Table tennis at the Summer Olympics facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Table tennis at the Summer Olympics
Governing body	ITTF
Events	5 (men: 2; women: 2; mixed: 1)
Games
1896 1900 1904 1908 1912 1920 1924 1928 1932 1936 1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020
Medalists

Table tennis, also known as ping-pong, has been a part of the Summer Olympic Games since 1988. Athletes compete in events for men and women, including singles and team matches. Countries like China have been incredibly successful in this sport at the Olympics. They have won a huge number of medals, including most of the gold medals available!

Table Tennis at the Olympics: A Quick Look

Table tennis first joined the Summer Olympics in 1988. Since then, it has been a thrilling sport to watch. Here's a summary of how it has been featured:

Games Year Events Best Nation 24 1988 4  China 25 1992 4  China 26 1996 4  China 27 2000 4  China 28 2004 4  China 29 2008 4  China 30 2012 4  China 31 2016 4  China 32 2020 5  China

Olympic Table Tennis Events

Over the years, the types of table tennis events at the Olympics have changed a bit.

• In 1992, two bronze medals were given out in each event.
• In 2008, the doubles events (where two players play together) were replaced with team events. This was done to make team play more important.
• At the 2008 Beijing Olympics, the Chinese team won 8 medals. They even won all three medals (gold, silver, and bronze) in both the men's and women's singles events!
• Because China was so dominant, the rules changed for the 2012 Olympics. Each country could only enter up to two players in the singles events.
• For the 2020 Summer Olympics, a new mixed doubles event was added. This means a team of one male and one female player compete together. This was part of a bigger effort to have more mixed-gender events at the Games.

Here is a list of the events that have been played:

Medal Winners in Table Tennis

Here's a look at which countries have won the most medals in Olympic table tennis. As you can see, China is far ahead!

Rank	Nation	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	China (CHN)	32	20	8	60
2	South Korea (KOR)	3	3	12	18
3	Japan (JPN)	1	3	4	8
4	Sweden (SWE)	1	1	1	3
5	Germany (GER)	0	4	5	9
6	North Korea (PRK)	0	1	3	4
7	Chinese Taipei (TPE)	0	1	2	3
	Singapore (SIN)	0	1	2	3
9	France (FRA)	0	1	1	2
	Hong Kong (HKG)	0	1	1	2
	Yugoslavia (YUG)	0	1	1	2
12	Denmark (DEN)	0	0	1	1
Totals (12 entries)		37	37	41	115

Past Champions: Singles and Team Events

Let's check out the amazing athletes and teams who have won gold, silver, and bronze medals in table tennis at the Olympics.

Men's Singles Champions

Year	Host City	Gold	Silver	Bronze
1988	Seoul	Yoo Nam-kyu	Kim Ki-taik	Erik Lindh
1992	Barcelona	Jan-Ove Waldner	Jean-Philippe Gatien	Kim Taek-soo
				Ma Wenge
1996	Atlanta	Liu Guoliang	Wang Tao	Jörg Roßkopf
2000	Sydney	Kong Linghui	Jan-Ove Waldner	Liu Guoliang
2004	Athens	Ryu Seung-min	Wang Hao	Wang Liqin
2008	Beijing	Ma Lin	Wang Hao	Wang Liqin
2012	London	Zhang Jike	Wang Hao	Dimitrij Ovtcharov
2016	Rio	Ma Long	Zhang Jike	Jun Mizutani
2020	Tokyo	Ma Long	Fan Zhendong	Dimitrij Ovtcharov

Women's Singles Champions

Year	Host City	Gold	Silver	Bronze
1988	Seoul	Chen Jing	Li Huifen	Jiao Zhimin
1992	Barcelona	Deng Yaping	Qiao Hong	Hyun Jung-hwa
				Li Bun-hui
1996	Atlanta	Deng Yaping	Chen Jing	Qiao Hong
2000	Sydney	Wang Nan	Li Ju	Chen Jing
2004	Athens	Zhang Yining	Kim Hyang-mi	Kim Kyung-ah
2008	Beijing	Zhang Yining	Wang Nan	Guo Yue
2012	London	Li Xiaoxia	Ding Ning	Feng Tianwei
2016	Rio	Ding Ning	Li Xiaoxia	Kim Song-i
2020	Tokyo	Chen Meng	Sun Yingsha	Mima Ito

Men's Doubles Champions

This event was played from 1988 to 2004.

