Chinese National Sport

The Chinese are widely known as being experts of many martial arts, however they are now playing many other sports which have spread to Asia such as baseball, football and basketball. The official national sport of China however is Table Tennis, otherwise known as ping - pong.

Table tennis originated in Britain during the 1880s, it was played by the upper class society, it soon became a fashionable craze. The game became popular in Central Europe from 1905 - 1910, before this however a modified version had been introduced to Japan and it quickly spread to China and the rest of Asia.

The game is played on a wooden table and a small ball is hit back and forth over a net, it is a very fast game with the ball reaching speeds of over 100km/h at a professional level.

  the table tennis table

In table tennis there are many different techniques used by different people and countries, the most famous is the grip used by the Chinese in which they can generate a phenomenal amount of side and backspin.

  the chinese penhold grip