2012 London to London

Victor Barna (Hungary)
Crowned Men’s Singles
World Champion for the fifth
time
London, the Home of Table Tennis
Photo: ETTA Archives
By 1935 the membership of the International
Table Tennis Federation had
more than doubled since its foundation
in 1926 and this was reflected by a substantial
increase in the numbers competing
at the World Championships.
New events had been added - in 1928
women’s doubles and in 1933 a women’s
team competition for the Corbillon
Cup. The numbers of players in individual
events had been raised to 128 in the
men’s singles and 64 in all other events.
New standards of organisation and presentation
had been set by subsequent
championships in Stockholm, Budapest,
Berlin, Prague, Baden and Paris. It
was clear that the 1935 Championships
would be a much more demanding project
than the inaugural one had been.
Initially the task was to find a playing
hall. There was at that time no arena
in London set up for the playing of
indoor sports such as table tennis and it
would almost certainly be necessary to
provide for the temporary installation
of suitable flooring and lighting.
There were several buildings in which
this could be done but most of them
were not designed to accommodate
large numbers of spectators and it was
decided eventually to use two venues.
Marie Kettnerova
(Czechoslovakia)
World Champion in 1934,
title retained in 1935
Photo: ETTA Archives
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