Table tennis made its debut at the Olympic Games in 1988 at the Seoul Olympics23. It has become one of the regular events of the Summer Olympic Games. Here is an introduction to the Olympic table tennis games:
Event Development
- 1988 Seoul Olympics: Table tennis was included as an official event, with men's singles, women's singles, men's doubles and women's doubles events23.
- 2008 Beijing Olympics: The doubles events were replaced by team events, which increased the teamwork and competitiveness of the game2.
- 2020 Tokyo Olympics: The mixed doubles event was added, bringing the number of table tennis events to five, namely men's singles, women's singles, men's team, women's team and mixed doubles2.
Competition Rules
- Scoring System: The match is usually the best of five games or the best of seven games. In each game, the first player or team to reach 11 points with a two-point lead wins the game. If the score reaches 10-10, each player or team will serve one point in turn until one side has a two-point advantage.
- Service Rules: The server must toss the ball vertically upward with the palm of the open hand, at least 16 cm above the table surface, and the ball must be visible at all times during the serve. After the ball descends, the server must hit the ball so that it first touches the server's half of the table and then, after passing over or around the net assembly, touches the receiver's half of the table.
- Group Competition: The team competition consists of four singles matches and one doubles match, adopting a best-of-five system. Each team consists of three athletes, and when a team wins three matches, the competition ends2.
Medal Results
Since table tennis became an Olympic event, the Chinese table tennis team has dominated the sport and won a large number of gold medals12. As of the 2024 Paris Olympics, the Chinese national table tennis team has achieved the feat of sweeping the gold medals in men's singles, women's singles, men's team, women's team and mixed doubles.
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