SPORT / MISCELLANY
‘The perfect glue for everybody’ – Houston fans enjoy playing table tennis
There are a thousand Hamlets in a thousand people's eyes. But in the eyes of local fans in Houston, US, where the World Table Tennis Championships open on Tuesday, the sport is fun for anyone of any age.
As a game for both recreation and competition, table tennis has been booming in Texas' largest city and across the US in recent years, members of a Houston table tennis club told Xinhua earlier this month.
"I think American people are starting to play ping-pong more than before," said club owner Dylan Nguyen. "We have exactly 12 tables right now and are looking into increasing by eight more tables during the first quarter of 2022."
Table tennis is a lifelong sport that can be played at any age for both physical and mental health benefits, said Nguyen, noting that the Texas Table Tennis Training Center, which he set up in 2013, now has more than 150 members whose ages range from 5 to 84 years old.
According to Nguyen, it's safe to play table tennis in his club even during the pandemic, since all players are required to have been fully vaccinated and the width and length of the tables perfectly meet the US CDC's guidelines for keeping a six-foot social distance.
Santiago "Jimbo" Valdez, one of the five coaches in the club, started playing table tennis in a local bar 15 years ago at the age of 41. "I started late and I decided I'm too old to get really good," he explained to Xinhua why he chose to become a coach.
"I really enjoy the game. I love promoting table tennis. I'm always watching videos, mostly Chinese videos on how to get better. I watch them a lot and I pass that knowledge onto my students," said Jimbo.
"It's a very friendly game. It's good for your health. It's good for your mind. So I just said, I'm going to learn this. And it's really helped me physically and mentally. It's just such an awesome game. I love table tennis."
Hector Bennet, 63, comes to the club with his 15-year-old son about three times a week, and likes the fact that ping pong is a safe, non-contact sport.
"My health has deteriorated. I am doing chemo and radiation and all kinds of stuff. So whenever I get a chance, I try to practice," said Bennet, adding that he started playing table tennis at 6 years old when he lived in Jamaica.
Vicktor Sabonj, a teacher and assistant principal at a high school in Houston, currently teaches about 10 students in the club during his spare time.
Starting at 9 years old in Novi Sad, Serbia, Sabonj, who moved to the US in the 1990s, considers ping pong "by far the most special sport." "You can continuously improve your skill level from being a little kid until you are 100 years old."
Furthermore, "if you look into our club here, this feels like you are in the middle of the United Nations," the part-time coach marveled. "We have people from all over the world, from China, Vietnam, India, Pakistan to the Middle East, Europe and Africa."
"Honestly, we are a United Nation and table tennis is the perfect glue for everybody," he said. "Table tennis is the best way to unite people in the world, I would say."
As a game for both recreation and competition, table tennis has been booming in Texas' largest city and across the US in recent years, members of a Houston table tennis club told Xinhua earlier this month.
"I think American people are starting to play ping-pong more than before," said club owner Dylan Nguyen. "We have exactly 12 tables right now and are looking into increasing by eight more tables during the first quarter of 2022."
Table tennis is a lifelong sport that can be played at any age for both physical and mental health benefits, said Nguyen, noting that the Texas Table Tennis Training Center, which he set up in 2013, now has more than 150 members whose ages range from 5 to 84 years old.
According to Nguyen, it's safe to play table tennis in his club even during the pandemic, since all players are required to have been fully vaccinated and the width and length of the tables perfectly meet the US CDC's guidelines for keeping a six-foot social distance.
Santiago "Jimbo" Valdez, one of the five coaches in the club, started playing table tennis in a local bar 15 years ago at the age of 41. "I started late and I decided I'm too old to get really good," he explained to Xinhua why he chose to become a coach.
"I really enjoy the game. I love promoting table tennis. I'm always watching videos, mostly Chinese videos on how to get better. I watch them a lot and I pass that knowledge onto my students," said Jimbo.
"It's a very friendly game. It's good for your health. It's good for your mind. So I just said, I'm going to learn this. And it's really helped me physically and mentally. It's just such an awesome game. I love table tennis."
Hector Bennet, 63, comes to the club with his 15-year-old son about three times a week, and likes the fact that ping pong is a safe, non-contact sport.
"My health has deteriorated. I am doing chemo and radiation and all kinds of stuff. So whenever I get a chance, I try to practice," said Bennet, adding that he started playing table tennis at 6 years old when he lived in Jamaica.
Vicktor Sabonj, a teacher and assistant principal at a high school in Houston, currently teaches about 10 students in the club during his spare time.
Starting at 9 years old in Novi Sad, Serbia, Sabonj, who moved to the US in the 1990s, considers ping pong "by far the most special sport." "You can continuously improve your skill level from being a little kid until you are 100 years old."
Furthermore, "if you look into our club here, this feels like you are in the middle of the United Nations," the part-time coach marveled. "We have people from all over the world, from China, Vietnam, India, Pakistan to the Middle East, Europe and Africa."
"Honestly, we are a United Nation and table tennis is the perfect glue for everybody," he said. "Table tennis is the best way to unite people in the world, I would say."
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