Fault serves at WTTTC 2012

craziest thing ive ever seen in professional table tennis! that umpire should just give up on life

I don't think the umpire should have disrupted the match to the extent he did. I don't think he let them play. I think it was ill-advised and made the match about something other than table tennis. However, those guys are pros. If they are warned or faulted and told that they are not tossing the ball vertically enough and that the umpire does not want them to toss the ball in towards their body, they should be able to do that. And both of them were. Was it enough up to make the amount the ball was going towards them acceptable. Yeah. Was it a legal toss? It is debatable. The toss is going up and towards him. Both of them are doing it. I think, if you are a professional and an umpire calls you for something like that, if you cannot correct it and make the toss enough more vertical, or even completely vertical, something else is wrong as well.

It was not good for the fans. The umpire should have let it alone after the second fault. But Such and Gardos should have been able to make the toss compliant with the umpires strictures as well. That they were not able to, and after many faults they were both actually tossing the ball in the same way they were before the first fault, to me, shows a lack of professionalism on both their parts even though Such was faulted far more than Gardos.

I remember seeing a match where Xu Xin was warned and then faulted and after he was faulted, the rest of his tosses were completely vertical and considerably higher so the umpire could have nothing to complain about.

Very well said Carl. I was actually thinking the same thing. Since the issue here was the toss, the pro's should be able to make the necessary adjustments. In my opinion, if they can do around the net shot with ease, I am pretty sure they can make the toss adjustments.
Maybe some are showing defiance by not changing, but I think since this is a team event, and the country is paying you to play (flights, lodgings, food etc), a player should put his team and country first than risking losing a match for the team.

The umpire maybe a bit of a cuckoo, but a player must not throw away a game like that just to prove a point, risking the team along the way.

For me the umpire must have clear view whether the player serves vertically or not cause it is like unfair calling faults in fact they are just on the sides.

I hope we can get to the point where people stop blaming the umpires for the service situation and acknowledge that the rule needs to be changed. Ok, there are some bad eggs (I've even had my tomahawk serve faulted - HA!) but it's generally not their fault. How are they supposed to see if someone's head or shoulder is in between the ball and the opponent?! Keep the rule simple so it can actually be consistently enforced.

EDIT Ok, so I just watched the footage. Pretty unfortunate wasn't it? I would have thought the big head in the way was more cause for faulting than a crooked ball toss.

Maybe the ITTF should just change the rules by having the players to toss higher than their height. In which case, the toss would be definitely be above their heads. Then, they can toss the ball into their body as much as they like.

azlan said:

Maybe the ITTF should just change the rules by having the players to toss higher than their height. In which case, the toss would be definitely be above their heads. Then, they can toss the ball into their body as much as they like.

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That would give 'normal' serves an advantage over reverse pendulum or some tomahawklike serves, like Matsudaira's. Those would become almost impossible to do, although Matsudaira just bends his knees so the ball will be above his height

Hehehe Matsu does that, doesn't he? Only his head is peaking out above the table. Actually, the higher the throw the more spin you get out of the serves. I think the players will manage the reverse pendulum and tomahawk with ease They're pros after all, though they can't seem to adjust the toss towards the their body, oddly enough

azlan said:

Hehehe Matsu does that, doesn't he? Only his head is peaking out above the table. Actually, the higher the throw the more spin you get out of the serves. I think the players will manage the reverse pendulum and tomahawk with ease They're pros after all, though they can't seem to adjust the toss towards the their body, oddly enough

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Well what I mean is that with reverse pendulum serves most players have their body a little over the ball, like Boll and Zhang Jike. I think tossing towards the body is a bit of a result from that in some serves. If you start in a position with your back bent over a bit, and you straighten your back during the toss, your arm will automatically go back and so the toss is towards your body. This is also the reason people like Par Gerell and Wang Hao don't have a straight toss. If you compare it to Vladi's serve, you can see how the starting position, and movement of the body during the toss, affects the angle of the toss. It's pretty hard to toss straight up when your body is going 'backwards' a bit.

I do see your point buddy, but I can easily do a vertical toss, and then stepping into the serve with my body just before I make contact with the ball. That's how I do my reverse pendulum, pendulum and all my serves.. It gives me loads of spin since I'm stepping in into the serve, even for my short serves. Plus, I eliminate the possibility of me tossing low into my body (tossing high into the body is ok according to ITTF), and obstructing the view of the ball by my opponents at all times.