Map of table tennis tables in the center of Berlin, each black dot represents a table, and the number on the black dot represents the number of tables. Such a dense distribution is unimaginable in Shanghai.
Table tennis, known as national ball in China, some estimate that China's table tennis population may be around 100 million. However, when I came to Germany, I found that Germans also love table tennis, and can even be said to be a little crazy.
Some table tennis enthusiasts in Germany have made a table tennis map website, and the position of the table tennis table is all marked on the map. The first time I saw it, I didn't believe it, because Berlin's ping-pong tables can be said to be dense and dotted. I randomly selected a few places for testing, and it turned out to be very accurate. Taking my own place of residence as an example, 5-10 minutes walk, there are 8 ping pong tables around me, 2 of which are indoor and 6 are outdoor. Imagine, in Shanghai, 5-10 minutes walk, how many ping pong tables can you find? It is said that many Germans with basements also have a ball table in their homes, so I estimate that Berlin has surpassed Shanghai in the number of table tennis tables, at least in terms of per capita ownership.
The outdoor table is one of Berlin's hallmarks. Commonly known as cement platforms, it has almost disappeared in China, but it shines here. Berlin cement stands are made roughly uniformly throughout the city, the countertop is not like ordinary cement, there is a metal border around it, and the ball net is also metal. Compared with the wooden table, of course, there is a certain gap, but the overall experience is still good.
Perhaps it is precisely because the table is outdoors, Germans enjoy playing more golf, beer is standard, music is played, dance twice to the music during intervals, or show off footwork when stopping the ball with the chest and picking up the ball, as if to remind people that Germany is a football country.
Objectively speaking, the popularity of table tennis in China has greatly decreased, and table tennis is not fashionable, and it seems to be becoming a more popular sport among middle-aged and elderly people. The younger generation prefers gyms, marathons and so on, and even badminton has overshadowed table tennis. This is not the case in Germany, where men and women of all ages, especially many children and young students, fight and gather in large numbers.
Germans are really very fond of table tennis, and many people play for half a day or even a day. Outdoor table, the biggest problem is that you can't play at night, so many golfers buy their own lamps and solve the lighting problem (above), and some people can play all night.
Many neighborhoods have a fixed format. I just participated in our community's annual championship, which was held in the park, with 20 teams, as well as barbecues, beer, snacks, typical German style. I was eliminated in the first round of the knockout round and disgraced the table tennis powerhouse.
At the scene of our community's annual tournament, the organizer, Mr. Toby, delivered a speech on stage and presided over the draw ceremony. Off-stage you can see a variety of ingredients, drinks, tableware, etc. for barbecue.
As a table tennis power, China still has a huge influence among German golfers. Made in China is popular all over the world, but many are labeled with other people's brands, and table tennis is a solid Chinese brand. Most of the German golfers are equipment experts, and as soon as I took out my racket, they immediately said, you are crazy three, and then say a series of parameters, quite professional.
The national table tennis team members are quite well-known among German golfers, the most famous are Ma Long and Xu Xin, so I strongly suggest to the General Administration of Sports and Chairman Liu Guoliang that when to send Ma Long and Xu Xin to Berlin's park to show off, it will definitely be empty, this is the best sports diplomacy!
The most interesting thing is that because the national table tennis team members like to call "jolly" during the competition, some Germans always come to me and ask me, what does jolly mean? I said that this question was also asked by Chinese golfers not long ago, and it was also on the hot search. The answer is, it's not interesting. Many young German players also call Jolly during the game, which sounds full of joy.
Not long ago, chatting with a musician and golfer here, I was shocked, he knows the Chinese team too well, not to mention the first-team players, he can be like a treasure of the second-team players. He obviously watched a lot of Chinese team games, and he also watched the ingenious gender battle of the Chinese team before the Tokyo Olympics. Lin Gaoyuan was reversed by Zhang Benzhihe at the WTT Championship in Hungary not long ago, and he hit the nail on the head by saying that what Lin Gaoyuan needs now is a good psychological coach.
It is precisely because of the good table tennis atmosphere in Germany that many Chinese professional players have found a second spring in Germany. The German women's table tennis team is dominated by Chinese players; German rookie Qiu Dang, who just won the European Table Tennis Championships last month, is also of Chinese descent, and it is rare that he is also a straight shooter. I also know a few Chinese professionals who coach here, and because there are more Germans who love to play table tennis, their business is quite good.
The 3rd China Cup Table Tennis Tournament (above) held recently in Germany was attended by 66 players from all over Germany, and also attracted a number of German golfers, including the mixed doubles championship won by a pair of Chinese-German multinational pairs.
Many Chinese met and intersected with Germans because of table tennis, and even maintained lifelong friendships. Because, the hearts of all golfers are the same.
Author: Zhang Jie
Editor: Qian Yutong