International book international book of favorite sports_FV | Page 113

and were won by a Hungarian, Dr. Jacobi. In 1933, the United States Table Tennis
Association, now called USA Table Tennis, was formed. In the 1930s, Edgar Snow
commented in Red Star Over China that the Communist forces in the Chinese
Civil War had a "passion for the English game of table tennis" which he found
"bizarre". On the other hand, the popularity of the sport waned in 1930s Soviet
Union, partly because of the promotion of team and military sports, and partly
because of a theory that the game had adverse health effects.
In the 1950s, paddles that used a rubber sheet combined with an underlying
sponge layer changed the game dramatically, introducing greater spin and speed.
These were introduced to Britain by sports goods manufacturer S.W. Hancock Ltd.
The use of speed glue increased the spin and speed even further, resulting in
changes to the equipment to "slow the game down".
Today, the sport both in England and abroad is very well established and is
growing each year. The culmination of this has been its recognition as an Olympic
Games sport, being featured for the first time in the 1988 games in Seoul.
Television coverage of the men’s singles final attracted an incredible worldwide
audience of 2 billion. In China, the game is played by literally millions at work, in
school, and in community parks. Chinese top players are regarded as national
heroes with pop star statuses.
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