beginnings in late 19th century (1880s and 1890s)

originally "ping-pong"

Brithish upper-class society

leisure pasttime, played indoors after dinnes

marketed as "Gossima" and "Ping-Pong" by the British company J. Jaques & Son

early 1900s

lower equiment costs (due to mass industrial manufacturing)

urbanization (need for cheap, indoor recreation)

adopted in organisations, schools and industrial workers' clubs

in Berlin

one of the FIRST modern international sports federations

Central Europe became the sports administrative center

first World Championships in London

(December 1926)

standardization of rules (mirroring European cooperations in the interwar period) - European nations cooperation under common rules (rivalry-->unity)

1930s

international competitions, cultural exchanges, shared governance

working-class sport in Central Europe

--> Hungary dominating

women-friendly sport (one of the first where European women competed internationally) along with athletics, tennis, fencing and others

most international competitions stop due to the resources put into the war

Sports become tools of reconciliation after the war

1971-1971

most famous diplomatic sport

Europe - media, cultural bridge between the superpowers

events that open relations between China and Western countries (especially North America and Central Europe)

global visibility

how sports could influence world politics

sports - European soft power

major economic and political sectors

sponsorship, merchadising, broadcasting

sports celebrities and "heroes"

Swedish table tennis legend

admired globally, even in China

Sweden overall being one of the dominating countries inthe world during the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s

1st place in singles 1992 Olympics in Barcelona

1990s

ITTf headquears move back to Europe (Switzerland)

Western and Eastern table tennis systems merge

a lot of migration of coaches and players in Europe

Sports helping to integrate post-Soviet Europe

European leagues becoming more international and market-driven

EU free movement rules - easier travelling accross borders

new member stats of the EU (e.g. Romania, Poland) strenghten the East - West relations and cooperations

table tennis survives the 2008 economic crisis due to its low cost maintenance

player migrations and training camps

European national teams including Chinese-born naturalised players (e.g.Germany)

2014 - debates over participations of athlets from states involved in political conflicts (e.g. Russia)

federations mantaining political neutrality despite public pressure

Gender equality

Multicultural participation

Europea social indetity principles

European table tennis federation (ETTU) and ITTF suspended Russian and Belarusian athlets, official and events after the invation of Ukraine (2022)

showed Europe's unified position on Russia's agression