CNT 2014 WTTTC Closed Training News

According to chinatt.com Sina Weibo, on March 29, 2014, CNT men's team had a closed training game for 2014 WTTTC.

Four players, i.e. Zhang Jike, Ma Long, Xu Xin, Fan Zhendong, played in the training game. These four players as well as Wang Hao who is now competing at German Open are scheduled to represent China in upcoming 2014 Tokyo WTTTC. The game was played using new plastic ball.

The four players are divided into two teams with Zhang Jike and Ma Long forming Team 1 and Xu Xin and Fan Zhendong forming Team 2. The punishment for the losing team will be 10,000m running. All other players participated in betting. Everyone bet on Team 1 except for Liu Jikang, Shang Kun, Fan Shengpeng, Lin Gaoyuan, Zheng Peifeng, Lai Jiaxin, who bet on Team 2.

The result: Team 1 won (3-1)

Match 1: Ma Long 3-1 Xu Xin
Match 2: Zhang Jike 3-2 Fan Zhendng
Match 3: Ma Long 3-1 Fan Zhendong
Match 4: Zhang Jike vs Xu Xin. Zhang Jike withdrew due to foot blisters

Photos from the closed training games.

Two more photos from the closed training

Some observations of the closed training games by chinatt.com Weibo.

Why did Fan Zhendong lose? Fan Zhendon's play relies too much on backhand flicks, and his forehand's abilities are still lacking. Also, the quality of his short game is poor. The plastic ball has a lower degree of spin compared with the old one, which results in its rapid drop, and this feature makes it hard to flick. When Fan Zhendong could not have quality flicks, his whole play would be interrupted. In comparison, Zhang Jike and Ma Long have more varieties and are more mature in their plays, and they are adapting and adjusting well.

Original Chinese Text:

@博乒网微博：小胖今天输在哪？整理了一下二表哥前女友的语音，大致的判断是这样的：小胖的技术体系过于依赖反手拧拉，正手能力不足，摆短质量低。塑料球的特性是，球旋转明显下降，容易急坠，接发球拧拉有一定难度，当小胖拧拉质量下降后整个进攻体系被打乱。而张继科、马龙技术手段更加多样和成熟，适应的不错。

Ma Long was very agressive in attacking the service return, not afraid to attack, very consistent in forehand, and has the ability to kill. However, his backhand defense is still weak. Because the new ball has the tendency to drop rapidly, sometimes he would miss his loop shot in a rally. Overall, Ma Long has made good adjustment to the new ball.

Original Chinese Text:

马龙发球抢攻意识较强，敢于出手，正手稳定性不错，具备一定的杀伤力，但是反手抵抗力还是偏弱。由于新球有急坠特性，对拉时也会偶尔出现拉空的情况。总的来说，马龙对新球适应能力和调节能力不错。

Zhang Jike was excellent in rhythm control, adapting to the new ball very fast. He increased the speed in his backhand attack, and was able to accelerate it first, which put some pressure on Fan Zhendong. Also, Zhang Jike is more experienced and has more varieties in short games. And, his overall forehand ability is better than Fan Zhendong, therefore, he was not in a disadvantage in a rally.

Original Chines Tex:

张继科对节奏的把握十分出色，对新球适应较快，反手进攻速度有所提高，能够率先提速，对小胖造成了一定压力。另外张继科对小球的处理更显经验丰富，手段多样化，正手综合实力强于樊振东，在相持中不落下风

Note: I'm not very good at translating technique analysis in TT. I provided the original Chinese text for each section so that someone in this forum who is fluent in both Chinese and English may want to take a look to see if I got it right.

Here is the link for the original thread in chinatt.com: http://www.chinatt.com/forum.php?mod=viewthread&tid=1211708&extra=page=1

Looptheloop714 said:

Cool thread any leak video ? lolz Team 1 huh lolz strongest in the world right about now lolz ML , ZJ

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Sorry, I haven't see any uploaded leak videos. I'll post it here if I see one.

ping fun said:

thanks for zjkfanforever . the photos are great . wish to see some video of games if available ... zjk due to injury withdraws... hope to see him soon playing in a competition . waiting for japan team championship

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You are welcome! I'll post it here if I see any videos of the games.

Oh, another thing, according to the report, it seems that the new ball is more susceptible to break. During Zhang Jike and Fan Zhendong's match, they broke two balls. Guess because both of them are known for having powerful shots.