If you watch the sports channels on TV, such as ESPN, a lot, you’re likely to catch a game of table tennis every so often. Table tennis, often called ping pong, is played on a wooden table, with a plastic ball and paddles covered in rubber and a net dividing the playing surface. It is sometimes called the miniature version of tennis since the rules are so similar.
Table tennis is a fun and exciting sport and it is easy to learn. A big advantage to taking up table tennis is that you don’t need to spend a lot of money on expensive equipment. The most expensive part is obviously the table. You can find inexpensive ping pong sets, consisting of the net, 2 paddles and a number of balls, in almost any department store in the toy or sporting goods section.
The game of table tennis was invented in England in the 1880’s by rich Victorians looking for an activity to be played indoors. When the game was first played, books served as a net, a knot of string or a champagne cork was used as a ball and cigarette box lids were employed as paddles. Apparently people enjoyed this newly invented game with its make-shift equipment, since it continued to grow in...