Year	Host City	Gold	Silver	Bronze
1988	Seoul	Chen Longcan Wei Qingguang	Ilija Lupulesku Zoran Primorac	Ahn Jae-hyung Yoo Nam-kyu
1992	Barcelona	Lü Lin Wang Tao	Steffen Fetzner Jörg Roßkopf	Kang Hee-chan Lee Chul-seung
				Kim Taek-soo Yoo Nam-kyu
1996	Atlanta	Kong Linghui Liu Guoliang	Lü Lin Wang Tao	Lee Chul-seung Yoo Nam-kyu
2000	Sydney	Wang Liqin Yan Sen	Kong Linghui Liu Guoliang	Patrick Chila Jean-Philippe Gatien
2004	Athens	Chen Qi Ma Lin	Ko Lai Chak Li Ching	Michael Maze Finn Tugwell

Women's Doubles Champions

This event was also played from 1988 to 2004.

Year	Host City	Gold	Silver	Bronze
1988	Seoul	Hyun Jung-hwa Yang Young-ja	Chen Jing Jiao Zhimin	Jasna Fazlić Gordana Perkučin
1992	Barcelona	Deng Yaping Qiao Hong	Chen Zihe Gao Jun	Hong Cha-ok Hyun Jung-hwa
				Li Bun-hui Yu Sun-bok
1996	Atlanta	Deng Yaping Qiao Hong	Liu Wei Qiao Yunping	Park Hae-jung Ryu Ji-hye
2000	Sydney	Li Ju Wang Nan	Sun Jin Yang Ying	Kim Moo-kyo Ryu Ji-hye
2004	Athens	Wang Nan Zhang Yining	Lee Eun-sil Seok Eun-mi	Guo Yue Niu Jianfeng

Mixed Doubles Champions

This exciting new event was added in 2020.

Year	Host City	Gold	Silver	Bronze
2020	Tokyo	Jun Mizutani Mima Ito	Xu Xin Liu Shiwen	Lin Yun-ju Cheng I-ching

Men's Team Champions

Team events replaced doubles in 2008.

Year	Host City	Gold	Silver	Bronze
2008	Beijing	China Ma Lin Wang Hao Wang Liqin	Germany Timo Boll Christian Süß Dimitrij Ovtcharov	South Korea Oh Sang-eun Ryu Seung-min Yoon Jae-young
2012	London	China Ma Long Wang Hao Zhang Jike	South Korea Joo Se-hyuk Oh Sang-eun Ryu Seung-min	Germany Timo Boll Dimitrij Ovtcharov Bastian Steger
2016	Rio	China Ma Long Xu Xin Zhang Jike	Japan Jun Mizutani Koki Niwa Maharu Yoshimura	Germany Timo Boll Dimitrij Ovtcharov Bastian Steger
2020	Tokyo	China Fan Zhendong Ma Long Xu Xin	Germany Timo Boll Patrick Franziska Dimitrij Ovtcharov	Japan Tomokazu Harimoto Jun Mizutani Koki Niwa

Women's Team Champions

Team events replaced doubles in 2008.

Year	Host City	Gold	Silver	Bronze
2008	Beijing	China Guo Yue Wang Nan Zhang Yining	Singapore Feng Tianwei Li Jiawei Wang Yuegu	South Korea Dang Ye-seo Kim Kyung-ah Park Mi-young
2012	London	China Ding Ning Guo Yue Li Xiaoxia	Japan Ai Fukuhara Sayaka Hirano Kasumi Ishikawa	Singapore Feng Tianwei Li Jiawei Wang Yuegu
2016	Rio	China Ding Ning Li Xiaoxia Liu Shiwen	Germany Han Ying Shan Xiaona Petrissa Solja	Japan Ai Fukuhara Kasumi Ishikawa Mima Ito
2020	Tokyo	China Chen Meng Sun Yingsha Wang Manyu	Japan Miu Hirano Kasumi Ishikawa Mima Ito	Hong Kong Doo Hoi Kem Lee Ho Ching Minnie Soo

See also

In Spanish: Tenis de mesa en los Juegos Olímpicos para niños

• List of Olympic venues in table tennis
• List of naturalised Olympic table tennis players from China
• Table tennis at the Summer Paralympics
• Table tennis at the Youth Olympic Games