Table tennis and other indoor sports experiencing huge surge in interest during shutdown

Britons are taking up games like pool and esports after being forced indoors

File photo of a table tennis match ahead of the 2018 Commonwealth Games. Getty Images

Sales of table tennis and pool tables are reportedly soaring in Britain as more people seek to find new ways to defy the sporting shutdown.

Here are sports which are enjoying an unprecedented surge in interest.

Table Tennis

Press Association reported that table tennis tables are becoming the latest focus for panic-buying, with retailers reporting hundreds of sales in one week alone. Table tennis also remains one of very few global sports still standing, with matches continuing to take place as scheduled this week in the Moscow Elite Pro League.

Pool

Pool is gaining in popularity with the annual Mosconi Cup now a TV staple, and a continued push for the sport to be accepted into the Olympics. The latest suggestion is a combined cue sports team event consisting of representatives from nine-ball pool, snooker and billiards.

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Darts

Darts is another sport that is keeping people busy. The sport has come up with a pandemic-busting prospect which entails former world champions Phil Taylor and Raymond van Barneveld facing each other on an electronic dartboard, which means neither will need to leave the comfort of their own homes.

E-sports

E-sports have been affected by the lockdown, with a number of major conventions and competitions being cancelled, or switched to purely online events. But major streaming platforms have reported a huge surge of interest, with League of Legends Championship commissioner Chris Greeley telling the Los Angeles Times: "We feel like we're weathering the storm pretty well."