A small table, a light ball and spin so extreme that the ball can change direction in the air. Eight tools take you from confused to the sharpest eye in the room.
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What every player is actually for — and how to watch them.
Shapes, tactics and momentum: see what the experts see.
Why that was hard — the difficulty the camera hides.
Signals, reviews and respect: the officials decoded.
A live focus plan for your next viewing.
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A small table, a light ball and spin so extreme that the ball can change direction in the air. Rallies at the top level are played standing metres back from the table, at reaction times shorter than any other racquet sport.
China's dominance is close to total. Japan, South Korea, Germany, Sweden, France, Taiwan, Brazil and Nigeria are the other significant nations.
Chinese and Japanese players start at four or five. Because it is low-impact, competitive play continues into old age and veterans' events are large.
China. Their programme has won the overwhelming majority of Olympic and world titles since the 1990s.
Table tennis is widely available in South African schools and community halls and has a national federation; it is one of the cheapest competitive sports to set up indoors.
A garage table starts it; clubs take it further.
The loop / topspin · The chop (defence) · Serve deception · Reaction & footwork · Touch & control
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