Seoul hosted table tennis at the first Olympic Games to include the sport.
Table tennis made its Olympic debut at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea. The competition was held at the Seoul National University Gymnasium and featured men’s and women’s singles and doubles events.
South Korea’s Yoo Nam-kyu won the first men’s singles gold medal, while China’s Chen Jing won the first women’s singles gold medal. The host nation also performed strongly in the inaugural Olympic table tennis program, winning medals in several events.
Table tennis had appeared as a demonstration sport at earlier Olympic Games, including Seoul’s 1984 Olympics, but demonstration events did not count as official medal competitions. The 1988 Games therefore mark the recognized Olympic debut. Doubles remained an Olympic event through the 2004 Athens Games, before being replaced by team events at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.