Table tennis originated in which country?

Table tennis originated in England in the 1880s as an after-dinner parlour game played by the upper classes. It was a miniature indoor version of lawn tennis.

How the game began:

• Early players used whatever was at hand: a row of books as a net, a rounded cork from a champagne bottle or a golf ball as the ball, and books, cigar-box lids or parchment paddles as bats.
• The game was known by various names, such as "whiff-whaff", "gossima" and "ping-pong", the last one coming from the sound of the ball hitting the table and the bat.

In 1901, the English company J. Jaques & Son registered "Ping-Pong" as a trademark, and later sold the American rights to Parker Brothers. Because of this, the name "table tennis" was used for the sport.

The celluloid ball, introduced around 1900 by James Gibb, and the rubber-covered bat, introduced by E. C. Goode in 1901, made the game faster and more skilful.

Development of table tennis:

The International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) was founded in 1926. Its headquarters is now in Lausanne, Switzerland.

The first World Table Tennis Championships were held in London in 1926.

Table tennis became an Olympic sport at the 1988 Seoul Olympics.

Although it began in England, the sport is now dominated by Asian countries, especially China, which has won the large majority of Olympic and World Championship titles since the 1960s.

"Ping-pong diplomacy" in 1971, when the US table tennis team visited China, helped improve relations between the USA and China.

Table tennis in India:

The Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI) was formed in 1926.

Leading Indian players include Achanta Sharath Kamal, Manika Batra, G. Sathiyan and Sreeja Akula.

Key rules:

Games are played to 11 points (since 2001); the table is 2.74 m long; the ball is 40 mm in diameter.

Why not the other options?

• ✗China dominates table tennis today but did not invent it.
• ✗Japan was a strong table tennis nation in the 1950s but did not invent the game.
• ✗USA is linked with "ping-pong diplomacy" and Parker Brothers, but the game began in England.