Today is International Table Tennis Day, or Ping Pong as it is also called – a name originating from the Mandarin Ping Pang Qiu. In Sweden, table tennis has the nickname ‘pingis’. Table tennis is a popular sport in Sweden, from sport centers, to community centers, offices, games rooms, and on an international level of competition. The game was first played in the 1890’s, with the first Swedish championship organised in 1925.
Although elite table tennis is dominated by the Chinese, Sweden has had some success over the years. Probably the best Swedish player through history is Jan-Ove Waldner. Known as ‘The Evergreen Tree’ in China, Waldner had an extraordinary successful and long career. He won a total of 20 Gold, 17 Silver and 9 Bronze medals in the Olympics, World and European Championships. Jörgen Persson, Kjell Johansson, Marie Svensson and Stellan Bengtsson are other successful ping pong athletes.
On a non-elite level, the game of ‘rundpingis’ is popular in Sweden. This is knock-out ping pong played in large groups where people run around the table and hit one shot each. Another popular pastime is outside table tennis, with many parks building tables and nets out of weather-proof iron.
So, today’s the day to grab a racket and play a round of table tennis. Who knows, maybe you’ll be the next pingis star in pingis heaven!
Watching the Swedes 