WTT Star Contender Chennai-2025

[Tony's Table Tennis]

I'm not sure who you spoke to or what you were told but teams frequently arrange training camps for the days prior to the match weekend usually held at a nearby club. For example Paddle Palace club when the match was in Portland, 888 when the match was in Bay Area, Broward when the match was in Miami, Princeton Pong when the match was in NJ area, HITTA when the match is in Katy/Houston, etc. It's not an official MLTT activity but happens frequently and owners (if the team has one) cover these costs.

yeah, I understand that, or some players get crowd funding so they can practice together (not sure which club did it, but I think it was last season right?)

 

[NextLevel]

Is this the tournament of the upsets? LJH also out now. That last game was all errors from him.

The Indians need someone to root for over the weekend.

 

[NextLevel]

Congrats to T-League doubles partners Miwa and Kihara beating Shin Yubin / Ryu Hanna in a 3-2 thriller. I really like Ryu Hanna as a doubles partner for SYB. She has strong lefty serves with a booming forehand and good touch. They can be even better than the SYB / JJH pairing in time.

Nah, SYB is overrated so not going to happen....

 

[zeio]

In MLTT the teams usually arrive 3-4 days ahead of the match to train together and shake off jet lag etc. and it is paid for by the teams or league.

KASAHARA Hiromitsu said as much. Sharing the experience of his stay in the inaugural season in an interview with Butterfly in 2024, his original plan was to fly to the US to play then get back to Japan but the owner of 888 provided him an apartment where he eventually stayed for 2 months. Other than the SF where he had to fly in from China and the match was the day after his arrival, the other times were pretty stress-free.

初代MLTT王者インタビュー　
笠原弘光が発見した卓球新大陸（前編）
https://www.butterfly.co.jp/takurepo/interview/detail/024375.html
初代MLTT王者インタビュー　
笠原弘光が発見した卓球新大陸（後編）
https://www.butterfly.co.jp/takurepo/interview/detail/024384.html

-滞在中の生活や練習などはどうしていたのですか？

笠原　サンフランシスコのベイエリアに888（トリプルエイト）というアメリカで一番大きな卓球場があって、コーチがその888のオーナーを紹介してくれたのがきっかけで、「いつでも練習しに来ていいよ」と言っていただけたので、練習は基本的にそこでやっていました。
　チームメート（テキサススマッシュ）のナンダン（ナンダン・ナレシュ）やマ・ジンバオ（アメリカ）がほとんどいつもいましたし、オーストラリアのジュニアの選手もそこでよく練習していたので、彼らと練習することができました。
　その888のオーナーの方がアパートも用意してくれたので、生活もできるし、練習もできるしで、長期滞在することができました。

--よく海外リーグでは移動が多かったり、長かったりという苦労話を聞きますが、その点はいかがでしたか？

笠原　週末に試合があって、その週の火曜日から木曜日までチームでトレーニングキャンプをするので、月曜日に各自で飛行機でそこまで行って、チームが手配してくれているホテルに滞在していたので、車での長距離移動は全然ありませんでした。
　チームのサポートもあったし、ほかの選手もオーナーも助けてくれたので、いいチームに入れてよかったと思います。

-How did you manage your daily life and practice during your stay?

Kasahara: There is a table tennis center in the US called 888 (Triple Eight) in the San Francisco Bay Area, and my coach introduced me to the owner of 888, who said, "You can come and practice anytime," so I basically practiced there.

My Texas Smash teammate Nandan (Nandan Naresh), and Ma Jinbao (USA) [TL's note: Bay Area Blasters], were almost always there, and Australian junior players often practiced there, so I was able to practice with them.

The owner of 888 also provided me with an apartment, so I was able to live and practice there, and stay there for a long time.

--I often hear about the difficulties of traveling a lot and for long periods of time in overseas leagues, but how was that?

Kasahara: We had games on the weekends and had a team training camp from Tuesday to Thursday of the same week, so we all flew there on Monday and stayed in a hotel arranged by the team, so there was no long-distance driving at all.
I had the support of my team, and the other players and the owner also helped me, so I'm glad I was able to join a good team.

---

INTERVIEW WITH MIMI BOSIKA, MLTT’s VP of COMPETITION
https://www.majorponghead.com/blog/interview-with-mimi-bosika-mltts-vp-of-competition

 

[ThePongCommenter]

KASAHARA Hiromitsu said as much. Sharing the experience of his stay in the inaugural season in an interview with Butterfly in 2024, his original plan was to fly to the US to play then get back to Japan but the owner of 888 provided him an apartment where he eventually stayed for 2 months. Other than the SF where he had to fly in from China and the match was the day after his arrival, the other times were pretty stress-free.

