The drama is inspired by the lives of table tennis players Ma Long and Zhang Jike.

Ping Pong 乒乓 is a coming-of-age sports drama that centres around the lives of professional table tennis players and their journey to becoming representatives of the sport on the world stage. Bai Jingting (The Rise of Phoenixes) and Xu Weizhou (The Evolution of Our Love) play the male leads.

Bai Jingting plays Xu Tan, an introverted young boy who initially takes up table tennis to improve his fitness. When he is about to give up the sport, he is scouted and begins to train as a professional sportsman, eventually becoming the team’s most well-rounded player.

Xu Weizhou plays the outgoing and unrestrained Yu Kenan, who is deemed by many to be a table tennis prodigy. Trained by his father, a retired table tennis player, Yu Kenan has set his sights on becoming a world champion.

Scripted and directed by Li Jia (With You) and produced by Wubai (Day & Night), the 40 episode drama began filming today.

Other table tennis dramas in the pipeline:

Go For Gold 夺金 is set in the 1990s, and dramatises the life of former world champion Liu Guoliang. Helmed by Zhang Qian (Drawing Sword) and starring Zheng Kai (not the Running Man China cast member), Bai En and Xia Xing,the drama wrapped filming in August.

Chasing the Ball 追求 – web drama starring Fan Shiqi, Bu Guanjin, Huang Shengchi and several other idols. [Teaser]