Playing PingPong with a "Marshmallow"?
Arnold to battle ping-pong champion!
Reported By: TheARNOLDFANS.com Staff
Monday, August 7, 2006

Schwarzenegger will play a game of table tennis with a champion ping-pong champion who said he would only donate to the governor's re-election campaign if he agreed to a match.

The odds appear to be stacked against the governor. Byng Forsberg is a champion ping-pong player in the 75 and over category, having won nearly ever table tennis trophy available to the senior set.

Forsberg, who is 80 years old and once owned a pest control company, is a fan of the governor. But since he is retired, he had to think twice before responding to the fundraising letter he received from Schwarzenegger's campaign in May.

So, he wrote back, saying that he would be happy to donate, as long as the governor agreed to play him. Forsberg didn't hear back until a reporter for the Stockton Record inquired about Fosberg's letter this week. The idea made it to the governor, who said yes.

Matt David, a spokesman for Schwarzenegger's re-election campaign, said the governor is well versed in the game, having played it with his children at home. Ping-pong also is a feature at the Arnold Classic athletic festival the governor attends in Ohio each year.

Forsberg says the governor better be ready. "He should practice a bit," he said. "It'd be nice to have the ball go back and forth a few times."

Forsberg picked up ping-pong in 1947 while he was recuperating from a car accident at a veterans hospital. He has played competitively since 1950 and is a member of the Sports Hall of Fame in his hometown of Lodi, which is about 35 miles south of Sacramento. He said he is not intimidated at the thought of playing the 59-year-old Schwarzenegger, whose competitive drive is legendary.

"That's good," Forsberg said. "I don't want any marshmallows."

No date for the big match has been set but TheArnoldFans.com will be sure to let you know. Stick around!