The best in their field

Gone are the sleek, lightweight paddles of traditional table tennis tournaments.

In this one-of-a-kind amateur match, everyday household items, including wooden mallets, spatulas, soup ladles and even dustpans, are used instead, turning the sport into a hilarious, chaotic spectacle requiring either great skill, or a lot of luck, that is played out in a crowded public square.

For Liang Haiying, a participant in his fifties from Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, this feels just like old times.

"Many people of my generation grew up playing table tennis on cement tabletops. We never had proper paddles, instead, we used textbooks, bricks, roof tiles or even flip-flops," she said.

It was a similar scene at the recently concluded National Village Table Tennis Tournament, held in Lingwu, Ningxia Hui autonomous region, from July 29 to Aug 1.

The event brought together over 300 table tennis enthusiasts from rural areas in Ningxia, as well as those in the provinces of Jiangsu, Hainan, Shanxi and Anhui.

Most of them work in the agricultural sector.

Xu Yuexia, a Lingwu native who took up table tennis after retirement just two years ago, was competing in the women's singles.

Her son, Yan Bolin, a sophomore at Southwest Jiaotong University, served as her on-court coach and practice partner.

"I never imagined my mom, a beginner, could play in a national-level tournament like this," said Yan, who learned the sport at a very young age and is now a member of his university's table tennis team.

"I'm really glad she has this hobby after retirement. It allows her to make so many friends and stay healthy."

Although Xu didn't advance past the group stage, she still enjoyed playing and exchanging skills with fellow enthusiasts from different places on spare tables at the Lingwu Gymnasium, where the competition was hosted.

Pan Weihua, an employee at a rural commercial bank in Liucheng county in Guangxi, found himself becoming the man to beat — seeing off challengers one after another.

"It might be my playing style. It's pretty different from the mainstream style. Maybe they don't see it often, so losing to me leaves them a bit frustrated," he explained.

He started playing in 2018 and adopted the long-pimple rubber technique, constantly studying and refining his skills through online tutorial videos.

Normally, long-pimple rubber gameplay features deceptive reverse spin, unpredictable ball trajectories and disruptive rhythms that consistently break an opponent's conventional hitting instincts and timing.

In 2019, he won first place in a municipal-level men's singles competition. His unconventional style made him a local sensation, earning him the nickname "the weird-handed player".

"Grassroots table tennis tournaments are booming right now. Outside of work, I'm often representing my employer in various competitions, which helps me strike a better balance between work and life," he added.

For Chen Jing, a player in her fifties from Luodou Farm in Wenchang, Hainan province, it was the booming grassroots table tennis matches that turned the sport into a lasting passion.

"We used to play outdoors in the park and make bets with our playing partners, and whoever lost had to buy drinks for the winner and the referee," she recalled.

She noticed that more and more people in her area have taken up table tennis. The farm has even established a table tennis club with over 100 members who play daily on its indoor tables.

"After playing, we go and sing karaoke together. We all share the same passion, and it's just a pure joy to hang out together," Chen said.

Her teammate, Fu Zhimin, is a farmer who grows betel nuts and watermelons and raises chickens in Wenchang. He frequently travels to other cities to compete in table tennis tournaments and has even sparred with some of the country's elite players.

"This hobby has helped me make friends from all over the country and has enriched my life in ways I never expected," Fu said. He proudly scrolled through his phone to show photos of himself with legendary coach Zhang Xielin and world champion Liang Geliang.

During the tournament, Wang Liqin, chairman of the Chinese Table Tennis Association (CTTA), and world champion Chang Chenchen also visited Wutongshu town in Lingwu to play and interact with local villagers.

Wang noted that the CTTA and the China Farmer Physical Culture Association jointly launched the village table tennis tournament with the aim of encouraging those in the agricultural sector to actively participate in physical exercise and adopt healthier lifestyles.

The CTTA is leveraging its professional expertise in event organization to contribute to rural revitalization efforts.

In addition to the competitions, the event hosted a pop-up marketplace featuring local agricultural products and traditional regional cuisine, alongside interactive table tennis robot sessions and teqball displays.

These initiatives reflect a strategic effort to leverage sporting events as a driver for agricultural promotion and tourism development.

xingwen@chinadaily.com.cn