Once played as a polite after-dinner game in England in the 1890s, table tennis now features players who volley balls at up to 160 kilometers per hour. The Kill, the Hit, and the Chop are among the different shots common in this sport. Rackets, first made from cigar box lids, are now developed from rubber coated wooden and carbon-fiber paddles with various rubber compounds and glues applied for greater speed and spin.

Men’s and women’s singles as well as teams are played in matches, where the best of five games wins. In singles the top 16 seeds proceed directly to the main draw, while another 48 players enter a qualification round. A second group of 16 advances from the qualification round and compete in a single-elimination tournament. The semi-finals winners play for the gold and silver medals, while the semi-finals losers play for the bronze. A similar format is used for teams, the difference being that only 32 teams are involved.

Table tennis has been an Olympic sport since 1988 and is governed by the International Tennis Federation. Since its inclusion, players from China and Korea have dominated the top rankings. The Grand Slam of table tennis is achieved if a player wins a gold medal, World Cup of Tennis gold medal, and a world championship title. The ITTF honors the sport’s best players by inducting them into their hall of fame.

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