Classic Matches

[J-fed]

Woah. Fantastic attacking play fro both. Wipe out in the final game though.

 

[J-fed]

Stellan Bengtsson introduced me to table tennis (because he’s left-handed too) when we were 16, after we’d seen some footage of it on the news, and because, shortly afterwards, in 1977, we went to watch the World Championships in Birmingham.

Saive will always remain my idol because of his incredible dynamism on his forehand and because we were lucky enough to play against him three times there in 1980 and ’81.

You played against him as a junior? Wow.
Saive indeed had incredible athleticism and I made sure to ask him about it.
He said he trained and practiced 5 hours a day. I don’t remember the specifics.

 

[J-fed]

Stellan Bengtsson introduced me to table tennis (because he’s left-handed too) when we were 16, after we’d seen some footage of it on the news, and because, shortly afterwards, in 1977, we went to watch the World Championships in Birmingham.

Saive will always remain my idol because of his incredible dynamism on his forehand and because we were lucky enough to play against him three times there in 1980 and ’81.

I’m a part time high school teacher. Mixture of Sports/English/academics. Today I set the essay question of whether lefties have an edge in smooth motor skills.
It’s a surprisingly difficult question.
Instinctively we feel yes though right?

 

[Metaxa]

You played against him as a junior? Wow.
Saive indeed had incredible athleticism and I made sure to ask him about it.
He said he trained and practiced 5 hours a day. I don’t remember the specifics.

Yes, indeed, the first time was in ’80 at an official tournament. We still have all the details here – the date, location and result. We beat him then💪. The following season, we played him twice in official tournaments and lost both times. It’s incredible how he became his country’s champion at the age of 16. It was something his parents had instilled in him (and his brother) from a very young age.
Incidentally, his mother went on to become Belgian champion in the veterans’ category for her age group this year.

 

[Metaxa]

I’m a part time high school teacher. Mixture of Sports/English/academics. Today I set the essay question of whether lefties have an edge in smooth motor skills.
It’s a surprisingly difficult question.
Instinctively we feel yes though right?

I’m fairly certain that left-handers derive certain advantages from their motor skills. And not just from their motor skills, but also from their way of thinking, which sometimes differs slightly from that of right-handed players.

JM Saive didn’t originally particularly enjoy playing against left-handers. Against Gatien, for example, he always found it very difficult.

If you saw how many Swedish left-handed table tennis players used to play… and how Anders Lind can play certain shots now. He’s not mad – he’s just left-handed!

A classic from 1993!

 

[J-fed]

I’m fairly certain that left-handers derive certain advantages from their motor skills. And not just from their motor skills, but also from their way of thinking, which sometimes differs slightly from that of right-handed players.

JM Saive didn’t originally particularly enjoy playing against left-handers. Against Gatien, for example, he always found it very difficult.

If you saw how many Swedish left-handed table tennis players used to play… and how Anders Lind can play certain shots now. He’s not mad – he’s just left-handed!

A classic from 1993!

Yes, there are various positions and some varied evidence. Some point out that left handers don't excel in sports or dance where there is no opponent. Some point out that even inn the womb left handers exhibit better cross hemisphere processing. Difficult topic.

As a fan I go with 'yes' though.