Story: Indoor sports

Table tennis demonstration match, 1949

The 1949 visit to New Zealand of international table tennis stars Victor Barna and Richard Bergmann was filmed by the government's newsreel service. Here the two men play novelty matches against locals under self-imposed handicaps. They jointly held the men's doubles world title in 1939, along with numerous other international titles. The tour attracted enthusiastic audiences and helped to popularise table tennis in this country.

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Archives New Zealand - Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga
Reference: Weekly Review 421. National Film Unit, 1949

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How to cite this page:

Mark Derby, 'Indoor sports - Table tennis', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/video/41054/table-tennis-demonstration-match-1949 (accessed 20 April 2024)

Story by Mark Derby, published 5 Sep 2013, updated 1 Jun 2016