Deadspin: table tennis

Hello There, Little Ball

Dashiell Bennett — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 09:00:00 EDT

Got an image you'd like to see in here first thing in the morning? Send it to tips@deadspin.com. Subject: Morning crap.

Caption: Romanian table tennis player Elisabeta Samara participates in the Table Tennis European Championships ... with her mind. [Photo via AP]

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Thursday? I hardly know her! (Man, it's going to be a long day.)

But Do They Use Flex-o-Lite Paddles?

Ben Cohen — Sun, 24 May 2009 14:15:00 EDT

Last time we featured table tennis, the conversation focused on female players dressing sexier to attract more fans. But now, a pair of 14-year-old identical twins from Brooklyn are going to save the sport the old-fashioned way: with their paddles!

Brad and Brandon Belle are not like most twin brothers (cue the violins). One is left-handed, the other right-handed. Everyone they know plays football, baseball or basketball, but they play ping-pong. And apparently, they're pretty damn good, too. The twins are ranked fourth and fifth (does it matter which is which?) in the USATT's Under-15 ranking and — get this — they have only been "competing seriously" for two years. (I used to have epic battles to 21 in my basement, but, alas, I doubt that qualifies as serious competition.)

Their ultimate goal: Play in the 2012 Olympics. It hardly compares to going to China and winning one for the good guys, but it's OK, I guess.

Twist! The twins, naturalized American citizens, are Guyanese immigrants and have only been in the United States for three years. If they do ascend the table tennis ladder, they might have to decide between representing the USA (USA! USA! USA! Just some helpful propaganda) or Guyana.

And here's where you come in. Because of money, the Belle twins can't jet around the country and play in tournaments as they please. In fact, they have never played outside of New York. Soon, they will travel to Connecticut, Baltimore and Las Vegas, but they could really use some help.

"We are seeking a sponsor to raise enough money to participate in tournaments on a wider scale, against great players from around the country," said Tahl Leibovitz, a 33-year-old professional table tennis player from Queens.

So, Amuricah, wake up. Show these kids the money. Don't you want to see their faces on double-sided paddles in 2012?

Twins From Brooklyn Make Quite a Team in Table Tennis [NYT]
A Brief History of Ping-Pong [NY Mag]
Table Tennis Needs More Fans [Deadspin]

"Ping, Pong! Someone's In The Door!"

Josh Zerkle — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 15:45:00 EST

Go ahead and start your Christmas wish list for 2009 [Mental Floss]

Table Tennis Needs More Fans; Solution: Women Should Dress Sexier

Clay Travis — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 17:30:32 EDT

If only this was the answer to every world problem. Famine? Women should dress sexier. War? Women should dress sexier. You see where I'm going here. That's because I'm following the lead of Claude Bergeret—the Gandhi of ping pong. Bergeret is head of the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF). And he wants the women to dress more like Japan's Naomi Yotsumoto. Bergeret told Yahoo: “We are trying to push the players to use skirts and also nicer shirts, not the shirts that are made for men, but ones with more curves.”

Yotsumoto has already taken the suggestion to heart. Per Yahoo:"At the Japanese national championships last year, she played in a daring ensemble of her own design: knee socks, a pleated mini-skirt and a shirt that left one shoulder bare."

One shoulder bare? You'll have to excuse me now.

Table tennis women urged to wear shirts with curves [Yahoo]

Hey, Better Than Shaq And The Fu-Schnickens

Leitch — Tue, 29 May 2007 16:00:20 EDT

From our pal Orson at The Fanhouse comes this old promotional video for the Chinese table tennis team. (And don't you dare let us catch you trying to call it "ping pong." These young ping-pongers — dammit! — have a flow quite dope. And they seem very happy to be rapping, that's for sure.

Middle Kingdom Beatz: China Rocks the Mike [The FanHouse]