When Americans fell in love with playing table tennis, posters of Liu Shiwen were plastered in Houston stadiums

The stadium covers an area of about 550 square meters and has 12 table tennis tables. The walls are painted ocean-like deep blue, with Chinese actress Liu Shiwen at one end, holding a racket, smiling; the other end sticking to the German table tennis evergreen tree Pol, holding her arms to her chest, thoughtful.

The Japanese team, which is bound for the 2021 World Table Tennis Championships in Houston, will use it as a training ground, and a new sign welcoming the Japanese team has been posted on the side of the wall.

On November 23, the World Table Tennis Championships will kick off in Houston. Before the big race arrives, the small race goes first. The Texas Open Table Tennis Tournament recently debuted in this stadium called the "Texas Table Tennis Training Center", and many fans' families came to cheer, making the stadium particularly lively.

These table tennis enthusiasts told Xinhua News Agency that in recent years, table tennis has flourished in Houston, and more and more "new faces" have fallen in love with small silver balls.

Arena owner Dylan Nguyen is actually a "new face" too. He said he was in hospital management and started playing table tennis two years ago for health reasons, which made him lose a lot of weight and his physical condition improved significantly, "and then, I fell in love with table tennis."

In March, he took over the stadium, which was founded in 2013, and saw room for profitability on the one hand, and wanted to promote table tennis on the other. He said that at present, the stadium has more than 150 members, the oldest is 84 years old, the youngest is only 5 years old. During the pandemic, he required that members who came to play be fully vaccinated, and the process of playing was also in line with the social distancing required by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In his opinion, playing table tennis can release stress, bring happiness, exercise the brain, and is a lifelong exercise that can be played at any age. "I want everyone to play table tennis, build a larger table tennis community in Houston, and train more professional table tennis players."

The enthusiastic and cheerful coach Jimbo met the sport 15 years ago in a bar with a table tennis table, when he was in his early 40s and just wanted to "try", and he became a table tennis coach 3 years later.

In order to be a good coach, he has studied many competitions, signed up for ITTF courses, and often watches Chinese training videos to pass on his experience to students.

In Jimbo's view, table tennis is not only a great aerobic exercise, but also requires learning and quick thinking, and the "family atmosphere" of the game is also enjoyable.

Adjunct coach Sabogkin is the vice principal of a houston middle school and currently takes about 10 students to the arena.

Speaking about the charm of table tennis, Saabkin said he feels that table tennis is "the most special" of all sports, both a skilled sport and a learning sport; both against opponents and against yourself. Moreover, the progress that can be made in playing table tennis is endless, and from playing from the age of five or six to the age of 100, the level can still be improved.

Bennett plays in the arena three times a week, and retired Swedish star Waldner is his "champion in mind". He also likes Malone very much, believing that Malone is comprehensive in technology and tough in style.

The 63-year-old, who has cancer and is undergoing chemoradiotherapy, hopes playing ball will help him recover. In his eyes, a multi-sport enthusiast, playing table tennis is cool and does not require physical contact with others, "the safest".

But table tennis means much more to Bennett than health, coolness and safety. He said his son, who was 15 years old and studied table tennis as a child, later became addicted to video games and now plays with him again, "I think he used table tennis as our bond".

In addition, he likes the atmosphere of the stadium, the golfers are very friendly, every time they walk into the stadium, everyone greets each other. He said: "I just can't do without playing table tennis. ”

Song En, a 14-year-old member of the U.S. National Junior Table Tennis Team, fought with former U.S. team champion Jim Butler, losing but happy. She said that table tennis has brought her a lot of "unpredictability" in life, allowing her to have new experiences with curiosity.

Sonne's dream is to compete in the 2024 Paris Olympics. She signed up to volunteer at the Houston World Table Tennis Championships, picking up balls for contestants. "So I can get up close and personal with them," Son said excitedly.

What is the charm of table tennis? Son said table tennis should not be underestimated. "To be honest, I think it's a very difficult sport, there are a lot of details and micro-movements that appeal to me and make me want to train more... And, when playing, there's always a strong feeling of winning. ”

In the eyes of these American fans, playing table tennis will affect and shape the attitude of life. Jimbo said that table tennis can help people learn self-discipline, and the advantage of Chinese table tennis lies in stricter self-discipline and more exquisite technology.

"I've trained a lot of teenagers to play table tennis, and most of them do better at school and get along better with their parents after learning to play." He hopes that the U.S. government will promote table tennis more and explore the "huge possibility" of table tennis to change people's lives from spirit to body.

Saabkin said that playing table tennis can exercise the spirit of never giving up. When you are frustrated and want to win the game, when you encounter difficulties and want to get out of life's difficulties, you must dig deep into yourself, find your true self, and deal with challenges and find solutions under high pressure.

In Saabkin's view, playing table tennis can also enhance friendships between people from different parts of the world, "The table tennis table is the perfect glue... Table tennis is the best way to unite people all over the world."

Jimbo also said that because of being a table tennis coach, "now I respect people more because I can see things from their point of view... Table tennis can make Americans know more about China and make friendships better for people of different races and cultural backgrounds. ”

Indeed, as Sabokin put it, the arena is like the "United Nations." The boss, Dylan Nguyen, is a Vietnamese immigrant, Jimbo is a third-generation Mexican immigrant, Sabokin is from Serbia, Bennett is from Jamaica, and Son Eun is Chinese, born in Houston, and has lived in the country with his family for many years.

According to them, among the golfers, there are also immigrants from India, Pakistan, Nigeria and some countries in the Middle East and Europe.

Earlier this year, walletHub, a personal finance website in the United States, published a study saying that Houston has surpassed New York and Los Angeles to become the most diverse city in the United States.

In the stadium, I feel that in some ways, it is like the "miniature" of the melting pot of the United States, and the little table tennis threads the needle for golfers of all ethnic groups, creates friendship and happiness for them, and also closes their emotional distance with the world table tennis power China.

Source: The Paper