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David Zhuang
Courtesy of Tim Boggan “David” Zhuang, born Sept. 1, 1963, began playing table tennis when he was 8 or 9. After starting his competitive play in China at the age of 11, he attended a table tennis sports school, at 12 had become a professional player, and by 14 was training about 42 hours a…
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Lily Yip
Courtesy of Tim Boggan Shui-Ling “Lily” Yip (her maiden name) was born Aug. 22, 1963 in Canton (Guangzhou), China, the daughter of a policeman. Being a natural athlete, she was picked from hundreds of kids to possibly pursue,really pursue, her interest in table tennis, which she began to play at age 7. Turns out, however,…
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Sharlene Krizman Wilson
Courtesy of Tim Boggan Sharlene “Sherri” Krizman was one of a number of U.S. Champions that Coach John Varga’s YMCA Club in South Bend, Indiana produced in the 1940’s and ‘50’s. The Mar., 1952 Topics introduces her to us in a season where her brother Dave will be the U.S. Boys’ Under 15 Champion, and…
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Wei Wang
Courtesy of Tim Boggan 1961: Wei Wang is born Mar. 21, 1961. 1972: Wei starts playing seriously at age 11 with the help of Wang Jien (1961 World women’s semifinalist to Giu Zhonghui). Said her aunt, “Wei, I know you like to dance, but forget the Dance Group, get into table tennis,” and convinces her…
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Chen Wang
Courtesy of Tim Boggan We learn from a Chicago Tribune reporter that, “when Wang Chen was 7 years old, talent spotters came to her ‘regular’ Beijing school and tested the children. ‘They gave us three ping pong balls,’ Wang said, ‘and told us to throw them in a basket 10 feet away. It wasn’t easy—not…
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Lan Voung
Courtesy of Tim Boggan It’s Aug., 1980, 32 years ago, and the Women’s Singles winner at the Montclair, CA Open is Lan Vuong. Formerly from Vietnam, now from the Los Angeles Chinatown Club, she’s 4 and ½ feet tall, weighs 75 pounds, and is all of 11 years old. For her table tennis progress in…
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Norbert Van de Walle
Courtesy of Tim Boggan Norbert Van de Walle (born Jan., 1941 in Belgium), having arrived in the U.S. with his parents in the late 1940’s, begins playing table tennis at the Swift Playground on Chicago’s North Side. His highly regarded Coach there is Lew Krandel who’d also started Hall of Fame founder Steve Isaacson on…
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Chartchai Teekaveerakit
Courtesy of Tim Boggan In an April, 1988 article for Table Tennis Topics, Anne Scholl Boyer tells us that Chartchai Teekaveerakit (reportedly pronounced “Tee-ka-wee-la-git), “the youngest of eight children, weighed just three pounds at birth, and spent his first days of life in an incubator.” He’d soon be out of that of course…and later out of…
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John Tannehill
Courtesy of Tim Boggan Dick Evans, co-manager of the Columbus, Ohio Club during the 1960’s, tells us how, even before John Tannehill was a teenager, his father, Chet, publisher/editor of a newspaper for the Gallipolis/Pomeroy communities along the Ohio River, had started bringing him to Columbus to play. After a time, however, since home was…
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Todd Sweeris
Courtesy of Tim Boggan Todd Sweeris: you couldn’t help but notice this 10-year-old in action at the 1983 Canadian National Exhibition (CNE) tournament in Toronto—and his proud parents as well. That Dell and Connie were well-known for having won many major Singles and Doubles Championships might have been deduced, or at least suspected, from the…
US Table Tennis Hall of Fame
Recognizing athletes and contributors in the sport of Table Tennis in the United States