"Around the room, there are eight tables with 20 men and two women jammed into the basement coming to blot the world out for a few hours and compete in the weekly tournament at Brooklyn Table Tennis Club. The owner, Nison Aronov, runs the tournament from a folding table in the front, shouting to players in Russian, Farsi, and English to direct them to their next match."
"Between games, I look at the walls filled with photos and press clippings. Aranov points to a circled clue on a framed crossword puzzle from a July 2005 issue of USA Table Tennis Magazine: 'Best Lobber in U.S.?' 'That's me,' he said, with his last name handwritten into the grid with a pencil."
"Across the table is Stephen, a lanky Russian-speaker from Sheepshead Bay, with a white tuft of hair and wearing black joggers. He told me he hasn't played in 10 years. Still, he makes me pay when I hit to his forehand, bashing a winner to my back right corner."
A visitor attends a Sunday morning table tennis tournament at Brooklyn Table Tennis Club, located in a Midwood office building basement. The club, run by owner Nison Aronov, draws approximately 20 men and two women for weekly competition. Players include Stephen, a Russian-speaker returning after a decade away, and Igor, who disputes ball visibility during matches. The basement features eight tables painted in shades of blue with overhead lighting. Aronov manages the tournament multilingually in Russian, Farsi, and English. The walls display memorabilia including a 2005 USA Table Tennis Magazine crossword puzzle where Aronov is identified as the best lobber in the U.S. The tournament reflects table tennis's recent resurgence in American popular culture.
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