Table Tennis
Did you see the movie Balls of Fury? What about Forrest Gump or Knocked Up? Those films all have one thing in common: Ping-pong! But did you know that Olympic ping-pong, also called “table tennis,” was once a highly political sport, since the U.S., Russia, and China all had top players? And did you know that some of the great players in the sport were Jewish? We’re going to serve up some quiz questions about them— see if you can smash them back over the net!
1. Leah Thall-Neuberger was considered the best woman ping-pong player— and third best player of all— in the world! On her 1971 trip overseas, she met with Premier Chou En-lai and helped re-start American diplomacy with: a. China b. Russia c. South Africa d. Egypt
2. Thanks to England’s Ivor Montagu, ping-pong is an international sport! He started the International Table Tennis Federation in 1926 with 4 countries. When he retired as president 41 years later, the ITTF had this many countries as members: a. 60 b. 100 c. 120 d. 160
3. . Ivor called Hungary’s Victor Barna "the greatest table tennis player who ever lived." Victor won 23 World Champion gold medals! Amazingly, he even won a world doubles title after a car crash injured his right: a. leg b. arm c. ear d. nostril
4. Together, Victor and his friend Miklos Szabados won an incredible six World Doubles Championships! And in 1931, Miklos won the world singles, doubles, mixed doubles, and team events. He got his first ping-pong set for his: a. good grades b. 16th birthday c. bar mitzvah d. high school graduation
5. Another one of Viktor’s doubles partners was Anna Sipos. Together, they won the World Mixed Doubles twice. But with a woman named Maria Mednyansky, she won that title __ years in a row! a. 3 b. 4 c. 5 d. 6
6. Also from Hungary, Laszlo Bellak won championships there, in the US and England. He popularized the game by goofing around while playing, so they called him the ____ Prince of Table Tennis! a. Crown b. Clown c. Frown d. Upside-down
7. Austrian Richard Bergmann won his first World Doubles title with Victor. He later became the first table-tennis player ever to become professional. But first, he was the youngest World Singles Champion ever, when he was only: a. 17 b. 19 c. 21 d. 23
8. Czechoslovakia’s Traute Kleinova was a member of the women’s World Champion team in 1935 and ’36 and a winner of the mixed doubles title in ’36. Also in those years, she belonged to the Jewish sports club in her town, called— of course— the ____ Club: a. Jewish Sports b. Israel c. Maccabi d. Zionist
9. Considered the best woman player ever, Romanian Angelica Rozneau learned to play when she was sick at home at age 8. She won her nation’s women’s championship at 15. And at 29, she started winning world championships, which she did for __ years in a row! a. 3 b. 4 c. 5 d. 6
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