The ITTF and Olympic recognition of table tennis: from pure amateurism to the Asian markets (1926–1988)

ABSTRACT Table tennis was first played as an Olympic sport at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul. Yet its official body, the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF), had not always sought Olympic recognition. Founded in 1926, the ITTF was in conflict with the Olympic movement in its early years. While the democratised and apolitical vision of table tennis did not appear to be fundamentally at odds with Olympic values, amateurism was an obstacle for the federation. As a result, only after 50 years, in 1977, did the ITTF finally bow to the principles of the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Thereafter, Olympic recognition became a major symbolic and economic pillar of the ITTF’s development strategy. The aims of the two institutions became aligned as the popularity of table tennis internationally, particularly in Asia, contributed to the goal of globalising the Olympics. This rapprochement with Asian markets accelerated under the IOC presidency of Juan Antonio Samaranch from 1981, leading to the inclusion of the discipline in the 1988 Seoul Olympic Games.