This sport was born in England at the end of the 19th century, around the 1880s when the upper class used simple objects, such as books as nets, wine box lids as paddles, and a small ball to play as an indoor entertainment. By 1901, the name Ping Pong had been registered as a trademark. This sport gradually became standardized with clear rules and spread to Europe and then Asia. In Vietnam, it is simply called table tennis, the ball played on the table.

In China, table tennis was introduced in the early 20th century through Western merchants and missionaries. Initially, it was only popular among the upper class in Shanghai, where the first table tennis clubs opened. However, after the establishment of the People's Republic of China in 1949, the government under Mao Zedong encouraged the development of table tennis as a mass sport because it is simple, inexpensive to play, and does not require a large space, suitable for the conditions at that time.

Thus, from a foreign game, table tennis quickly became a national sport, and China began to dominate the world from the 1950s. This dominance is not only due to innate talent but also from longer-term strategies that turned table tennis into a diplomatic tool and a source of national pride for China. The popularity of table tennis in China is one of the main reasons they play so well. With a population of over 1.4 billion, table tennis is no longer a luxury sport but has become a daily activity for all social classes, from children in schools to the elderly in parks.

Since the 1950s, China has invested heavily in popularizing table tennis, building thousands of public tables and incorporating it into the physical education curriculum. This created a huge talent pool where millions of amateur players became a source for professional athletes. For example, in large cities like Beijing or Shanghai, you can easily see elderly people playing table tennis in parks in the morning. Meanwhile, children are taught from kindergarten with basic exercises on reflexes and techniques.

In comparison to Western countries, where table tennis is often just a personal hobby with limited practice time of a few hours a week, China has turned table tennis into a part of its culture. Just like how football is loved in Brazil or basketball is favored in the USA. As a result, China has a solid talent pyramid. Millions of basic players at the bottom of the pyramid, thousands of professional athletes in the middle, and Olympic stars at the top. This popularity not only nurtures talent but also creates fierce competition that helps Chinese athletes maintain their leading position in the world. With resources available, there must be a mention of China's professional and rigorous training system.

From the time children are in kindergarten, if they show talent, they are recruited into specialized sports schools located throughout various provinces in China. These schools operate like training camps with very high training programs, 6 to 8 hours a day or even more, focusing on racket techniques, physical fitness, tactics, and psychology. Top coaches are often former national athletes who have achieved high performance, applying scientific methods and experience to train quick reflexes and precision within less than 1 mm.

For example, Ma Long, a table tennis legend, started training at the age of 5, going through thousands of hours of practice before joining the national team. The training system in China is described as effective but ruthless, requiring athletes to sacrifice their childhood and personal interests. But in return, they possess outstanding skills. Unlike in European or American countries, where table tennis athletes often balance between study and sport.

In China, table tennis is a profession from a young age with comprehensive support from the state, including modern equipment and provisions for food and accommodation.

However, there is another extremely interesting perspective that not everyone mentions, which is the viewpoint from ethnologists and sports researchers. It shows that table tennis is very suitable for Asian culture, especially Chinese culture, based on a combination of many factors such as genetics, survival history, living environment, and more. Part of the insight in this analysis is taken from journalist Nguyen Luu. First, let’s talk a bit about sports that are not table tennis. Look at the case of Kenyans and Ethiopians, who dominate long-distance running events like marathons and long-distance races worldwide.

This superiority comes not only from genetics but also from the survival history of their land. Their ancestors had to travel long distances daily to herd livestock, hunt, or find water in a highland environment. This trains the respiratory system and slow-twitch muscles, the type of muscle specialized for endurance that helps the body use oxygen more efficiently. Similarly, the dominance of Jamaicans in sprinting events like the 100m and 200m can be explained through an ethnological lens, emphasizing survival history and living environment. The history of slavery in the 18th-19th centuries naturally selected the strongest individuals from Africa to Jamaica, where they had to work hard on plantations, often moving quickly in hilly terrain and shallow coastal areas.

An interesting hypothesis from researchers is that the lifestyle of coastal people, with their feet often submerged in shallow water while fishing, has trained a high step frequency from a young age, enhancing thigh strength and the ability to push off quickly. So what does this have to do with China and table tennis? The Asian ethnic groups, especially the Chinese, exhibit superior dexterity that suits this sport. A sport that requires finesse, quickness, and precise control of the wrist and fingers. From an ethnological perspective, the traditional lifestyle of Asians with thousands of years of foraging crafts such as weaving, fabric making, wood carving, and pottery has cultivated dexterity from generation to generation.

In China, the culture of rice farming and crafts, as well as calligraphy or playing musical instruments, requires a sophisticated coordination between the eyes and hands, creating a natural advantage for table tennis. This sport requires quick reflexes, flexible wrist rotation, and control of striking force. Genetic factors also play an important role. Asians often have an average height, a balanced body ratio, meaning they are not too tall, which makes them less prone to imbalance, and a high concentration ability from Confucian culture, emphasizing perseverance. This explains why not only China but also South Korea and Japan dominate.

The Chinese seem to be well aware of this cultural advantage, so after table tennis, they have also developed badminton strongly. Another sport that emphasizes dexterity, wrist speed, and delicate reflexes. This shows cultural adaptation, as dexterous sports like table tennis and badminton are more suited to a less mobile lifestyle focused on intricate skills compared to strength-based sports like running. Moreover, researchers have pointed out an interesting correlation between eating habits and racket holding styles in table tennis. Western ethnic groups that use knives and forks often hold objects horizontally, similar to a handshake.

In contrast, ethnic groups that eat with chopsticks, such as the Chinese, Japanese, and Koreans, often hold the racket vertically, similar to how they hold chopsticks, focusing on precision in the fingers and speed near the table, leveraging the dexterity advantage from this habit. This is not just a coincidence but evidence of how daily culture influences sports. And not only that, one of the deepest and most interesting reasons is the historical and political role of table tennis. Especially through the ping-pong diplomacy event in the 1970s. This is not only a chapter in sports history but also a story that changed world history, contributing to solidifying the position of table tennis in China.

The context at that time was the tense Cold War between the US and China. The US imposed economic sanctions while China isolated itself from the West. But by the early 1970s, both sides saw the benefits of getting closer, and table tennis, a sport that China had dominated, became the perfect diplomatic tool due to its friendliness, ease of organization, and national pride. The ping-pong diplomacy event began coincidentally but dramatically at the 1971 World Table Tennis Championships in Japan. On April 6, 1971, American athlete Glen Kan, 19, missed his team’s bus and jumped onto the Chinese team’s bus. Initially, the atmosphere was tense because the Chinese athletes were ordered to avoid contact with Americans.

However, the Chinese team captain decided to approach Kan, shake hands, and present a silk painting depicting Huangshan Mountain. Kan responded with a t-shirt printed with a peace symbol. This moment was captured by reporters, spread around the world, and was called the "golden handshake" by Time magazine. The incident was reported to Mao Zedong, who was initially hesitant but later decided to invite the American team to visit China. Thus, the American table tennis team came to China to play friendly matches in Tianjin, Guangzhou, Beijing, and Shanghai. They were welcomed like national leaders, touring the Great Wall, the Forbidden City, steel mills, farms, enjoying banquets and cultural performances.

At the Beijing Capital Stadium, 20,000 spectators watched the friendly matches before the competition, with slogans expressing the spirit of peace. In summary, although table tennis did not originate from China, they have transformed it into a sport with their own mark thanks to popular culture, a top-notch training system, creative techniques, strong competitive psychology, and especially the historical role through ping-pong diplomacy. China's dominance is not a coincidence.