Abstract: 1949-1978 was an important turning period in table tennis development in China, when table tennis movement made breakthroughs and advancements, and eventually established its leading position in the world. This present paper, based on the "opportunity-trajectory" theory, examines the historical changes and development trajectories of Chinese table tennis movement in the 30 years since the founding of the People's Republic of China to reveal its development characteristics under the combined influence of historical changes, social development, and Chinese sports development. It is found that Chinese competitive table tennis began to make breakthroughs and advancements in the 1950s. After reaching its glory in the 1960s, it fell into a trough due to the influence of the Cultural Revolution. In the 1970s, table tennis diplomacy became a bridge between China and the world, and Chinese table tennis came onto the world stage through innovation and reform. Political orientation was the dominant feature of table tennis development in China in 1949-1978. The rapid development of table tennis in China at this stage was mainly promoted by: (1) the economy and practicality of table tennis at the time; (2) the strong guarantee of the whole nation system; (3) seizing the historical opportunities timely; (4) the strong promotion from ping-pong diplomacy among other factors.

Key words: competitive table tennis, world table tennis championships, historical development, dramatic change