Small Ball Spins the Big Ball

My First Blog! 

Why 'Small ball spins the big ball'?

This is a quote from the Ping-Pong Diplomacy. Although this blog has nothing to do with politics, I like the idea of the small ball (table tennis) spins the big ball (the globe). I believe table tennis can breakthrough borders and connects fans from all over the world. This is also the reason for me doing the translation and making updates on this blog.

Why do I start this blog?

To keep the story simple. I am a table tennis fan. I play table tennis. I watch table tennis competitions. I love the sport!

That sounds a bit too simple and maybe too cliche, so here is the long version. I love table tennis and I usually follow matches by watching live or replay on TV and on computer. It was a personal leisure activity until one day I watched the live streaming of the Marvellous 12 on Youtube. At first, I was doing as usual, being the quiet audience who sat in front of her pc. But then, I found that people were asking for a translation of the Chinese commentary and interview in the live chat corner. Since I am bilingual (Chinese and English), it would be great if I go one step further, translating the commentary into English. I did it. Some people appreciated it. However it seems to be not enough. During the translation process, I answered questions about the competition format, scoring and schedule over and over again. The key problem is the lack of information about the Chinese Trials in English. Understandably the Chinese table tennis team did not plan to provide English information and commentary because it is just a national level competition. Despite the fact that the Marvellous 12 is a national level competition, it is a high-level playing field. The competition can be as intense as the Worlds and Olympics, if not better off. All eyes are on the dominant Chinese, even in the national level competition.It is a pity, if language barrier keeps non-Chinese speaker from enjoying the competition. Therefore I decided to start this blog.

My plan at this moment is to translate information about Chinese table tennis and post them on this blog. Of course I wish to talk about other table tennis competitions and other things BUT given this is my first blog, I dare not to set the bar too high.

Who is table tennis fan?

My table tennis obsession began in 2007 after watching the WTTC men's singles final live on TV (during the midnight). I used to play in school teams but was too nervous to compete and often upset my team members and coaches. Pretty soon as I admitted into university and decided not to train table tennis for competitions. Yet my obsession for the sport never stops. I play table tennis for leisure and follow table tennis competitions in my spare time.

I love to create compilations that encourage conversation and hopefully expose readers to old favorites and new legends and capture the sport and the athletes we love in words and share that passion with others. Whereas in my non-table tennis time, I love hiking, visiting museums, watching documentaries and following other sports but table tennis has been and will be my all-time favorite.

Do you have a list of your favorite players? I am not going to tell you mine but keep you in suspense or you will find the answer in my articles!

English is my second language, please forgive my grammatical mistakes and feel free to leave comments and ask questions.I am so thankful to the supportive readers who give great ideas and encouragements. The blog will not come this far without your support. Thanks to the faithful readers who patiently wait for my new posts, hopefully you like this blog.