In what country is table tennis the most popular? The national players from these countries are also the best players in the world.
So, which countries love table tennis the most? It’s nice to see Germany, Japan, and Korea posing strong challenges to China’s dominance. Their table tennis skills are legendary. Today, we will see in which country is table tennis the most popular. I wonder if table tennis is gaining popularity in other countries, like in France, Portugal, Vietnam, or Singapour.
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The most popular nation in table tennis
What country is table tennis the most popular?
China is the country that has the most table tennis players. It is no doubt, the most popular country in table tennis. They have the strongest national team in table tennis. They also won almost every table tennis medal at the Olympics.
China also holds the highest number of grand slam table tennis players.
Top 5 countries in table tennis
Brazilian table tennis players are well known, too. Let’s study other countries. Here are the top 5 countries where table tennis is popular, based on the number of players.
- 01 China
- 02 Japan
- 03 Germany
- 04 Korea
- 05 Sweden
01 China
Nearly 1 percent (0.72 percent) of a 1.4 billion population reported playing table tennis occasionally! It is a huge number of players.
ITTF now has 226 member countries. China has the most players who are practicing table tennis.
The top 3 players in the world are all Chinese players. Fan Zhendong, Ma Long, and Xu Xin are currently the best male players in the world. Ma Long is considered the greatest player of all time (G.O.A.T).
Based on the current Olympic medals results, China has won 85.7% of the Gold medal in table tennis.
| Country | Sport | Gold medals won |
|---|---|---|
| China | Table Tennis | 85.7% |
| USA | Basketball | 78.6% |
| South Korea | Archery | 64.3% |
| German | Equestrian | 35.7% |
| South Korea | Taekwondo | 31.3% |
02 Japan
Japan is the second country in table tennis. Japanese people love table tennis very much. They have a professional league that is of very high quality.
The famous player is Mima Ito, Koki Niwa, Jun Mizutani and Tomokazu Harimoto. The mixed double of Mima Ito and Jun Mizutani has beaten the Chinese double to win the Gold medal at their home soil (Tokyo Olympics 2020).
03 Germany
When a country realizes it has a superstar athlete, the people get captivated with both the player and his sport. In 1989, Jorg Rosskopf and Steffen Fetzner, a doubles pair from Germany, won the World Championship. Table tennis has grown in popularity in Germany since then. In 2004, the world-famous Borussia Dortmund sports club established a table tennis section.
Timo Boll is a rising German talent. He was formerly ranked #1 in the ITTF (International Table Tennis Federation). He is now rated 2nd in the German National Table Tennis League. Since 1995, when he won three gold medals as one of the league’s youngest members. Dimitrij Ovtcharov who has won 2 Bronze medals at the Olympics is the best German table tennis player.
The new hope of Germany is Kay Stumper.
04 Korea
Table tennis isn’t only a Chinese obsession. South Korea wants to be the world’s best ping pong player, but China’s shadow is large. That hasn’t stopped South Korea from working even harder to develop the sport’s strongest athletes.
Joo Se Hyuk is a world-class professional player. He is well aware of South Korea’s tough battle against China. Ryu Seungmin, Yoo Namkyu, and Oh Sangeun have all retired from table tennis. Jang Woojin, Lee Sangsu, and Jeoung Youngsik are the 2 new faces of Korean top table tennis players. There are ranked as the number 12, and number 13 on the world table tennis raking.
05 Sweden
Sweden rounds off our list of ping pong-crazy countries. Professional table tennis has been a love of its since the mid-80s. Sweden’s STIGA has given high-quality table tennis equipment to over a hundred countries. Like South Korea, Sweden tries to dethrone China’s dominance in every World Championship, so any triumph is great!
Jan-Ove Waldner is in the same boat as Joo Se Hyuk of South Korea. He is the last of Sweden’s legendary 80s and 90s players. In 1982, at the age of 16, he made his European Championship debut. He has since become a famous table tennis player. He is known as “the evergreen tree” in China, but “the Mozart of table tennis” in the West. Hopefully, Sweden’s love of the sport and contribution to the professional game will continue once Waldner retires. Mattias Falck is considered one of the best Swedish players at this moment. Mattias is ranked number 10 on the World ranking.
The new hope of Sweden is Truls Moregard.
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Thank you coach EmRatThich.
I’m from France, too.
I’m actually in France. Whare are you from? 🙂
Nice to hear from you.