Ruth Hua looks barely 5 feet tall, but she can really move.
On Tuesday night at the J.A. Henry YMCA on Brainerd Road, Hua, 70, is playing a mean game of table tennis against Tim Neuendorf, 20. She’s tiny, with a shock of frizzy black hair. He’s skinny, redheaded and alabaster pale. They’re quite the match.
Hua and Neuendorf whack the ball (regulation 40 mm diameter) back and forth. He hits a shot that bounces wide of the table. It looks like an unreachable ball, but she dives and returns it.
“She’s giving me a good fight,” said Neuendorf of his opponent.
The two are members of the Chattanooga Table Tennis Club. The multinational group ranges from children to an octogenarian. Several of the members work for Volkswagen.