Iranian fans eagerly awaiting table tennis at Hangzhou Asian Games

Agency :
With less than half a month until the start of the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, Iranian table tennis fans said they were eagerly looking forward to watching the high-level matches and their favorite players during the multi-sport event.

On a hot summer’s afternoon, soon after the trees’ shadows had become tall enough to shield passersby against the scorching rays, enthusiasts began to show up at a partially enclosed area of the Mellat (Nation) Park in northern Tehran dotted with several table tennis tables.

They were from different walks of life and of diverse ages, ranging from children to the elderly, and brought with them special vivacity and joy and great energy as they entered the area, which was a good place of solitude allowing one to easily focus on losing themselves in a book a few hours earlier.

Minutes later, all the tables, which had been beds for cats’ midday slumber earlier in the afternoon, became occupied by groups of two and four, who started warming up for their upcoming table tennis games.

In a country where people are mostly fans of football or wrestling, it was surprising to see so many people being interested in table tennis.

“I have been playing table tennis continuously for close to 20 years, as I am especially interested in the sport,” said Gholamreza Moharrami, a tall and slim 64-year-old man, who said he had played a wide range of sports, from football and judo to wrestling.

“After I got older, and having undergone heart surgery, doing sports involving intense physical activities became a little bit difficult for me.

Thus, I have started playing table tennis.”