Table tennis: a really great sport!

 

 

 

Everyone knows table tennis, but only some people play it as a sport. This is a great pity because I think that it really worth spending time in learning to play it: it’s such a thrilling sport!

 

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o begin, let’s talk about the history of table tennis: this sport is of English origin. At the very beginning, it was played with improvised equipment, on dining-room tables! The game became very popular in England around 1900, it had several names: “Gossimar”, “Whiff- Whaff” and, of course, “Ping-Pong”.

Around 1922 it was recognised as a serious sport.  Four years later, the International Table Tennis Federation was created between five nations (including Germany).

Nowadays, the international Federal composed of about 140 member nations sponsors individual and team playing at the world championship, held every two years. China often dominated these championships until the late 1980s, but with the entry of table tennis in the Olympic Games, China’s dominance was put to an end by South Korea and Sweden.

 

 

 

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ow we’re going to see table tennis rules and equipment. To play table tennis you must have a bat, a little and light ball (of celluloid) and a table with a net. There can be two or four players.

The aim of the game is to score points: you hit the ball, which has to go on the table, and your opponent has to return it on your side of the table. If one player misses the ball or hits it into the net or off the table, his opponent scores a point. You win when you’ve scored 21 points.

When you play at a high level, it’s a very fast game, which involves lots of reflexes.

 

 

 

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 o conclude, we could say that people who don’t know how to play table tennis often say that it’s not a real sport because you don’t consume enough energy. They’re not right! In addition to being very exhausting (of course, when you know how to play and when you play with somebody who knows it as well), this sport is really interesting, because there are a lot of ways to play. Each player has his own style. Moreover, playing table tennis develops agility, precision, endurance, concentration, rapidity…I really think that it’s a fantastic sport! So, why not try it!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                                          

 

 

 

 

Eléonore Duvelle, 1re S2

 

Source: Encyclopaedia Encarta                                                           Number of words: 382