Anthony Joshua started fighting at 18 How many late starters at TT has they're been?

says Spin and more spin.
says Spin and more spin.
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Anthony Joshua started boxing at 18 how many late starters at table tennis has their been?

You are brand new to the forum. As I write this, you have made 3 posts and all three were in new threads you opened. Was there any idea behind that?
 
Anthony Joshua started boxing at 18 how many late starters at table tennis has their been?

I started late, but I'm not a top top level player. I had a background in other sports, though. I know others who started late who are.... actually awful players but they have more fun than most top level players!! I guess different players play for different reasons.

You are brand new to the forum. As I write this, you have made 3 posts and all three were in new threads you opened. Was there any idea behind that?

What's the big deal?
 
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Interesting. I started at 18 and I’m now 30. I’m an average local league player. I have played on and off over the years.

In terms of players starting late I also mean about players who have made it at the highest level. It would be interesting to know if anyone had the names of players starting late at a World Level.
 
says Spin and more spin.
says Spin and more spin.
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I think, since, in TT, prime years are often 22-26, and since TT is a sport that is much more a sport about precision and technical subtleties and, probably, the technical aspects are more important than in any other sport I can think of (maybe soccer [futbol] as well), I don't know if there are any top players who started after they turned 18.

I know some players who started at 14 with a background in Tennis who got to decently high levels, but not to top 300 in the world.

I think, especially with the advantage the Chinese pros have where, by the age of 12 they have 6+ years and hundreds of thousands of hours training technique. So, if someone was to try and start at 18 and hope to get to the top levels, they would be playing against opponents who had 12+ years of high level training and coaching to compete against.

When you add to that the skills at reading spin, the precision of how you touch the ball when you loop or push (tangential contact touching only 1-2mm of the edge of the ball), and the skills of reading the trajectory of a ball that curves, arcs and kicks more than in any other racket sport, the skills of tracking and intercepting a ball with that kind of arc, curve and kick, the skills you would need to develop to be a top pro in TT are simply different, and and a different kind of "technical," than for a sport like boxing.

This is not to say you don't need great skills to be a boxer. You do. They are just different skills. And those skills usually are trained from a decent amount earlier than 18 too. But someone with amazing talent and power, could get up to speed fast with something like boxing.

But without the training, the stroke mechanics, the ability to track and intercept the ball, the deep understanding of the nuances of all varieties of spin variations, reading deceptive serves, how to counterloop, I am not sure someone at 18 could develop the skills to get into the top 300.

Of course, I could be wrong. But I don't think it has been done. And this has so much to do with how much of a precision sport TT is. It is also why the top women are closer in level to the top men than in most sports. And it is also why certain players like He Zhe Wen can play into their 50s and still be competitive with players in their prime.
 
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says Spin and more spin.
says Spin and more spin.
Well-Known Member
Super Moderator
Dec 2010
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Read 11 reviews
Anthony Joshua started boxing at 18 how many late starters at table tennis has their been?

You are brand new to the forum. As I write this, you have made 3 posts and all three were in new threads you opened. Was there any idea behind that?

What's the big deal?


By the way, I am glad you responded to someone in your thread. I read the forum to try and find bots. Often bots will post a series of posts and threads that could look a lot like your first three posts. They do make some good bots these days that come pretty close to passing as human. Based on your first three posts I was not sure. But usually the bots that try to infest this forum do not respond to other posters on the forum.

So I was trying to see if you were human and not a bot.
 
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I think fighting is quite a bit different. In that sport, you have basic genetic 'gifts' that account for a lot. Sure, training can overcome some elements... but not all. Can you take a punch? Are you a naturally strong KO artist? Do you have exceptionally fast reflexes and anticipation (this one applies to TT as well, but TT relies on having the technical ability on what to do while reacting)?

The sheer number of fighters and strongman athletes who started later in life and became champions is too great to ignore. I don't think you'll find even a single champion in TT or other skill intensive sports that started after 18.
 
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