History of Table Tennis in India

The origin of table tennis can be traced to England where the game emerged as an offshoot of Lawn Tennis and played in an indoor environment. The game, fondly known as Ping-Pong, made rapid strides to differentiate itself from tennis and the International Table Tennis Federation came into existence in 1926.

In 1927, the first official world championship of table tennis was held in London and the game made its debut as an Olympic sport at the Seoul Olympics in 1988.

Table tennis gradually took root in India and the Table Tennis Federation of India was formed in Calcutta in 1937. India took part in the inaugural world championships and the World championship was held at Bombay in 1952 for the first time in Asia.

Over the years, table tennis has witnessed several amendments in game rules to make it more appealing as a spectator-friendly sport.