Ask Paul Drinkhall a question!

[TableTennisDaily]

Hi everyone,

Paul Drinkhall is our latest addition to the Verified Pro Member and has signed up to the TableTennisDaily website and is willing to answer your questions! Paul Drinkhall is a professional player who represented Great Britain at the London 2012 Olympics. His current world ranking stands at 37 on the ITTF World Ranking List (February 2015).

Paul Drinkhall is in great form at the moment, recently at the 2014 Russian Open in November Paul defeated European No 1 and No 2 ranked players Dimitrij Ovtcharov (World no. 5) and Marcos Freitas (World no. 9)!

Paul has recently changed his sponsor to TIBHAR alongside Bribar Table Tennis in the UK and joined their team alongside Vladimir Samsonov and Chen Chien-An. Drinkhall now uses the Evolution rubbers by TIBHAR.

Current setup:

Blade: TIBHAR Samsonov Carbon Stratus
Forehand: TIBHAR Evolution MX-P
Backhand: TIBHAR Evolution MX-P


Paul Drinkhall in the final of the 2015 English National Championships - Photo by: Alan Man

Paul Drinkhall is registered to the site, any questions you would like to ask him, just fire away by posting below and he will do his best to get back to you as soon as possible.

Lets give England's Paul Drinkhall a warm welcoming!

[IzzoSpin2012]

What is your weakest point and what is your daily routine?

thanks

[Pongfinity]

Hi Paul,

Congrats for the recent success in both international and national competitions! The final of English Nationals was a great match too even though it eventually ended perhaps slightly unfortunately for you.

Have you been doing things somehow different than before or what's the secret behind the good wins?

[jedimasterplk]

Paul, your physical shape looks great - how much time do you spend in the gym?

[dannyreventon]

Why do you keep on choing? )

[xVill]

What equipment do you currently use and what did you use when you started? Do you boost your rubbers?

[Paul Drinkhall]

What is your weakest point and what is your daily routine?

thanks

my daily routine depends on what point of the season it is! If I have several weeks or a month before a big competition I'll do maybe four hours a day on the table doing regular footwork, irregular footwork, service and receive and then of course matches. The closer it gets to a competition I do more service and receive and irregular point winning exercises. Physically I spend a lot of time doing both endurance work (distance running) and strength and conditioning. Again, closer to tournaments I do more speed work, sprints, fast footwork exercises off the table etc. Everything is tailored! My weak point... That you will have to work out for yourself ;-)

[Paul Drinkhall]

Hi Paul,

Congrats for the recent success in both international and national competitions! The final of English Nationals was a great match too even though it eventually ended perhaps slightly unfortunately for you.

Have you been doing things somehow different than before or what's the secret behind the good wins?

yes, I felt I was a little unlucky in the final, Liam managed to maintain his level and played some good table tennis to take the match in the end. The secret behind the wins to be very honest is more that coming back from injury I felt determined to make some progress on the world ranking! The injury was a gradual thing that worsened and then I was laid up for quite some time away from table tennis. Before that I was practicing in Bremen and matching world class players in practice, so when I returned from injury I knew I was ready to make an impact at that level now fully fit. Sometimes it's about getting the opportunities to play matches regularly, and playing in Belgium with Nodo has given me regular match practice which has helped me transfer my form to the World Tour events, and playing for England in team events also. Mentally you have to be strong at that level, and winning of course boosts your confidence which never does any harm!

[Paul Drinkhall]

Paul, your physical shape looks great - how much time do you spend in the gym?

Thanks! I have been table tennis almost full time since the age of about 14, spending many hours a week dedicated to physical conditioning. It varies, but almost every day I'll so hard physical footwork exercises on the table during practice followed by work with weights, endurance work such as running, or speed work such as different types of sprints, quick movement exercises, and skipping drills. It's all really important!

[Paul Drinkhall]

Why do you keep on choing? )

Choing or celebrating a point is a way a lot of guys in our sport (and others) reinforce positive behaviours, winning tactics or certain shots. It helps to release energy too sometimes, and also keep me mentally 'pumped up' and focused.

[Paul Drinkhall]

What equipment do you currently use and what did you use when you started? Do you boost your rubbers?

At the moment I'm using TIBHAR evolution MX-P on both sides of my blade, I love it - it's a brilliant rubber for my game. It helps me spin aggressively and I'm very happy with it - it gives me the right balance between speed and control, and I'm really confident in the rubber. I'm using the Samsonov Stratus Carbon blade, which is brilliant. Its fast but very balanced and has good control, and it combines really well with the MX-P. I've used various blades and rubbers over the years! I'd absolutely recommend any attacking players out there to try the TIBHAR evolution range if they have a similar style to me. Bribar Table Tennis who I'm also in partnership with can tell you which combination of the runners in the range will suit slightly different styles. Hope that helps!

[TTHopeful]

Hi Paul,

Thanks for joining TTD!

I saw you use to use Tenergy, how do you think it compares to your new combination of rubbers of Evolution MX-P?

