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Hi,
I am a returning player, ive played since my childhood days.. I am 39 now, havent played since 2012-13.. ive a health issue and was advised to take up exercise/sport by my doctor, so table tennis was the obvious choice, I purchased the TB ALC + Rakza 7 (R7) for my first blade, as it was highly recommended, but i soon found out that the setup was too fast for my all+ / off- play style. I then changed the rubber to R7 Soft, it was ok but still not good as it doesnt feel natural to me, i guessed that the blade with the outer ALC was the problem, so i bought the new Yasaka Zebarate (very similar to innerforce layer/Apolonia in feel and materials/layers) and i find it quite good.. here i am still using the R7 softs for both FH and BH, i felt i need a bit more control on my BH and switched to Yasaka Valmo (i am a yasaka fan way back from the old Mark V days), it is very good and much better than my R7 soft on my BH.. so my setup is now the Zebarate + R7 Soft FH + Valmo BH. i thought it was a very good setup for my play style at first as it was easy to do top spins, opening up under spins and serves, here my opponents are beginner to intermediate at best with relatively cheap blades and rubbers. Today i went to my local TT club and played against a friend with Apolonia ZLC + Dignics 05 FH + Barracuda BH.. i had no idea i would struggle so much just to open up or top spin his serves/under spin shots, from his dignics 05.. this has led me to believe that my FH rubber with the soft sponge is the culprit. So i would like some suggestions for a new FH rubber that could go against the dignics 05 and its heavy spin. my options are Rakza 7, Rakza X, Tenergy 05.. but i dont want to spend too much on the rubber, anything more expensive than the T 05 is a no go due to budget constraints. Do know that ive sold al the old rubbers and the TB ALC, so i am now with only my current blade and rubbers mentioned. I used to have an adidas C500 carbon + adidas P5 FH + adidas P3 BH which i really liked but since they arent available anymore, i do not know what rubber to choose. i mainly play from close to mid range from the table.
Option 1: Rakza 7
Option 2: Rakza X
Option 3: Tenergy 05
Option 4: ??
Option 5: ??
Any input or suggestions will be deeply appreciated. I would like to mention that I am by no means a novice/beginner, ive even won the inter college gold medal 2 times, a state level bronze, etc back in my younger days.. but as i havent played for a long time and due to my health issues, i will never be able to play at that level ever again, I am saying this because i dont want to be recommended a beginner rubber but i am not quite versed in the new rubbers and the new plastic 40+ balls. Cheers.
Attached a few pictures of my current setup.
I am a returning player, ive played since my childhood days.. I am 39 now, havent played since 2012-13.. ive a health issue and was advised to take up exercise/sport by my doctor, so table tennis was the obvious choice, I purchased the TB ALC + Rakza 7 (R7) for my first blade, as it was highly recommended, but i soon found out that the setup was too fast for my all+ / off- play style. I then changed the rubber to R7 Soft, it was ok but still not good as it doesnt feel natural to me, i guessed that the blade with the outer ALC was the problem, so i bought the new Yasaka Zebarate (very similar to innerforce layer/Apolonia in feel and materials/layers) and i find it quite good.. here i am still using the R7 softs for both FH and BH, i felt i need a bit more control on my BH and switched to Yasaka Valmo (i am a yasaka fan way back from the old Mark V days), it is very good and much better than my R7 soft on my BH.. so my setup is now the Zebarate + R7 Soft FH + Valmo BH. i thought it was a very good setup for my play style at first as it was easy to do top spins, opening up under spins and serves, here my opponents are beginner to intermediate at best with relatively cheap blades and rubbers. Today i went to my local TT club and played against a friend with Apolonia ZLC + Dignics 05 FH + Barracuda BH.. i had no idea i would struggle so much just to open up or top spin his serves/under spin shots, from his dignics 05.. this has led me to believe that my FH rubber with the soft sponge is the culprit. So i would like some suggestions for a new FH rubber that could go against the dignics 05 and its heavy spin. my options are Rakza 7, Rakza X, Tenergy 05.. but i dont want to spend too much on the rubber, anything more expensive than the T 05 is a no go due to budget constraints. Do know that ive sold al the old rubbers and the TB ALC, so i am now with only my current blade and rubbers mentioned. I used to have an adidas C500 carbon + adidas P5 FH + adidas P3 BH which i really liked but since they arent available anymore, i do not know what rubber to choose. i mainly play from close to mid range from the table.
Option 1: Rakza 7
Option 2: Rakza X
Option 3: Tenergy 05
Option 4: ??
Option 5: ??
Any input or suggestions will be deeply appreciated. I would like to mention that I am by no means a novice/beginner, ive even won the inter college gold medal 2 times, a state level bronze, etc back in my younger days.. but as i havent played for a long time and due to my health issues, i will never be able to play at that level ever again, I am saying this because i dont want to be recommended a beginner rubber but i am not quite versed in the new rubbers and the new plastic 40+ balls. Cheers.
Attached a few pictures of my current setup.