Day 128: Runner Up

I remember when my parents bought me my first ping pong table. My friends and I would play on it for hours, perfecting my repertoire of serves, spins, and slams. For a while I was getting very competitive at ping pong and it soon became a most enjoyable sport (I consider it a sport...some of you may disagree). Then college came, then medical school, then marriage, then...my paddle was forced into retirement! Until I came to Afghanistan...


Apparently, ping pong is pretty big on the base. There is always someone playing on the ping pong table, and the competition is always intense. What makes it fun is the variety of styles that come as result of players coming from different countries of origin including South Africa, Great Britain, Kosovo, Ukraine, and India.


Last night, we had a Camp Clark ping pong tournament. It was a great time! I must admit, it got my competitive juices flowing. Not to toot my own horn, but I thought I had a solid chance of winning, especially after the reigning champion was eliminated in the first round. Here is the first round matchup between Mentor, the reigning champ (from Kosovo) and Max (from Ukraine).


As you can see, I didn't win, but I definitely gave the champ a run for his money (score was 18 to 21). Here is a picture of the new Camp Clark Table Tennis Champion and his sidekicks. Don't worry Max, I'll get you next time!