I never developed a taste for ping pong, but my late brother-in-law did. He opened a bar dedicated to bar and board games, including space for two federation grade tables to host tournaments. He named the competitions "Paddle Royale" with a 5 dollar entry fee- winner took all. His last tournament was December 14, 2022. Unfortunately, his heart gave out a few days later, when we expected to see him on a family holiday trip to Spain.
Danny would have enjoyed watching the matches. I was surprised to see the players toss the 729 brand ping pong ball super high like a tennis player might do, but then serve the ball so close to their face and table to obscure their plan of attack. Opponents would rally, some grunting, others quietly returning the ball. The rituals continued. Some players danced on their toes and some stomped their front foot with alacrity while honing in. Some kissed their paddles, while others flattened their palms on the table and always near the net between serves. The crowd behaved somewhat like tennis fans do, cheering and chanting only between sets - though several bored children in front of us scrolled TikTok videos at full volume.
21-year-old Tomokazu Harimoto of Japan took gold in the men's singles, and his 16-year-old sister Miwa took silver in women's, losing to a 23-year old North Korean player named Kim Kum Yong. A Google search revealed little about the DPRK athlete except that she might have gotten into trouble after participating in a selfie with South Korean players at the Olympics in Paris. Chillingly, according to the Guardian, North Korean players undergo a month-long “ideological scrubbing” procedure for players who have been exposed to life outside the communist state. I wonder if she and the rest of the DPRK crew would have to deal with that again after a week in Astana? That is a colder reality than Kazakh winter.
21-year-old Tomokazu Harimoto of Japan took gold in the men's singles, and his 16-year-old sister Miwa took silver in women's, losing to a 23-year old North Korean player named Kim Kum Yong. A Google search revealed little about the DPRK athlete except that she might have gotten into trouble after participating in a selfie with South Korean players at the Olympics in Paris. Chillingly, according to the Guardian, North Korean players undergo a month-long “ideological scrubbing” procedure for players who have been exposed to life outside the communist state. I wonder if she and the rest of the DPRK crew would have to deal with that again after a week in Astana? That is a colder reality than Kazakh winter.
 |
| Ping Pong Tourney at Prime Tie Springfield MO, Dec 2022 |
 |
| A careful serve. |
 |
| Another careful serve. |
 |
| She knew the moment she won - credit Mark |
 |
| Watching his teammate - credit Mark. |
 |
| Shirtless strut - credit Mark |
 |
| Always serving near the face - credit Mark |
 |
| Translating Japanese using a camera long lens and Google. |
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.