TABLE TENNIS.

Manawatu Standard, Volume LVII, Issue 197, 21 July 1937, Page 9

TABLE TENNIS.

WORLD CHAMPIONS’ VISIT. SPECTACULAR GAMES EXPECTED (By Telegraph—Special to Standard.) WELLINGTON, July 21. Tabic tennis, a popular drawingroom pastime twenty years ago, has been revived and developed until firstclass lawn tennis players find it a good gdme requiring all their skill. The introduction ot rubber faced rackets completely altered the former easy-go-ing pace of this game ,and it is now regarded internationally as one of the finest, most spectacular and most difficult indoor games played. New Zealanders have taken part in this interesting revival, the sport being organised so thoroughly that there are eleven /'associations distributed from Invercargill to Auckland, a national governing body, and about 5000 affiliated players. Further impetus will be given to table tennis by the tour of two world’s champions from Hungary, M. Szabados and I. ICelon, who are at present in Australia on a tour arranged by the English Table Tennis Association’s officers. The Wellington club is mainly responsible for getting the lour extended to New Zealand, and the Hungarian champions will reach Wellington on September 13. They will play exhibition games at a number of centres, concluding tlieir tour by leaving Auckland for Europe on Octoher 1. . ~ Table tennis became a serious game for experts when it was revived with improved apparatus in 1903 and the leading lawn tennis champion, F. J. Perry, took it up, adopting lawn tennis strokes and technique and making the game fast and highly spectacular. Competition was organised on international lines, and Perry won the world’s championship. Hungary produced some first-class players, and Perry met Szabados for the world s championship in 1928-9, the victory going to the English tennis champion. However, the Hungarian who is shortly to visit New Zealand gained, two years later, both the English and world’s championships and he is regarded definitely as at least the second best player in the world. His co - league, Ivelen, has won the worlds mixed doubles championship twice. The annual North Island tournament of the New Zealand Table Tennis Association is being held in Auckland next week, and the South Island tournament takes place in Dunedin at the end of that week.