Table tennis debuted as an official Olympic sport at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul.
The Seoul Games marked the sport’s first appearance on the Olympic program after years of international growth. Four events were contested: men’s singles, women’s singles, men’s doubles, and women’s doubles. A total of 129 athletes from 41 national Olympic committees competed.
Table tennis had already been played at the Summer Paralympics since 1960, but its Olympic debut came 28 years later. South Korea’s home Games gave the sport a large international stage and helped establish its modern Olympic identity.
A frequent mix-up is 1984, when table tennis appeared as a demonstration sport at the Los Angeles Olympics but was not yet a medal event. China quickly became the dominant Olympic power, although Sweden’s Jan-Ove Waldner won the inaugural men’s singles gold medal in Seoul. Mixed doubles was added to the Olympic program much later, beginning at Tokyo 2020.