Newgy’s Blog

The ZEN-NOH 2014 World Team Table Tennis Championships are taking place in Tokyo, Japan this week, April 28-May 5, 2014.

209 table tennis teams from around the world are competing this year, including 114 men’s teams and 95 women’s teams.

A total of 138 International Table Tennis Umpires will officiate in Tokyo (68 from abroad, 70 from Tokyo).

The World Team Table Tennis Championships have been held since 1926.

China has dominated the World Team Championships, winning the Men’s Team title and the Women’s Team title 18 times.

The late Victor Barna is the most successful table tennis player in the history of the World Championships, playing 19 times between 1929 and 1954 winning a total of 22 titles.

Only three left-hander have won the Men’s Singles title at a World Championships: Stellan Bengtsson (1971), Seiji Ono (1979), Jean-Philippe Gatien (1993).

The 2015 World Team Table Tennis Championships will be held in Suzhou, China.

Good luck Team USA!

2014 U.S. World Team – Women

Lily Zhang
Prachi Jha
Crystal Wang
Erica Wu
Angela Guan

Coach Doru Gheorghe

2014 U.S. World Team – Men

Timothy Wang
Adam Hugh
Yahao Zhang
Jim Butler
Kanak Jha

Coach Stefan Feth

Watch live streaming of the matches at ../blog/it.mp3.

The Nashville Predators/Newgy/NTTC Table Tennis/Ping-Pong Tournament was a hit! 75 pro table tennis players, recreational ping pong players and students competed on the main floor of the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville on Saturday, April 19, 2014.

The tournament featured three divisions to include players of all levels and ages. The pro division featured players with USATT ratings of 1200-2200.

Roger Dickson, Newgy’s Head Table Tennis Coach, did a great job running the tournament. We had several volunteers from the Nashville Table Tennis Club to help with registration and scorekeeping.

A big thanks to the Nashville Predators and Bridgestone Arena for hosting this fun table tennis event!

Congrats to all the winners!

Pro Division

1^st Place: Jude Lam, Knoxville, TN

2^nd Place: Donny Flowers, Memphis, TN

3^rd Place: Roger Jett, Murray, KY

Recreational Division

1^st Place: Rick Sati, Smyrna, TN

2^nd Place: Radu Rusu, Franklin, TN

3^rd Place: Iqbal Indawala, Nashville, TN

Junior (18 & Under) Division

1^st Place: Steven Dickerson, University School of Nashville

2^nd Place: Chance Waller, Smith Co. High School

3^rd Place: David Shayne, University School of Nashville

If you have ever played a world pro tour table tennis event, you are probably familiar with the term “lucky loser”. So what does it mean?

A lucky loser is a table tennis player who loses in an event but still advances due to an opening in the draw. For example, if there are 152 players entered in one pro tour event, there might be 32 players seeded into the single elimination and 120 players competing in round robin groups. There would be 30 groups of four players per group with the winners advancing to meet the 32 seeded players.

To form a perfect single elimination draw, there should be 64 players. After the groups finished, there would be 62 players remaining in the tournament – 32 seeded players and 30 qualifiers. To meet the perfect 64 number, the table tennis tournament referee would put the names of the 30 second-place finishers in a hat and draw two names. They call these two players “lucky losers.” They lost in the groups but were still able to advance and keep playing.

So, the next time that you are playing in a world pro table tennis tour and hear the phrase “lucky loser” you will understand what it means.

Samson Dubina

Every table tennis player should strive for dexterity. This is a skill that some players are naturally more gifted with and some players are not. The good news is that it can be trained as well. So what is dexterity?

Dictionary Definition of “Dexterity”

dex·ter·i·ty

noun \dek-ˈster-ə-tē, -ˈste-rə-\

: the ability to use your hands skillfully

: the ability to easily move in a way that is graceful

: clever skill : the ability to think and act quickly and cleverly

In regards to table tennis, dexterity can mean several different things. It can mean…

1. Having the ability to learn a new stroke

2. Having the ability to relax even while swinging hard

3. Having the ability to be extremely precise and accurate

4. Having the ability to put impart speed and spin on the ball with very little effort

5. Having the ability to adjust the stroke for various types of balls

I will focus on the fifth type of dexterity in table tennis.

Dexterity is the ability to adjust to various aspects of the ping pong ball – adjust to the speed of the ball, adjust to the placement of the ball, adjust to the depth of the ball, adjust to the height of the ball and adjust to the spin on the ball. I will use the forehand loop as my example.

In order to develop more dexterity in your forehand loop, you must be able to adjust your swing based on the different speeds of the incoming balls. Ask your table tennis training partner to block to your forehand and vary the speed of the block – sometimes slightly harder and sometimes slightly slower. Keep your racket in front and backswing once you see the approaching ball. If the ball is blocked quickly, then shorten your loop while still generating a lot of spin. Always keep your weight leaning forward and contact the ball in front of your body.

In order to develop more dexterity in your forehand loop, you must be able to adjust your swing based on the placement of the incoming balls. Ask your training partner to move the ball around in the forehand 50% of the ping pong table. Watch your opponent’s racket and adjust your feet into position before swinging. Once your feet are set, then take a swing. If you are in good position, loop slightly harder with a longer swing. If you are off-balance and forced to reach or lean for the ball, shorten your swing, focus on control, brush the ball with spin, then get in better position for the next loop.

In order to develop more dexterity in your forehand loop, you must be able to adjust your swing based on the depth of the incoming balls. For this exercise, I would recommend starting very slowly. Set up your Newgy Robo-Pong table tennis robot to throw the ball once every 3 seconds or have your training partner feed multiball. If the ball is slow and lands near the net, move both feet forward and loop near the table. If the ball is deep near the end line, then move back slightly and loop the deep ball. When moving forward (for right-handed table tennis players), step with your right foot then the left foot. When moving backward, step with the left foot then the right foot. Both feet actually move simultaneously, however, the outside foot always initiates the movement. When moving in-and-out, make sure to stay with your weight leaning forward. Focus on moving your feet very fast while looping with control.

In order to develop more dexterity in your forehand loop, you must be able to adjust your swing based on the height of the incoming balls. Ask your training partner to adjust his block sometimes higher and sometimes lower. Keep your racket in front of your body and take your backswing once you see the height of the incoming ball. For the forehand loop against topspin, try to start your swing directly behind the ball and loop forward with spin. If the ball is higher, then start your racket higher. If your racket is lower, then start your racket lower.

In order to develop more dexterity in your forehand loop, you must be able to adjust your swing based on the various spins of the incoming balls. Ask your training partner to vary the spin on his block, sometimes he should block normal with slight topspin, sometimes he should spin over the ball with more topspin and sometimes he should chop-block. If he adds topspin, the ball will jump up as it contacts your side of the table. If he performs a chop-block, the ball with slow down as it contacts your side of the table. Adjust your racket height and body position to the incoming ball. This is the most challenging of all the exercises. Don’t be discouraged if it takes several months to perfect this aspect of dexterity.

Every table tennis player should strive for dexterity. I am convinced that dexterity should be trained. In your training sessions, you should make it just as challenging as or more challenging than an actual game. Be ready to adjust for various speeds, placements, depths, heights, and spins and you will be on your way to success!

Samson Dubina

A topic seldom addressed in table tennis, but very important, is about changing your mindset in regards to your opponent’s strengths.

Many table tennis players fear their opponent’s strengths so much that it messes up all aspects of their game. Instead of fearing the strength, try to use the strength against them.

Here are some examples:

1. Your opponent’s serve is very short and very low. Generally, you are able to loop the serve and start the point out with attacking. However, this opponent’s serve cannot be looped. Instead of getting frustrated, you should be able to push his short serve short and wait to loop the following ball.
2. Your opponent’s push is extremely heavy and you can’t power-loop the first ball. Instead of getting frustrated, you should use your legs, open your angle, and brush the ball for a slightly slower and spinnier loop. After he blocks your opening loop, you can follow-up with a stronger loop.
3. Your opponent’s flip is very fast. Instead of getting frustrated with the speed, you should shorten your swing, make contact with the ball, and return it quickly to a good location. He probably won’t be ready for you to return it and the quick return will probably force him to block. After he blocks, then you can take over with a speed shot.
4. Your opponent’s loop is extremely powerful. Instead of getting frustrated with his “weapon”, you should focus on returning only one loop. By getting low, keeping your table tennis racket high and in front of you, and controlling the block, you should be able to manage to return one loop. Once your opponent realizes that you can return it, he might slow it down and go for better placement or he might attempt to speed it up and become more inconsistent.

Try your best to play your strengths against your opponent’s weaknesses in table tennis. However, when they do use their strengths, don’t fear them – just return them with control!

Samson Dubina