A blast from the pastThe origins of table tennis can be traced back to the 12th century AD The game descends from the game of "Royal Tennis" (also known as Court Tennis), which was played in medieval times. During the 1800s the game had become quite fashionable among the English upper class. There was also a board and dice game called Table tennis. It wasn't until the late 1800s that extant evidence of the game appeared. A set made by David Foster, patented in England, which is a table version of outdoor lawn tennis. In the early 1900s John Jacques registered “Ping-Pong” as a trade name in England. The American rights to the name are sold to Parker Brothers. Many people believe that table tennis originated in China due to the Chinese's excellent playing skills, but this is not true. Table tennis was first brought to China from Western settlements. The Chinese made changes to the game to suit their tastes. At this point there were many different versions of ping pong around. The roots originate In 1901, "The Table Tennis Association" was founded in England. Four days later the “Ping-Pong Association” was also formed. The two then united as "The United Table Tennis and Ping Pong Association" on May 1, 1903, later reverting to the title "The Table Tennis Association". Unfortunately the merger came too late to prevent the decline and near extinction of the game in England. The International Table Tennis Federation was founded in 1926 with the first World Championships being held in London that year. These were later played in Budapest in 1929 and were won by tennis fame Fred Perry. More national associations were formed and a standardization of r...... middle of paper ......championships occurred when he won a gold medal in the team event. He later moved to the UK and played for England for many years in the 1990s. Works Cited Abbott, Wren. "Ping-Pong: A Brief History." New York 40.13 (2007): 82. Readers' Guide Full text Mega (H.W. Wilson). Network. March 11, 2014. William Saroyan's ping-pong game. np: Alexandria, Virginia: Alexander Street Press, 2004., 2004.Web. March 11, 2014.Griffin, Nicholas. Ping-Pong Diplomacy: The Secret Story Behind the Game That Changed the World. New York: Scribner, 2014. Print.Charyn, Jerome. Sizzling chops and devilish spins: ping-pong and the art of staying alive. New York: Four Walls Eight Windows, 2001.Print.Chen, Qi-hu. “Cultural Connotation of “Ping Pong for All” in 1950s and 1960s China.” Journal of Wuhan Institute of Physical Education 43.5 (2009): 18-21. SPORTDisco. Network. March 11. 2014