Ping-Pong, A Blast to the Past

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Blast to the Past
The origins of Table tennis can be traced back to as early as 12th century AD. The game descended from the game of “Royal Tennis” (also know as Court Tennis), which was played during the medieval era. During the 1800’s the game had become quite fashionable among the upper class in England. There was also a board and dice game that was called Table tennis. It wasn’t until the late 1800’s when existing evidence of the game appeared. A set made by one a David foster, which was patented in England which are table versions of the outdoors lawn tennis. At the start of the 1900’s John Jacques registers “Ping-Pong” as a trade name in England. The American rights to the name are sold to Parker Brothers.
Many people believe Table tennis was started in china due to the very good skill of the game from the Chinese but this is not true. Table tennis was first brought to china by western settlements. The Chinese made changes to the game to make it fit to their liking. As by this point there were many different versions of table tennis around.
The Roots take place
In 1901 “The Table Tennis Association” was formed in England. Four days after the “Ping-Pong Association” was set up also. The two then teamed up as ‘The United Table Tennis and Ping Pong Association’ on 1st May 1903 later reverting back to the title ‘The Table Tennis Association’. Unfortunately the merger came too late to prevent the decline and near extinction of the game in England
The International Table Tennis Federation was formed in 1926 with the first World Championships being held in London that year. These were later held in Budapest in 1929 and were won by Fred Perry of tennis fame. More national associations were formed and a standardization of the r...

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...ampionships when he won a gold medal in the team event. He later moved to the UK and played for England for many years during the 1990s.

Works Cited

Abbott, Wren. "Ping-Pong: A Brief History." New York 40.13 (2007): 82. Readers' Guide Full Text Mega (H.W. Wilson). Web. 11 Mar. 2014.

The Ping-Pong Game By William Saroyan. n.p.: Alexandria, VA : Alexander Street Press, 2004., 2004.Web. 11 Mar. 2014.
Griffin, Nicholas. Ping-Pong Diplomacy: The Secret History behind the Game That Changed the World. New York: Scribner, 2014. Print.

Charyn, Jerome. Sizzling Chops & Devilish Spins: Ping-Pong and the Art of Staying Alive. New York: Four Walls Eight Windows, 2001.
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Chen, Qi-hu. "Cultural Connotation Of "Ping Pong For All" In 1950S And 1960S In China." Journal Of Wuhan Institute Of Physical Education 43.5 (2009): 18-21. SPORTDiscus. Web. 11 Mar. 2014

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