初代MLTT王者インタビュー　
笠原弘光が発見した卓球新大陸（前編）
https://www.butterfly.co.jp/takurepo/interview/detail/024375.html
初代MLTT王者インタビュー　
笠原弘光が発見した卓球新大陸（後編）
https://www.butterfly.co.jp/takurepo/interview/detail/024384.html

-How did you manage your daily life and practice during your stay?

Kasahara: There is a table tennis center in the US called 888 (Triple Eight) in the San Francisco Bay Area, and my coach introduced me to the owner of 888, who said, "You can come and practice anytime," so I basically practiced there.

My teammates Nandan (Nandan Naresh) and Ma Jinbao (USA), who are from Texas Smash, were almost always there, and Australian junior players often practiced there, so I was able to practice with them.

The owner of 888 also provided me with an apartment, so I was able to live and practice there, and stay there for a long time.

--I often hear about the difficulties of traveling a lot and for long periods of time in overseas leagues, but how was that?

Kasahara: We had games on the weekends and had a team training camp from Tuesday to Thursday of the same week, so we all flew there on Monday and stayed in a hotel arranged by the team, so there was no long-distance driving at all.
I had the support of my team, and the other players and the owner also helped me, so I'm glad I was able to join a good team.

---

INTERVIEW WITH MIMI BOSIKA, MLTT’s VP of COMPETITION
https://www.majorponghead.com/blog/interview-with-mimi-bosika-mltts-vp-of-competition

Yep...

Small note on the translation but Jinbao isn't on Texas Smash, Nandan is though.

 

[zeio]

Yep...

Small note on the translation but Jinbao isn't on Texas Smash, Nandan is though.

The way Takurepo worded it could be interpreted either way (high-context language). Fixed it.

 

[ThePongCommenter]

The way Takurepo worded it could be interpreted either way (high-context language). Fixed it.

It is impressive you always have a link at the ready lol. Texas is one of the teams with a better ownership and coaching structure so experiences can differ from team to team in MLTT as of right now, but yeah, the training camps are done by most teams in the league from what I see, to minimize the effects of having to take a long flight and then play immediately.

Another side note, many MLTT players are training out of 888 and it is basically the home base for most top players either competing or residing in the US.

 

[Tony's Table Tennis]

It is impressive you always have a link at the ready lol. Texas is one of the teams with a better ownership and coaching structure so experiences can differ from team to team in MLTT as of right now, but yeah, the training camps are done by most teams in the league from what I see, to minimize the effects of having to take a long flight and then play immediately.

Another side note, many MLTT players are training out of 888 and it is basically the home base for most top players either competing or residing in the US.

yep

I had a look at my MLTT package, it indeed says 3 days hotel over the match weekend, only.
so everything else is not part of the league package and individual sponsorship.

BTW, I have some 888 players telling me it is so expensive to train/stay there, then there are many that does it for free. very interesting

 

[ThePongCommenter]

yep

I had a look at my MLTT package, it indeed says 3 days hotel over the match weekend, only.
so everything else is not part of the league package and individual sponsorship.

BTW, I have some 888 players telling me it is so expensive to train/stay there, then there are many that does it for free. very interesting

888 is expensive as hell if you have to pay but it is free if you are high enough level and willing to play with the owner's son lol

This topic is probably better to discuss in private though lol

 

[NextLevel]

I'm really liking Poret's wristy strokes. The competition for that 3rd spot in the Olympics for the French men is going to be heated but Poret will definitely be in the running.

Nah, doubles is almost that matters and combining with Alexis is the key. The experts have said so.

 

[NextLevel]

No that's not, not that hard has a lefty/righty ideal pair. Lim and An are only ranked 16 and were not qualified to play at Fukuoka. Tomo and Sora are ranked 5.

Ir is really funny how people make all kinds of noise and then when their theories are completely shown to be nonsense, they go silent and don't even admit anything that shows they have eaten some humble pie.

 

[turbozed]

There really needs to be a push for more Hashimoto appearances in WTT. This event JNT got to send pretty much the whole squad over so we get to see her, but it's crazy that someone like her is being held in reserve for the most part.

Out of all the great TT action, Hashimoto in WS and Hashimoto/Sato in XD is always high on the must-watch list. I'm not really a big fan of choppers in general, but these two are like poetry in motion.

 

[zeio]

It is impressive you always have a link at the ready lol. Texas is one of the teams with a better ownership and coaching structure so experiences can differ from team to team in MLTT as of right now, but yeah, the training camps are done by most teams in the league from what I see, to minimize the effects of having to take a long flight and then play immediately.

