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A humble void deck at Block 3 in Queens Road came alive with high-flying ping pong action on July 29, 2023.
The group of table tennis enthusiasts were having a smashing good time at a friendly tournament to mark the second anniversary of the Fa Ren Void Deck Table Tennis Community.
Members of Fa Ren Void Deck Table Tennis Community who took part in the group’s second anniversary tournament at Block 3 Queens Road on July 29. ST PHOTO: EUGENE TAN
Fa Ren, a combination of "Farrer" and "People of the Way"
Formed in May 2021 during the Covid-19 pandemic, its members call themselves Fa Ren – a play on “Farrer” and “People of the Way” of the game.
Fa Ren has 55 members, aged 10 to 79, with a wide range of nationalities including Malaysians, Japanese, Indians, French and Belgian.
The group began when its members started playing at the table tennis table that they found at the void deck. As their numbers grew, they added another table under the same block.
Primary 4 pupil Lim Sze Rui in action at Fa Ren’s second anniversary tournament at Block 3 Queen‘s Road on July 29. ST PHOTO: EUGENE TAN
Members of the Fa Ren group
Among them is 10-year-old Lim Sze Rui, who lives in the block – a mean hand with the bat.
The Primary 4 pupil won the first game, but his mother, Madam Lu Yan, said it was because the adult opponents “were too generous”.
Madam Lu, a 40-year-old business manager, told The Straits Times: “He used to be a shy and quiet boy who just reads books. Table tennis has helped him keep fit, and it’s good for character building too.”
Former national table tennis player Ho Kee Keng, who founded Fa Ren with a few friends, said: “Table tennis is not just about staying fit and healthy, but also a wonderful way to make friends and create community, and learn about values like sports etiquette, sportsmanship and taking care of one another.”
It is also about lifelong learning and self-discovery, added Mr Ho, who is in his 40s and works in the logistics industry.
Playwright and writer Tan Tarn How, a founding member, said it is also about revitalising the void deck as a platform for intergenerational interaction and bonding.
Japanese expatriate Chikako Anahara travels from Tiong Bahru to Queens Road to play with members of Fa Ren occasionally. ST PHOTO: EUGENE TAN
Bringing back the kampung spirit
“It’s to build friendship and bond between neighbours from HDB and nearby private estates, between generations, ethnic groups, nationalities and different skill levels,” the 62-year-old said. “We are building a community, one that is mutually supportive and nurturing, bringing life to a void deck with old-style kampung spirit.”
Fa Ren is one of the many ground-up table tennis community groups in Singapore’s void decks. Other active groups are those at Sims Place, 813 Yishun Ring Road, 674 Yishun Avenue 4, 656 Woodlands Ring Road, 473 Choa Chu Kang Avenue 3 and 156 Hougang Street 11.
The “Singapore Table Tennis Ping-Pong Kampong” Facebook group, created a year ago, has about 700 members.
Over 150 table tennis tables in 100 HDB void decks
IT professional Henry Ong, 44, who founded Sims City Ping Pong Club at Sims Place, reckons there are over 150 table tennis tables in about 100 void decks.
Known cheekily as the “CEO”, or “Chief Exercise Officer”, by many, Mr Ong created his thriving table tennis community at 52 Sims Place in December 2020.
Today, the group has one table there and four tables at 63 Sims Place. It has close to 500 players – from primary school children to veterans in their 70s. Most live nearby, though some travel from as far as Yishun, Choa Chu Kang and Tampines.
“Our motto is to eat, sleep, play table tennis, then repeat,” Mr Ong quipped.
As more players join Mr Ong, they are grouped into different zones based on their residential locations. There are now about 280 members in the East, 270 in the North and Central, 190 in the West and 330 in North-East.
The group uses chat groups and a Rec Club app to arrange playing time slots for players. It also welcomes walk-ins, and members introduce their friends to participate.
Friendly matches and various tournaments
The skilled ones among them train the beginners. The group also sends teams to various tournaments or organises friendly matches at its venues.
There are ground rules to maintain harmony, such as keeping their volume low to minimise disturbance to neighbours and ensuring common amenities like the tables are in good condition.
Like the members at Sims City Ping Pong Club, most table tennis enthusiasts do not stick to one team and often play with other teams and at different locations, such as Japanese expatriate Chikako Anahara, who travels from Tiong Bahru to Queens Road to play with members of Fa Ren occasionally.
“It’s not just about table tennis. After the game, we have lunch together. I enjoy the bonding,” said the housewife.
Ms Chika also plays at Bishan and Hougang.
Indian national Dilipsing Rajput, a 39-year-old IT professional from Sengkang, was drawn to Fa Ren’s innovative tournaments, such as “Cinderella Ball”, where players have to dress up, or “Game of Wrong Hands”, where they play with the hand they do not usually use.
He joined Fa Ren about 1½ years ago, and ventures to Sims Place, Tampines and Jurong for more ping pong camaraderie.
“It’s such a big table tennis community here, with so many groups, but it seems like everyone knows each other,” he said.
In June, he helped Fa Ren organise a table tennis tournament in Rajkot, India, to spread the joy of the sport.
Mr Dilipsing Rajput joined Fa Ren about 1½ years ago. ST PHOTO: EUGENE TAN
Dealing with challenges such as dim lighting and flooding
There are challenges to playing at void decks, though.
Dr Lo Wai Kit, 63, a Fa Ren founding member who lives across the road from Block 3 in Queens Road, said players often have to deal with sub-standard tables, dim lighting and poor drainage and flooding when it rains.
While the group said that its MP, Mr Christopher de Souza, has been supportive, it hopes the town council can help provide good quality tables and help upgrade the void decks by installing wind and rain blockers.
Mr Henry Ong (with arms on the table) with some ping pong players at 63 Sims Place, one of the many ground-up void deck table tennis groups in Singapore. PHOTO: COURTESY OF HENRY ONG
Ping pong outreach
The ping pong groups serve the larger community too.
In 2022, the Tsao Foundation gave Fa Ren funding of $10,000 to extend its social outreach.
Fa Ren awarded four table tennis “scholarships” to residents of Blocks 3 and 4 Queens Road to learn and play with its members.
In the last two years, the group also donated bats, nets and balls to a school run by a charity and a children’s home in Sangkhlaburi, Thailand, and to a charity in Karimun island in Riau, Indonesia.
Mr Ong’s group has collaborated with Methodist Welfare Services’ senior activity centres and non-profit organisation Table Tennis For Good, to guide senior citizens to play table tennis.
Said Mr Ong: “The main challenge is to juggle my hobby with family and work commitments. However, the exercise and friendship are simply awesome!”
Those interested in joining Fa Ren can visit farencommunity.wordpress.com.
Mr Ong is also hosting the My Aljunied Free Play Table Tennis programme on Sunday, Aug 6, from 2pm to 3.30pm at Block 63 Sims Place, as part of the My Community Festival. More details on mycommunityfestival.sg.
This article was first published in The Straits Times.