Cricket History, Rules, Measurements
Final Words
From the above article you learnt about rules, Table tennis, measurements and many more about kabaddi. We hope that you will get success by giving exams based on Table tennis.