A double hit of happiness

A DHS table used at the London Olympics. Photo provided to Shanghai Star

This venerable sports brand has been the choice of Chinese table tennis champions from its legendary beginnings. Wang Ying takes up a paddle.

In 1959, former Chinese premier Zhou Enlai hailed two events as "double happiness": the 10th anniversary of the People's Republic of China and China's Rong Guotuan winning the ping-pong world championship for the first time. Thus the phrase "double happiness" became the brand name for China's world renowned table tennis equipment maker.

Hongshuangxi, or Double Happiness (DHS), was launched in Shanghai to commemorate the two joyful events of 1959. By 1961, when China held its first world table tennis championship in Beijing, all the equipment used by Chinese players were of the DHS brand, and the brand rose to fame after China claimed three titles for the men's singles, women's singles and men's team games.

Since then, DHS has built its dominance in the sport together with China's outstanding table tennis talents, and has been used by the national table tennis team for decades.

In the 1980s, foreign sports brands started to enter China, posing a threat to DHS' market share. In addition, the once premium brand found itself less popular than before because national players complained its products were lagging behind their ever-developing skills.