London 2012 table tennis: The 3rd Google doodle of its kind

London 2012 table tennis is the third of its kind to make it to the list of Google doodles featured during the Olympics.

The first table tennis related Google doodle was posted during the 2004 Olympics held at Athens. The doodle depicted two males in traditional Greek attire. The doodle depicts the fast paced nature of the table tennis game by showing the ball and the hands of the two players in various positions.

Table tennis at the 2004 Summer Olympics took place in the Galatsi Olympic Hall with 172 competitors in 4 events. China won three golds while South Korea's Ryu Seung-Min was the only non-Chinese to win the gold, when he upset China's top seeded Wang Hao in the men's singles final.

2008 Beijing Olympics Google doodle depicted a dragon holding a table tennis racket. The dragon also formed the letters OG in the Google logo.

Table tennis competitions at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing were held from August 13 to August 23, at the Peking University Gymnasium. The competition featured the team events for the first time, replacing the doubles events competed in previous games.

A total of four sets of medals were awarded for the four events contested. China dominated the table tennis event winning 4 golds, 2 silvers and 2 bronze medals.

It will be interesting to see what sport finds its place in Friday's Google doodle.