First of all, you can find the 2010 list of performance enhancing drugs from the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA)(this is a PDF document).
Disclaimer: I'm not a doctor, and this article in no way is intended as medical advice. It's the result of a few hours web surfing for information about performance enhancing drugs, and a bit of thought. I'm not claiming it's 100% accurate, and I'm certainly not suggesting that anybody should go out and start using these drugs either.
Categories of Performance Enhancing Drugs
Anabolic Androgenic SteroidsThese are commonly known as drugs that promote the production of more lean muscle mass.
This could be of use to table tennis players in allowing stronger legs and overall greater core strength. Stronger legs will allow a player to move a little faster, and maintain the optimal crouching position (which requires a lot of strength) for longer periods of time. The effect on the upper body might not be as important, since technique would play a larger part in producing power than upper body strength. But I could certainly see some benefits to elite table tennis players from the use of this category of drugs.
Stimulants
Stimulants are used by athletes to increase alertness and reduce the effects of fatigue.
This category of drugs seems an obvious candidate for elite table tennis players. Any drug that makes you more alert and helps you perform at a high level for longer would have to be of benefit. When table tennis players are fighting off the effects of jet lag, a bad night's sleep, or the accumulated effects of a long tournament such as the World Championships, stimulants would surely be of use. Table tennis players need to be highly alert to read the spin on the ball, decipher their opponent's body language, and judge the ball flight. And the ability to reduce fatigue would be a no-brainer for any elite table tennis player.
Painkillers
Painkillers operate by shielding the athlete from the pain of an injury, allowing the athlete to continue playing without having the distraction of the pain, or the restriction of movement caused by the injury's pain.
As an older player who often brings aches and pains into a tournament, I can fully appreciate the value in using painkillers to allow you to ignore chronic injuries. Elite athletes would hopefully not have too many of these (yet!), but nonetheless I think they would find painkillers very useful for playing with the muscle sprains and strains that can occur during a competition.
Beta-blockers and Sedatives
Beta-blockers reduce the effect of adrenaline and other stress hormones, thus allowing athletes to remain calm and stop their hands from shaking. According to the WADA list of prohibited substances, beta-blockers are not banned for table tennis players.
Sedatives such as alcohol and marijuana also help to reduce the effects of nervousness by calming the athlete.
In table tennis, it's difficult to see that the use of this category of drugs would be beneficial, except perhaps for players that suffer from extreme nervousness. Since table tennis requires precise racket angle adjustment (often via the wrist), then such drugs could be beneficial if a player gets nervous enough to suffer from excessive tension in the wrist or forearm. But on the whole, since table tennis is a sport of movement, not of holding a steady body position like archery or shooting, it is doubtful that these type of drugs would be of much benefit.
Diuretics
This category of drugs have the effect of causing the body to increase its elimination of water. Since table tennis players don't have weight classes, it's hard to picture a scenario where these drugs would be useful.
Masking Agents
These allow athletes to hide their use of other categories of drugs. They don't generally have a performance enhancing effect themselves. So they are useful to help an athlete cheat, but don't provide a benefit of their own.
Conclusion
While it is common for the general public (and many amateur ping-pong players) to react with amusement when they hear of an elite table tennis player getting caught taking performance enhancing drugs, it is nevertheless clear that some of these drugs do provide tangible benefits to top players. Given the current climate where many elite players are thought to be cheating by illegally boosting or tuning their rackets, it is not exactly surprising that some players may take the extra step of attempting to boost the performance of their own body.Sources:
