Winners of the 2019 Qidong Ping Pong Club League pose for a photograph. The competition took place at Qidong Stadium on April 7. [Photo/WeChat account of Qidong Daily]

The 2019 Qidong Ping Pong Club League was held at Qidong Stadium on April 7. 

Organized by the Qidong Ping Pong Association, the competition attracted more than 150 participants divided into 16 teams.

“I started playing ping pong when I was very young. At that time ping pong wasn’t very popular in Qidong,” said Zhang Fei, the 57-year-old founder of the city’s ping pong association, “establishing a special ping pong organization has always been one of my dreams.”

Zhang established the association in 1999. At first, the organization had trouble attracting members and holding activities due to a lack of funds and interest.

Spurred on by his love for ping pong, Zhang persisted in promoting the sport throughout the city. “Now, we have more than 300 members and a full range departments, including technology, organization, and logistics departments,” Zhang said proudly.

At this year’s competition, the eldest participant was 67-year-old Peng Zeming and the youngest was 13-year-old Wu Bin.

“Qidong residents have greatly increased their ping pong skills in recent years,” said Chen Gang, a physical education teacher at Qidong Secondary Specialized School and a ping pong competition judge.

An intense ping pong match is underway. [Photo/WeChat account of Qidong Daily]

A young boy competes in the 2019 Qidong Ping Pong Club League that took place at Qidong Stadium on April 7. [Photo/WeChat account of Qidong Daily]