The history of table tennis, albeit played with small, wooden rackets strung with catgut, or covered with vellum, and cloth-covered rubber, or cork, balls can be traced back to a series of patents filed, on both sides of the Atlantic, in 1890 and 1891. However, it was not until the introduction of the celluloid table tennis ball, which had ideal bounce characteristics, around the turn of the twentieth century that the game became succesful.
In 1926, the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) was founded in Berlin but, although the inclusion of table tennis in the Olympic Games was discussed repeatedly over the years, ITTF President Ivor Montagu remained firmly opposed to the idea. For example, in 1946, he said, ‘…I think the Olympic Games should be restricted to athletics and similar events…’, adding that, ‘We…do not need the Olympics.’
After more than 40 years as ITTF President, Montagu retired in 1967 and, ten years later, ITTF members voted overwhelmingly in favour of a proposal to amend the ITTF Constitution such that it complied with the requirements of the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Thus, in 1977, table tennis was formally recognised by the IOC and, four years later, admitted to the Olympic programme, starting with the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea.
In Seoul, a total of 129 athletes from 41 countries competed in four events, namely men’s singles, men’s doubles, women’s singles and women’s doubles. The gold medallists in those events were Yoo Nam-kyu, representing the host nation, Chen Longcan and Wei Qingguang, representing China, Chen Jing, also representing China, and Hyun Jung-hwa and Yang Young-Jam, also representing the host nation. Collectively, China and South Korea won nine of the 12 medals awarded, with Yugoslavia winning two and Sweden one.