Largest Table Tennis playing crowd in Europe/USA

abhay · Jul 10, 2013

Hi guys,
I am planning to pursue my graduation studies either in USA or Europe. If things go according to the plan, i might be spending at least 4 years.

I just wanted to know which place you think has really good number of people playing TT in Europe and USA. This would help me select the Universities accordingly !

Thanks
Abhay

T!Christian · Jul 10, 2013

There are far more (good and professional) players in Europe for sure!
What universities do you think about?

or at least which countrys?

abhay · Jul 10, 2013

Basically my plan is to pursue my doctorate

I will be applying to many universities , some them which are in my mind are

1. Austria - TU Wien, University of Innsbruck,
2. Germany - many universities
3. Switzerland - University of Lugano
4. Sweden

This is just an initial list

Which country in Europe is Table Tennis most popular?

T!Christian · Jul 11, 2013

From these you have listed i would go with Germany.
Switzerland is rather small (and expensive) and doesnt have many players.
Sweden has now good youth programmes and I am sure you will find some places to play!

Austria also has many tt-players although on the first look you won't notice

If you will enter at TU Wien (a very good university) just tell me. I live in Vienna and will guide you through.
We can play together in a club where i have the keys so we can play as much and whenever we want

if you plan to stay longer you can even play league in my club or even in my team

you should click on my signature, if you haven't heard of Piing of Power, i am one of these guys, i'm sure we would have a lot of fun!

sebas-aguirre · Jul 11, 2013

T!Christian said:
From these you have listed i would go with Germany.
Switzerland is rather small (and expensive) and doesnt have many players.
Sweden has now good youth programmes and I am sure you will find some places to play!

Austria also has many tt-players although on the first look you won't notice
If you will enter at TU Wien (a very good university) just tell me. I live in Vienna and will guide you through.
We can play together in a club where i have the keys so we can play as much and whenever we want if you plan to stay longer you can even play league in my club or even in my team

you should click on my signature, if you haven't heard of Piing of Power, i am one of these guys, i'm sure we would have a lot of fun!

in austria you have the schlager academy, have you ever trained there?

abhay · Jul 11, 2013

T!Christian said:
From these you have listed i would go with Germany.
Switzerland is rather small (and expensive) and doesnt have many players.
Sweden has now good youth programmes and I am sure you will find some places to play!

Austria also has many tt-players although on the first look you won't notice
If you will enter at TU Wien (a very good university) just tell me. I live in Vienna and will guide you through.
We can play together in a club where i have the keys so we can play as much and whenever we want if you plan to stay longer you can even play league in my club or even in my team

you should click on my signature, if you haven't heard of Piing of Power, i am one of these guys, i'm sure we would have a lot of fun!

Thanks Christian

Appreciate a lot! We sure will have lot of fun

I have liked your facebook page and subscribed to your channel in youtube

Good luck with that !

ZJK · Jul 11, 2013

In Germany every big and small city has a table tennis club where you can play, in fact nearly every village has one.
Do you want to study in a city with a professional club in the 1st league? or with a big club with good and enough (not professional) players?

dici · Jul 11, 2013

In US, the only more crowd area probably I would suggest is LA or surrounding area. However, be in mind that you might require to drive for 1hrs to get to the place >.>

Else, we might need those who in US now to answer.

abhay · Jul 11, 2013

ZJK said:
In Germany every big and small city has a table tennis club where you can play, in fact nearly every village has one.
Do you want to study in a city with a professional club in the 1st league? or with a big club with good and enough (not professional) players?

I would like to start below and practice eventually making my way up. So, yes i would like to play in a professional club in the 1st league if not with a big club.

How are the admission/entry to any of the clubs(be it big or small ) in Germany made? What is the mode of selection , basically?

ZJK · Jul 11, 2013

Every city/village has one (or more) gyms for schools and they use it in the morning/afternoon.
In the evening (or late afternoon) they are free for different kind of sports e.g. table tennis. Most table tennis clubs have training 2-3 times a week where everyone from the club meets and they play together. At the beginning you can just go to the training and check if you like the club. If you want to train regularly or would like to compete in a league (games are at the weekend) you have to pay a fee (normally around 60€ per year) and than you are member of the club.

Of course professional players (and i think also players from 2nd league but I'm not sure) don't train together with you they have separate training times & places.

T!Christian · Jul 12, 2013

When will you know what uni go to ?

WiWa · Jul 12, 2013

I'd say France (Paris) has many TT fanatics too, considering the crowds at World Cup and WTTC

abhay · Jul 13, 2013

T!Christian said:
When will you know what uni go to ?

It generally takes a lot of time may be 2 - 3 months ! I am applying to various universities based on the vacancies.

How are things in other european countries like Netherlands, Denmark, Belgium ?

Vega · Jul 14, 2013

Most (central) European countrys have quite a good TT-Base. At least it is much better than e.g. in the US. But the largest (and probably best) ist by far in Germany, then followed by France. Netherlands, Belgium, etc. of course also have many clubs and quite some good players. And don't forget that you can't compare it to what you know from India.

I don't know your playing level, but in general it is so much more higher in Germany/Europe than in India. Forget to play in 1st, 2nd or 3rd League in Germany if you are not among the couple of best Players in India.

E.g. in Aachen (where I was rsponsible for the TT University sports) there are quite a lot of students coming from India. And many think that they are good in TT unless they learn the truth.. Sorry if it sounds harsh and I don't want to screw anybody, but among all the students I have met there wasn't anybody able to make it higher than 4th or 5th lowest league in germany (of 12-14 leagues, depending which region you are in and if they have more or less urban leagues).

And apart from all that I wouldn't choose your University according to the TT sorrounding unless you're willing and capable of getting quite some money through playing (and that probably won't be the case..)
But if you decide for Germany perhaps I can get you some hints or contacts cause I know quite a lot of people from my time in University sports

abhay · Jul 16, 2013

Vega said:
Most (central) European countrys have quite a good TT-Base. At least it is much better than e.g. in the US. But the largest (and probably best) ist by far in Germany, then followed by France. Netherlands, Belgium, etc. of course also have many clubs and quite some good players. And don't forget that you can't compare it to what you know from India. I don't know your playing level, but in general it is so much more higher in Germany/Europe than in India. Forget to play in 1st, 2nd or 3rd League in Germany if you are not among the couple of best Players in India.
E.g. in Aachen (where I was rsponsible for the TT University sports) there are quite a lot of students coming from India. And many think that they are good in TT unless they learn the truth.. Sorry if it sounds harsh and I don't want to screw anybody, but among all the students I have met there wasn't anybody able to make it higher than 4th or 5th lowest league in germany (of 12-14 leagues, depending which region you are in and if they have more or less urban leagues).

And apart from all that I wouldn't choose your University according to the TT sorrounding unless you're willing and capable of getting quite some money through playing (and that probably won't be the case..)
But if you decide for Germany perhaps I can get you some hints or contacts cause I know quite a lot of people from my time in University sports

Thanks Vega for the reply

I do understand the standard between Indian and German players and I for one is certainly not even close to any of the two. I am more of an average player

What i am looking for during my stay in Europe is continuous training on a daily basis with assistance of a coach, so just wanted to get a picture regarding this.

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