IG07 Sports

Table tennis is a relatively young sport, younger than lawn tennis from early 19th Century, and not much older than basketball which was invented in 1891.

The earliest known form of the sport was called indoor tennis. It was played in the early 1800's by British army officers in India and South Africa, using lids from cigar boxes as paddles and rounded corks from wine bottles as balls, with a row of books set up across the middle of the table to form the net.

Other versions gradually developed in England during the 1890's, known variously as 'whiff whaff' and 'gossima'.

Englishman James Gibb, visited the United States in 1900. On his return he began playing indoor tennis with friends, using some hollow celluloid balls he had brought back with him. The name 'ping pong', came out of this, representing the sounds of the ball hitting the paddle and then the table.

The first World Championship was held in London in 1927 and from then until the Second World War, Hungary dominated the sport. Central European dominance continued for a time after this, but Asian players then took over the sport beginning in 1953.

The Asians developed the 'penholder' grip which allows the player to strike the ball with the same face of the paddle on any stroke, and is now used by many top international players.

In Rhodes

Table Tennis has had a recent revival, due in part to the efforts of the Rhodes Island Games Association.

The one club that exists, assists in the coordination of this development effort and takes many initiatives to organise various activities and tournaments, with the support of the National Table Tennis Federation. The club also has a team in the National League of Greece.

The table tennis competitions will be held in the College of Rhodes Indoor Hall a new facility which meets all technical requirements.