Another side note, many MLTT players are training out of 888 and it is basically the home base for most top players either competing or residing in the US.

Actually, I only found out the specifics after you made the initial post that piqued my interest. I knew about the interview but it has been on the back-burner. If you didn't make that post, I wouldn't have gotten the motivation to read through it.

Same with MLTT, which I took a brief look at the very beginning before the draft, hence the translation error. Good to know they are off to a good start.

 

[zeio]

There really needs to be a push for more Hashimoto appearances in WTT. This event JNT got to send pretty much the whole squad over so we get to see her, but it's crazy that someone like her is being held in reserve for the most part.

Out of all the great TT action, Hashimoto in WS and Hashimoto/Sato in XD is always high on the must-watch list. I'm not really a big fan of choppers in general, but these two are like poetry in motion.

If only "all other countries are independent" were true...

All JNT players are here at their own expense. Other than Tanaka who is the closest to truly independent, the others are all sponsored by their respective affiliation.

2025 WTTスターコンテンダー チェンナイ（インド）
https://jtta.or.jp/tour/29401

 

[Shine]

C

There really needs to be a push for more Hashimoto appearances in WTT. This event JNT got to send pretty much the whole squad over so we get to see her, but it's crazy that someone like her is being held in reserve for the most part.

Out of all the great TT action, Hashimoto in WS and Hashimoto/Sato in XD is always high on the must-watch list. I'm not really a big fan of choppers in general, but these two are like poetry in motion.

Can't wait for the "I was held back by the club, and they promoted Odo and the attackers over me" banger exposé when things come to a head. Because it's painfully obvious that she isn't being prioritised by the JNT and her club because she's a defender. I sure as hell hope Tony informs us if/when we forget.

 

[Shine]

Ir is really funny how people make all kinds of noise and then when their theories are completely shown to be nonsense, they go silent and don't even admit anything that shows they have eaten some humble pie.

Lim and An won the previous edition of this competition. They've always been a good but underrated pair, plus Lim used to play with Jang Woojin in doubles, and this pairing is relatively new.
I think people shouldn't put too much stock in doubles rankings. Many of the best double teams do not play regularly. Chinese best pairs only come together during the majors, this gives an opportunity to pairs who are regular on the circuit to rack up points. That's why the Lebruns were able to reach world no 1. I can say the same for Odo/Yokoi tbh.
If both teams start at 100%, I think the Chinese pair is more likely to win.

 

[zeio]

C
Can't wait for the "I was held back by the club, and they promoted Odo and the attackers over me" banger exposé when things come to a head. Because it's painfully obvious that she isn't being prioritised by the JNT and her club because she's a defender. I sure as hell hope Tony informs us if/when we forget.

As the saying goes, be careful what you wish for. We've gotten nothing but fake news and misinformation in return, other than "can't disclose" and "better discussed in private"...

 

[turbozed]

If only "all other countries are independent" were true...

All JNT players are here at their own expense. Other than Tanaka who is the closest to truly independent, the others are all sponsored by their respective affiliation.

2025 WTTスターコンテンダー チェンナイ（インド）
https://jtta.or.jp/tour/29401

So it's Miki House that's footing the bills for Honoka to appear here?

Wonder what the internal politics of those decisions are like. They have been pushing Odo recently and Hashimoto has been sitting on the sideline. Would seeing more Hashimoto require Odo to underperform? Kinda sucks if that were the case since I enjoy watching both.

 

[NextLevel]

Lim and An won the previous edition of this competition. They've always been a good but underrated pair, plus Lim used to play with Jang Woojin in doubles, and this pairing is relatively new.
I think people shouldn't put too much stock in doubles ratings. Many of the best double teams do not play regularly. Chinese best pairs only come together during the majors, this gives an opportunity to pairs who are regular on the circuit to rack up points. That's why the Lebruns were able to reach world no 1. I can say the same for Odo/Yokoi tbh.
If both teams start at 100%, I think the Chinese pair is more likely to win.

This is common sense and I said some of the things you said, but when someone cites doubles ranking as a way to support an argument that a team is not that strong, and gets his argument totally destroyed by actual results, he should at least be able to say that he was wrong. I would. The expert said that Esteban Dorr and Poret should have done better against Lim and An, and that Esteban being a top doubles player was being held back by Poret hence their poor result. And Matsushima and Tomo were the higher ranked (and implied better) team. French expert mind you.

 

[Tony's Table Tennis]

I sure as hell hope Tony informs us if/when we forget.

what are you talking about??