Tsunami and Table Tennis

Two men play Table Tennis even as they were recovering from the devastating tsunami that hit Indonesia in 2005.
We pray for the tsunami affected in Japan 2011 and hope that they recover to a normal life soon. Wish safety for all other countries that are at threat.

ITTF Annual General Meeting and Board of Directors' Meeting

The details of ITTF's AGM and BOD meeting are available at the following location:
http://www.ittf.com/world_events/PDF/English_report_final_2011.pdf

Britain Table Tennis team makes it to the London Olympics 2012

It's official! The Britain team will feature at the 2012 London Olympics. The Men's and Women's team were given three host nation qualification places.

Earlier, there was a controversy and the British Olympic Association (BOA) had asked the British Table Tennis Federation (BTTF) to prove its ability (read medal winning prospects). It now appears that the Federation was able to demonstrate its potential. The British Table Tennis team had not managed to qualify from the various international events.

BOA CEO, Andy Hunt is now satisfied and said that the BTTF had demonstrated that they have laid "solid foundations to maximize the opportunity of competing at a home games."

US Table Tennis trials for Pan Am and National Team

M Jagadish

The trials for the US teams for Pan Am and National team were conducted at the Topspin club, San Jose, CA

The following players made the final cut:

Pan Am Team Men: Mark Hazinski, Yiyong Fan, Timothy Wang
Pan Am Team Women: Ariel Hsing, Lily Zhang, Erica Wu

World Team Men: Mark Hazinski, Yiyong Fan, Timothy Wang, Adam Hugh
World Team Women: Ariel Hsing, Lily Zhang, Erica Wu, Prachi Jha

See this video of Ariel Hsing playing with one of the World's most wealthiest and investing wizard, Warren Buffet:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1OoodoU0wNw&feature=related
Video courtesy: tanzaniasafari

2011 US Open Table Tennis Tournament

M Jagadish

The US Open Table Tennis Tournament will be held from June 30-July 4 2011 at the Frontier Airlines Center Hall, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Last year, a huge contingent of Indian players participated. The golden crown was won by Sharath Kamal.

Contact Editor for information on Entry forms.

British Olympic Association wants Table Tennis players to perform

M Jagadish
Andy Hunt, CEO of the British Olympic Association (BOA) wants the Table Tennis players to prove themselves before they travel to the Olympic games of 2012.

The British players are training hard from the last couple of years to make their Olympic dreams come true. Hunt hinted that a decision on the Table Tennis Players' inclusion in Britain's Olympic squad is still pending.

Hunt was speaking to BBC. He was not convinced with the presentation and wants a few more questions answered and some more information from the officials.

There is still no date for the decision by BOA regarding the Table Tennis players' automatic inclusion.

(Players in the pictures are Paul Drinkhall and Darius Knight)

India's top Table Tennis Marriage of the season

M Jagadish
Soumyadeep Roy and Poulami Ghatak's wedding was conducted with great pomp and show. Many Table Tennis players attended the important occasion.

Player portrait: Dr. Ashutosh V. Bapat, M.D., F.A.C.C.

Name: Dr. Ashutosh V. Bapat, M.D., F.A.C.C.

Achievements: National Level Table Tennis Player from Karnataka

Currently a practicing Physician in the USA.

Table Tennis and Fitness

 File photo of Wang Liqin's body - he is one of the fittest on tour

M Jagadish
One of the things I noticed at Dubai was World Class Table Tennis players' physique. You cannot miss their well chiseled bodies, sinewy muscles, lean, and highly toned frames.

It is a well known fact that energy transfer happens through the feet first, to the calves, thigh muscles, abs, back, shoulders and finally to the arms!

All these players have worked hard on their bodies and honed them to perfection, ready for the battle on the table.

When you want to play the game semi-professionally or professionally, the following muscles/muscle groups need to be worked upon:

• Quadriceps
• Abs
• Hamstrings
• Calves
• Chest
• Shoulders
• Triceps
• Lower back
• Gluts

We will talk more about this in later articles.

Table Tennis Player Potrait: Bona Thomas John

Bona Thomas John promoting the game

Name: Bona Thomas John

City: Bengaluru

Achievements: 

• International Player in the last decade of the last millenium. 
• Won National level titles
• Beat almost all top players of India in his prime.