Players Complain about the Poor Quality of the Ball Used in Rio!

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I posted this in the Rio Olympics thread in response to a query about this article. But then I thought, perhaps this merits its own thread. What do you guys think about this issue getting this kind of exposure in a news source like the New York Times?

The New York Times article has various interviews with players about the plastic ball problems in Rio including Gionis Panagioitis, Timo Boll and Li Ping.

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Li Ping who quotes, "I think this ball is very bad,”

Timo Boll quotes, “I think many players are complaining because we have better balls, there are better balls on the market”

Panagiotis Gionis quotes, "This is not good; this is unprofessional,”

The article finished with Timo Boll expressing, “I’m sure they want to produce now a better ball because they’re getting a lot of criticism,” Boll said. “It would have been nice if it was before the Olympic Games.”.

Here is the link: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/13/sports/olympics/table-tennnis-ball-changes-rio-games.html
 
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Thanks alot Carl,

Sick & tired personally, when it is all about the money. I think the majority of true fans of every sport not just TT dont even bother informing themselves about what happens in the backstage where important decisions about the future of the game take place, but this is mockery really.

At least weikert has the decency to accept publicly that plastic balls suck hard, unlike shararah

As for drinkhall ,he should think twice before he express himself like that, he could easily be in another's players shoes.

I dont only "blame" the federation or the companies I also "blame" the players, I didnt see any kind of mass protest, of course we cant know if they tried anything unofficially. But I believe europe's top players should demand more through samsonov, as their official represantative, who is chairman of the athlete's commission
 
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Why none of CNT complain about the Ball? they still can play on high level

Have you played with different Poly balls and compared them? Some of them are pretty okay like the Nittaku Premium, the Butterfly G40+ and the XSF seamless ball. But the DHS balls are really bad.

Of course, you can play with any ball. And when guys like the CNT players play anyone else, they really are so much better than anyone else that it doesn't really matter.

But the other thing you have to realize is that all those players are sponsored by DHS. They all use DHS H3 or TG3 rubbers. Why would they say anything bad about the Chinese company that sponsors the team?

Even if the ITTF president and the top boss of DHS don't want to acknowledge it: those balls are terrible. They shouldn't even be labeled 1 stars.

And the other issue with the Poly balls is, even the ones that are good, they all play so differently from each other. It is like there is no standard.

With 3 star 40mm celluloid balls, there were slight differences between brands. But the 3 stars were all good. And pretty close to each other. The difference between each brand of 40+ Poly ball VERY different. As different as they all are from the 40mm celluloid balls. And the 40+ Poly balls not only have inconsistent bounce, sometimes they barely even bounce, sometimes they bounce as if they hit a bump on the table, they break very Very VERY easily. One time I played a match with them and we broke 3 balls in a best of 5 match.

For anyone who has tried all the different kinds of 40+ Poly balls, it would be disingenuous to claim that they are all similar and all high quality balls. And, truthfully, the fact that the ITTF puts its 3 Star Stamp of Approval on the balls coming out of the DHS seems to me to demonstrate a larger issue that will only harm the ITTF and the sport in the long run.

I also feel these issues about the 40+ Poly ball are worth asking:

1) After 2 years+ of the Poly ball being the official ball why are they not selling yellow or orange balls yet?

2) Why is it okay that each brand and even different balls from individual brands, are allowed to use completely different substances to make the Poly balls thereby insuring that each ball has different playing characteristics?

Is there any actual value to having balls from different companies that play so differently even when you are looking at how the balls that are good play?

Again, from my perspective the balls that are good are Nittaku Premium, Butterfly G40+ and XSF seamless.

And what is the value of a ball that bounces differently every time?


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What balls does the Chinese team practice with? Didn't everybody have a chance to practice with the DHS Olympic ball?

Is the ball at the Olympics the same standard as that which was available to practice with leading up to the Olympics?
 
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What balls does the Chinese team practice with? Didn't everybody have a chance to practice with the DHS Olympic ball?

Is the ball at the Olympics the same standard as that which was available to practice with leading up to the Olympics?


yes, but they also stated that the ball in olympics is quite different and bounces weird
 
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Bad quality balls are bad quality balls. No need to question it. Those balls really are low quality balls.

I didn't hear anyone saying it was unfair. Everyone has to use the same low quality balls and they all could train with it.

But there is little question that those DHS balls are much worse than balls from Nittaku, Butterfly and XSF. So much worse it is not funny.

Think about how many players made those comments before they lost and having nothing to do with whether they lost. There are quite a number of top players who have been complaining about the issue of the quality of DHS balls for MONTHS; having nothing to do with playing a tournament. And in the men's singles tournament, the only person who didn't ultimately lose was Ma Long. And those guys who complained before getting knocked out of the tournament were certainly not using the complaint to rationalize a loss.

The fact that these balls are labeled as 3 Star with ITTF Approval is really a shame and a farce. They are nowhere near good enough to deserve a 3 Star label.


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IMO these were great balls. Hardly any breakages from what I could see. Boll isn't the player he was and Gionis just had a bad tournament. Just sour grapes...the English, Japanese and Chinese are not complaining about the balls
 
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I'm all in favour of the ball - the rallies in this tournament have been absolutely incredible. Probably best ever.

Agree with MG re sour grapes - winners win, losers always find something to complain about.
 
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Guys, players were complaining about the plastic ball even when they won.

Its like saying liu guoliang was a sore loser because he retired after the regulations have changed (no hidden serves, permanent ban of his spinpips rubber and bigger ball). Every player has his unique characteristics and preferences, some players styles were maybe favored because of the changes (especially rally players) and some obviously dont like the quality of balls.

I saw like 20-25 matches since the tournament has started and 1/4 matches the ball had dents or totally broken, thus changing to a new ball. So if DHS cant provide quality balls with durability in the top tournament, they should obviously change something. Or they keep mocking us right in our faces, expecting that after some years players/fans will get used to the situation. So "everyone" (the companies) are happy for making even more money, after the ball transition
 
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So many world events uses DHS, and even CNT trains with them.

Either this time the breakage was in "normal" range, and media was just being media and making a fuss out of nothing, or simply it was a bad batch of balls.
The quality is getting better, and I sure hope it becomes perfect asap.

majority of the pros are all pro 40+, and we aint going back as there is no more celluloid production/factories
 
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Guys, the DHS ball is a softer ball with a less consistent bounce. Over time, as you play with it, it becomes softer and less consistent. The bounce is also relatively low. I detest the ball, but it is what it is. People can defend it all they want, but I will be happier when that ball is eradicated from competition.

What Boll and Dima etc. are alluding to is the Nittaku ball. Much harder and much more consistent in bounce.
 
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Guys, the DHS ball is a softer ball with a less consistent bounce. Over time, as you play with it, it becomes softer and less consistent. The bounce is also relatively low. I detest the ball, but it is what it is. People can defend it all they want, but I will be happier when that ball is eradicated from competition.

What Boll and Dima etc. are alluding to is the Nittaku ball. Much harder and much more consistent in bounce.

What's your guess on the year where all poly balls will be at least decent and consistent?

I've practically given up on other plastic balls other than nittaku premium. That ball is a tank and will take plenty of table and paddle edge. Chinese seamless breaks on me after 2 paddle edge most of the time
 
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What's your guess on the year where all poly balls will be at least decent and consistent?

I've practically given up on other plastic balls other than nittaku premium. That ball is a tank and will take plenty of table and paddle edge. Chinese seamless breaks on me after 2 paddle edge most of the time


Buy me a crystal ball and I will let you know. Even our ITTF president doesn't have an answer. That's the beauty of our sport.
 
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