Ping Pong in the Primary School Years

Table tennis is also known as ping pong in Chinese. It is the game I started to play when I was at Standard 4 in Pai Teik Chinese Primary School, Nibong Tebal, in the year 1960. Mr. Choo, a new teacher was transferred to my school at the beginning of the year. He was very skilful in the game. He played offensive style. At that time most of the teachers were from outstations and they were staying in the school quarters. Every evening they passed their time playing various games among themselves or with the pupils. Mr Choo took the initiative to promote table tennis game. With the help of his colleagues and financial aids from school or school board, he managed to put up not less than 10 units of ping pong tables along the passage ways connecting the school buildings. He and some other teachers helped the school to organize its maiden inter-class table tennis competition for pupils of standard 4 to standard 6. This helped to arouse the interest of the pupils towards the game. Before the competition started, the pupils practiced the game earnestly. Many would save up their pocket money to buy table tennis equipments like bat, ping pong balls and net, to save the trouble of having to borrow them from the school. The most popular brands at that time were Double Happiness from China and Butterfly from Japan. With around $10 or so, if I am not mistaken, one would be able to acquire a quality bat or racket. A ping pong ball at that time was sold at the price of around twenty cents or so.

As ping pong game fever built- up day by day, all the ping pong tables in the school would be fully occupied during the recess time and in the afternoon. Booking of table was done conventionally by placing a table tennis bat on a table before recess time. A table with a bat placed on it was considered booked by an unidentified pupil. Usually, a pupil would try to get the permission from the class teacher pretending to go to toilet and on the way to the toilet; he would secretly make a detour to place a ping pong bat on a ping pong table. Once a bat was placed on a table, the table was considered safely booked by the owner of the bat and others would have no claim over it during recess time. Surprisingly, this unofficial ruling worked in those days without much argument among the individuals and table tennis bats reported missing was seldom heard of.

Due to overwhelming interest in the ping pong game, the school emerged as the state champion in the Penang State Primary Schools Table Tennis Championship within a short span of one year. The school was able to retain the title for the subsequent year. Although I spent quite a lot of time playing the game, I was not selected into the school team as I was only a ‘second division player’. It could be that I did not have the gifted talent and skills as my other classmates.
Now, as a retiree, I take up the game once again to keep my body and mind fully alert and occupied. To show that I am really serious and keen in the game, I bought a Butterfly branded blade and rubber in the hope that ‘my not-so-good’ skill will be complemented and supplemented with a quality bat. Will it? Have to wait and see.