The table is coated with dark and glossy paint, giving it a matte finish. Table tennis equipmentĪs per the official rules of table tennis, the game is played on a 2.74 x 1.53-metre rectangular table made of fibrewood and is split into two halves.Ī table tennis table is made of fibrewood that is split into two halves. Here’s a look at table tennis rules, the regulations, equipment used and how the game is played. Just eight years after hosting its first World Cup in China, table tennis featured at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul and has since been a fixture at the Games. However, table tennis became widely popular in Asia after finding its way to the continent in the 1950s, which has since been a breeding ground for some of the best players in the world. In its early days, the sport was largely played and dominated by Europeans, especially the Hungarians. Originally a leisure activity for the upper-class in Victorian-era England, the sport was initially called ping pong before being renamed to table tennis in 1922. A sport of intense speed and jaw-dropping precision, table tennis is one of the most exciting sporting spectacles.