[Spitfire]

Hi Paul,

Do you feel the new ball plays like the Celluloid Ball ? Spin/Speed etc?

Are your rubbers "Marketed" to suit the Poly Ball?

[mcaibyz2]

Hi Paul

I play in Ashford Table tennis club, and it was great to see you traning there sometimes!

My question is, do you have any ambition in the upcoming SuZhou 2015 world championship, and 2016 Olympics games. I mean, have you ever thought about winning a medal in these big events?

[Paul Drinkhall]

Hi Paul,

Thanks for joining TTD!

I saw you use to use Tenergy, how do you think it compares to your new combination of rubbers of Evolution MX-P?

Hi TTHopeful - Yes I played with Tenergy after the speed glue ban when I was sponsored by Butterfly, who I was really grateful to for the support over the years. When I tried the Evolution MX-P it just seemed like the perfect rubber for my game. TIBHAR is a really top manufacturer and the equipment is brilliant, I have not tried all of the range of rubbers of course but I spent some time testing quite a selection over in Germany with some of the TIBHAR equipment experts and I was really impressed.

The MX-P works well when I want to be able to serve short with lots of spin, I have the confidence to rely on the rubber. It helps me open up with either heavy top spin strokes or go for a third ball attack winner. It also has really great control for an attacking rubber, so I am comfortable blocking and touching short too. It's the best choice for my game!

[Paul Drinkhall]

Hi Paul,

Do you feel the new ball plays like the Celluloid Ball ? Spin/Speed etc?

Are your rubbers "Marketed" to suit the Poly Ball?

Hi Spitfire, the new plastic ball is a little different to the celluloid ball I think. The celluloid balls 'felt' a little bit softer to me on the racket, and it seemed that it was a little bit easier to produce heavy spin on serves and things. I don't think it is any slower, maybe it is a little bit less spinny but it's obviously still early days and not to noticeable! I have noticed that during the point the ball bounces a little higher and sits up sometimes.

The rubbers are the same as before for me and they are not adjusted or adapted to suit. Maybe as things develop players may change to rubbers which grip more to get more spin, I don't know. For now I am really happy with my equipment with the poly ball!

[tabletennisuk]

Hi Paul,

Having been at the national champs in Redbridge on the Sunday, it became increasingly clear that only Sam Walker could really challenge yourself and Liam. The likes of Danny Reed, Darius Knight and Andrew Baggeley seem to be lagging behind as yourself and Liam are going from strength to strength. Why is this?? What do the next crop of young English players need to do in order to become a world class player rather just joining that group who sit behind yourself and Liam in the national and international rankings?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Paul Drinkhall]

Hi Paul

I play in Ashford Table tennis club, and it was great to see you traning there sometimes!

My question is, do you have any ambition in the upcoming SuZhou 2015 world championship, and 2016 Olympics games. I mean, have you ever thought about winning a medal in these big events?

Hi mcaibyz2 - yes, it's close to where I live, good place to train! Of course I have those ambitions, Dima Ovtcharov got bronze in 2012 after beating me earlier in the competition and I managed to beat him in Russia so I know if I am at the top of my game I have a chance! The field is strong but I am up for the challenge. I think my ambition is the same as always - I want to go and win ;-) I think that should be the ambition always, always know and believe you can win against anyone.

[Black Eagle]

Hello Paul , hope u r doing great glad to ask u this one , since i v changed to hard rubber h3 .. i feel my control is reducing nowadays , they give great spin and i feel they r very very fast .. wht can i do to solve this issue .. don't tell me to change the rubber , do i need to practice more to get use to the new rubber or do i need to speed glue them every 3 days ... need ur help , kind regards and have a nice day

[Paul Drinkhall]

Hi Paul,

Having been at the national champs in Redbridge on the Sunday, it became increasingly clear that only Sam Walker could really challenge yourself and Liam. The likes of Danny Reed, Darius Knight and Andrew Baggeley seem to be lagging behind as yourself and Liam are going from strength to strength. Why is this?? What do the next crop of young English players need to do in order to become a world class player rather just joining that group who sit behind yourself and Liam in the national and international rankings?


Sent from my sing Tapatalk

Hi tabletennisuk - hope you enjoyed the final, it was a close match! It's always hard when you are team mates, with those players that you mention (Danny, Sam, Andrew, Darius) we have all played together for years and practice together too which means that sometimes standard is not as important as it can sometimes be. Andrew could not compete as he pulled out with a stomach bug, Danny has had to practice a little bit less this season as he is in his final year of his degree course, so sometimes it can be more than meets the eye.

I think that it's really important for any young players to not just want to be the best in the age group in the UK, they have to aim high. Of course it's a great thing to be the best in the country, but it's also important if you want to have success as a senior to aim to be the best in Europe or the best in the World! Travelling to compete with the best and practice with the best raises your game, it's a sacrifice that many other players are making (and we all had to make) so I think that's important, to try and improve all the time and stay focused on reaching that level! I see some really good young UK players, so now it's up to them to take it as far as they like, and that means being single minded and making those sacrifices!