Resources: Ping Pong
Eight players with 703 years between them, compete in the World over 80's Table Tennis Championships in Inner Mongolia, guiding us through the extraordinary world of Veteran sports.
With intimate and candid portraits of life back home Ping Pong explores the hope, regret and immediacy of growing old.
Terry (81) having been given a week to live, gets in sight of winning gold. Inge (89) has used table tennis to train her way out of the dementia ward she committed herself to. Australian legend Dorothy deLow is 100, and finds herself a mega celebrity in this rarefied world and Texan Lisa Modlich, a new-comer at 85 years old, is determined to do whatever it takes to win her first gold. This film is as much about the tenacity of the human spirit as it is a meditation on mortality.
Lesson plans
Video Clips
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Clip: 1. Les prepares for China
Les D'arcy prepares for the World Table Tennis Championships. -
Clip: 2. Les beats Rune
Les D'Arcy beats Rune Forsberg of Sweden. We hear a history of Les from his family. -
Clip: 3. Sun prepares for the competition
Sun Lao from China gets ready to face his opponents. -
Clip: 4. Sun loses his game
Sun crashes out of the competition.
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Clip: 5. Terry & Dorothy
We hear more about two of the competition's older players.
