Turning the tablesLocal clubs spin old sport to new fans
Sanjay Dixit still speaks with pride about the time he took on a self-declared "ping-pong champion." The man had sauntered into a table-tennis club, baseball cap on backward and a paddle sticking out of his pocket, and boasted that he was ranked top among his friends in "ping-pong." But Dixit, like many of his fellow players, is offended when people use that word. So, he challenged the man to a game and walloped him. "They don't realize that stuff that looks good in a basement doesn't work here," said Dixit, of Southborough, as he stood among nearly two dozen competitive table-tennis players at the Framingham Table Tennis Club. In the past few years, these players have banded together throughout the western suburbs and are growing increasingly more visible. They've organized clubs in Framingham, Medfield, Waltham, and Newton, where they play regularly and hold tournaments to test their abilities. But they take their game outside as well, playing exhibition games in public and strategizing about ways to recruit new players by introducing table tennis to elementary-school students. And although they may seem elitist by rejecting the name ping-pong, competitive table-tennis players say it's because they're frustrated by a chronic image problem. In a country where table tennis rarely draws devotees, the game these players have spent years sometimes decades perfecting is best known as an offbeat Olympic sport or a throwaway parlor game on a par with foosball and darts. That, many players in the region said, devalues their efforts. In fact, table tennis is wildly popular outside of America, particularly in Europe, Africa, and Asia. There, the game has a strong following and is televised regularly. Professional organizations pay players to train and play for them full time, much like professional basketball or baseball teams here. Players also rake in money through sponsorships. On a recent night at the Framingham club, which began a year ago and operates out of the MetroWest YMCA Program Center at the Civic League, members showed just how competitive the game can get. Players were dripping with sweat, bounding back and forth to attack the tiny ball with silent intensity. They smack it so hard, and it travels so fast, explained club member and Jamaica Plain resident Eileen Lintz, that players have time to plan only every third or fourth shot. "It's over in a matter of seconds," she said, "so you'd better know what you want to do." The clubs draw a mixed group, both old and young and from diverse backgrounds. Unlike Asia and Africa, America is not a breeding ground for table-tennis players, and the club's membership reflects that. It is, said member and Uganda native John Birungi, "like the United Nations." Birungi, a Waltham resident, started playing when he was a child and eventually rose to play on Uganda's national team. When he came to the United States, he looked for table tennis clubs on the website for USA Table Tennis, the organizing body for table tennis in America. Because of their common bond, he said, it is always easy to connect with a group of table tennis players. But not every immigrant is as resourceful. Some players, like the India-born Dixit, moved to America and spent years without the game, assuming it wasn't played here on a competitive level. But many have recently discovered these clubs, often by word of mouth, and picked their paddles back up. Now they want to increase their numbers. A movement to inspire and recruit new players is being led by Qiumars Hedayatian, New England's top-ranked table tennis player, who also coaches at the clubs. But he's joined by many others people who are playing exhibition games in malls and YMCAs, talking with local school officials about offering table-tennis coaching, or forming clubs at their colleges. "When you have a respect for the sport," said Kurt Douty of Framingham, who plays in many of the exhibitions, "you want to get more players." It hasn't been easy, though. Many clubs offer lessons to beginners and encourage anybody to come by and play. But some say it can still be an intimidating experience. Two months ago, Waltham resident Jasper Wong opened a club in Newton specifically for noncompetitive players. He lets everyone in, including regulars from Framingham, but said it is meant for players who might have been scared away from other clubs in the area. "Let's say if you're a novice player," he said. "If you go [to other clubs], chances are you get intimidated. You might play once or twice, and then you'll leave." Attempts to make the game more accessible aren't exclusive to clubs. Four years ago, the International Table Tennis Federation, the game's governing body, changed the color of the tables (from green to blue) and the color of the balls (from white to orange) to make it easier for spectators to watch, especially on television, according to USA Table Tennis executive director Teodor Gheorghe. "They had to make spectators somehow be able to see the ball," he said. "Otherwise, if they don't see the ball, it's not attractive." The players at the Framingham club have an almost fanatic devotion to the game. They've driven to table-tennis clubs during snowstorms, and don't cancel get-togethers during holidays, including Thanksgiving and Easter. "This game is a sickness," said Lintz, who describes table tennis as a great equalizer. There's no elite body type for the game, she said, and no teammates to fret over. All it takes is dedication and practice, and soon one can spin the ball and curve it in midair. The game is extremely mental, she said. Players must switch from offense to defense in rapid succession, and can gain the upper hand with the most subtle of moves. That's what originally hooked Birungi, he said, and it's what keeps him coming back. "You'd never even think table tennis is interesting," he said. "But when you reach a certain level where you can control the ball, you never come down. You become an addict." 
© Copyright 2004 Globe Newspaper Company.
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