Ryedale Table Tennis League

According to some, the greatest table tennis player of all time, Jan-Ove Waldner from Sweden is a true legend of the game. World Champion in 1989 and Olympic Champion in 1992, he then in 1997 took the world title again, without dropping a set, and was one of the few Europeans feared by the Chinese. Incredibly, he reached the 2004 Olympic semi-finals at the age of 39.

Jiang Jialiang from China was Known for service return, and one of only a few players to successfully defend his title as World Champion (1985 & 1987).

Istvan Jonyer was one of Hungary's greatest players and became World Champion in 1975. The Chinese feared his monster forehand loop, which was aided by a bat with an extra long handle.

Briton Desmond Douglas (born 1955) was English champion a staggering 14 times, also reaching number 3 in Europe and 7 in the world rankings. An attacking left handed player notable for his scissor jump smash, he now coaches extensively.

Stellan Bengtsson (born 1952) from Sweden, won the World Championship in 1971 at the age of just 18. He now coaches in the USA.

Zhuang Zedong (born 1940) was World Champion in three consecutive championships in 1961, 63 and 65. He was involved in the so-called Ping Pong Diplomacy between the US and China in the late sixties and seventies.

Ferenc Sido (1923-1998) was known as a fine gentleman and sportsman. The portly Hungarian was World Champion in 1953, his success being built on taking the ball early.

Anna Sipos (1908-1988) won the World Singles title in 1932 and 1933 and the World Doubles title for six consecutive years. The Hungarian changed her grip from penholder to shake hands to become the number two women's player of her era.

Marty Reisman was one of the first American table tennis hustlers, playing for money in the 1950s. He was the 1958 and 1960 U.S. Men’s Singles Champion and the 1997 U.S. Hardbat Champion at the astonishing age of 67.

Englishman Johnny Leach won the World Championship in 1949 and 1951. He was one of the first players in the UK to use sponge with his pimpled bat.

Richard Bergmann was possibly the greatest defender of all time. He fled the Nazis in Austria to take up English nationality then became the world's first professional table tennis player, touring with the Harlem Globetrotters in the 1950s, no less.