Thailand experienced a craze for table tennis that peaked out in 1985 and has been declining ever since, he said.

Tangpong recently won $125 at the 80 person Gateway Invitational table tennis tournament in St. Louis.

He ranked first in the under 2,000 point rank division for which he received $100. A 3rd place finish for the 2,150 and under division won him $25, he said.

Advertisement

The U.S. champion Jim Butler is ranked above 2,500, Tanpong said. The avid tennis table player is ranked in the 1,700 range, he said.

He said he does not want to be the U.S. champion but enjoys playing and teaching others how to play well.

My friend told me there is too much competition to be the U.S. champion, Tangpong said.

The Keyshot ST has been his paddle of choice for the last three years, he said.

I change the rubber on the paddle every two or three months depending on how much I play, Tangpong said.

Tangpong came over from Thailand by himself hoping to get into the Masters of Business Administration program at SIUC. He is a 1994 chemical engineering graduate from Prince of Songkla University in Thailand. He was the president of the Prince of Songkla table tennis club president in 1992-93.