Do you fancy a game of whiff-whaff? How about pim-pam?
Never heard of them?

Well, these were both early names for the game that has come to be known as table tennis or ping-pong around the world.

It is a sport China has largely dominated since the middle of the last century, and with the Beijing Olympics just around the corner（ 近在咫尺，临近） it might not be far-fetched（ 异想天开的） to expect yet another clean sweep（ 横扫） for Chinese athletes in the event.

But what is the history of the game? First we have to rewind the clock（  退回到） to Victorian-era （ 维多利亚时代）Britain, where lawn tennis（ 草地网球） was just starting to catch on（ 追赶）.

It was soon proving so popular that eager players wanted to play indoors as well as outdoors, and began improvising with makeshift （ 临时凑合的）household equipment such as using corks（ 软木瓶塞） from wine bottles as balls and empty cigar boxes as bats（ 球拍 ）.

Game manufacturers quickly cottoned on（ 明白，了解） to the potential of indoor table tennis as a commercial product and began producing ready-made（  现成的） sets in the late 19th century.

The names of many early products, such as ping-pong, whiff-whaff and pom-pom, mimicked（ 模仿） the sound of a bat hitting a ball.

Ping-pong was introduced to China in the early years of the 20th century, and gradually became a national sport; loved and played by millions.

Chinese players such as Liu Guoliang have pioneered（ 先驱） techniques and styles of gripping the bat, which helped them to great international sporting success.

The game has even played a role in international politics when a group of American table tennis players were invited to China in 1971 to play and train with Chinese athletes.

The move signalled（ 发出信号，预示） a renewal of ties（ 恢复关系） between China and the US during an era of what became called ‘ping-pong diplomacy（ 外交）’.

Now, as Beijing 2008 approaches, TV ratings（ 电视收视率） experts anticipate（ 预期） that alongside the men’s 110m hurdles and women’s volleyball, table tennis will be the most-watched Olympic event in China.

With the top five women and top four men in official rankings（ 官方排位）, it is highly possible that once again we will see Chinese players battling it out amongst themselves for the top spots.