Gossima: The Culture of Ping Pong

Ma Lin

MA Lin celebrates victory over Timo Boll
2004 World Team Table Tennis Championships
Photo courtesy of the ITTF

Full name:  Ma Lin (simplified Chinese: 马琳; traditional Chinese: 馬琳)
Nationality:  Chinese
Grip:  Pen hold
Blade:  Yasaka Ma Lin Extra Offensive Pen hold
Rubber (backhand):  Butterfly Bryce/Bryce Speed
Rubber (forehand):  DHS Skyline 2
Playing Style:  Offensive–consistent forehand loop; known for powerful third ball attacks. Ma Lin uses a reverse pen hold backhand, using the underside of the blade. While the reverse pen hold backhand is becoming more popular, the reverse backhand is somewhat unusual for a pen hold player.

NYTTF February Open Results

Results
NYTTF February Table Tennis Open 
February 7, 2010
New York, NY
USATT Sanctioned Tournament

Dirty Dozen Friday Nights

Friday nights from 9 PM to 1PM, Spin New York hosts the Dirty Dozen Tournament, where 12 professional table tennis players battle it out for number 1 and a prize of $500.

2010 winners:

• 
January 29th        –  Shao Yu rated 2550
• 
January 22nd       –  Shao Yu rated 2550
• January 15th        –  Mike "the Kid" Landers rated 2523
• January  8th        –  Juan Liu rated 2663

All ratings as of December 19, 2009 according to USTTA Ratings and the Table Tennis Spin Statistical Charts.

Go to Spin, this Friday to cheer on your favorite player.

Brad and Brandon Belle Video

In the Zone
Episode 34
Original airdate: 05/09/2009, BIT on BCAT
Brownsville Recreational Center

In this episode of In the Zone, on Brooklyn Independenet Television, Brad and Brandon Belle discuss the possibility of competing in the 2012 Olympics and the competitive nature of table tennis.

Battle of the Paddle

Battle of the Paddle
Alfred E. Smith Recreation Center
80 Catherine Street
Friday, January 26, 2010
11:00 AM - 1:00 PM
Organizer: Ed Auguste, Hamilton Fish Manager

Three Manhattan recreational centers, Hamilton Fish, Chelsea and Alfred E. Smith, battled it out last Friday, January 26 at 80 Catherine Street in the Battle of the Paddle table tennis tournament. Well, it wasn’t really much of a battle. Hamilton Fish's team crushed the competition, completely shutting out the Alfred E. Smith and Chelsea teams, and easily winning the gold, silver and bronze medal. Hamilton Fish lived up to their reputation for having the best ping pong players in all of New York.

Now the question is, does Brooklyn recreational centers Brownsville and Sunset Park have what it takes to beat Hamilton Fish? What about Al Oerter recreational center in Queens? Rumor has it that many players with USATT ratings of over 2300 play at Al Oerter. How about a three way borough challenge? That would be something to see.

More Table Tennis from the Bay Area

David Louies
ABC News
Milpitas, California

ABC News filed this report on Lily Zhang, the number two ranked junior player in the United States and the India Community Center Table Tennis Club, the largest youth training program in the country. The number of kids playing table tennis in the U.S. is growing and ICCTTC is among 12 professional table tennis centers in the Bay Area that support them.

Serena Williams Plays Table Tennis

While at the Sony Ericsson WTA 2009 Tennis Championships in Doha, Serena Williams plays Britain's former number 1 table tennis player, Matthew Syed. Check out the video here.

NYTTF December Open Results

Results
NYTTF December Table Tennis Open 
December 5, 2009
New York, NY
USATT Sanctioned Tournament

Ping Pong P.R. Machine

Susan Sarandon and the crew from Spin New York have been hitting the tarmac hard to promote the game of ping pong and their club, Spin. On December 2, Sooyeon Lee, Franck Raharinosy, Jonathan Bricklin and Andrew Gordonwere in Miami Beach for Art Basel for the Interview magazine, Fred Perry, and Spin party. The party took place at the luxurious Mondrian South Beach Hotel. Participates and players included Sophia Lamar, Terese Terranova, Christopher Bollen, and the DJ trio the Misshapes.

China Continues to Dominate Table Tennis

 

 CCTV-International

Xu Xinwins his third gold medal for China at the East Asian Games Xu easily beat his fellow countryman Zhang Jikein the men's table tennis single final. Together in the doubles final, Xu Xin and Zhang Jike beat Chiang Peng-lung and Wu Chih-Chi from Chinese Taipei to claim the doubles title. For more information and a video on the table tennis finals, click here

Reference:
China Continues Table Tennis Domination by CCTV