would a Ryu Seung Min survive in today's table tennis?

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Have you seen a game from late 80s recently? They’re super boring to watch. The rallies last 3 shots mostly. And a lot of errors on serve return.
It’s just better now as a spectator sport.


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there we go
so to win in the 80s is more difficult than the 90s, 2000s, 2010s etc
because 3rd ball you could loose the point, 5th ball you could loose the point, now there is so much more rallies
your Ma Longs of the world looks more even against a WR50 player compared to 30 years ago.

So can RSM survive - yes he sure can.
Can a world top 20 survive 20 years back, maybe no?
 
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prime RSM would easily be top 10 today if not top 5. Ma Long and FZD, (and possibly healthy ZJK) are probably the only ones that have clear advantage over RSM today. Xu Xin (No longer at his prime) is slightly better. All other young guys have no more than 50:50 against prime RSM
 
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RSM has one of the best footworks in all time
with a slower game today, his footwork might not be even recognised.
RSM doesn't need a backhand, as he can just to a FH throughout lol
I think in today's situation, he can still be in the top 10, or still be Korea's no 1

Well maybe with all earlier gen KNT on his prime, maybe oh sang eun would adapt better to poly ball!
 
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hm..
KTS was in the 38mm speed glue era- known as the fastest era when compared to 40 and 40+ days
I would guess KTS is faster?

its kind of silly when we compare TT to other sports
Do you see basketball changing the hoop height/ball size? tennis changing the net height or ball size?
TT has gone through so many changes every 3 to 5 years, that the past 20 years, one can't really compare one generation of players to another - and i'm not takling technology improvements, but rather ITTF enforced rule changes to change the game completely....

Well, from my opinion, apart from the ball size, KTS wasn't so explosive/offensive like RSM... so maybe RSM was faster, as he was more offensive, and consequently he had to recover more often from his loops... I don't know if it's right what I'm saying, but at least makes sense to me :p
 
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Well, from my opinion, apart from the ball size, KTS wasn't so explosive/offensive like RSM... so maybe RSM was faster, as he was more offensive, and consequently he had to recover more often from his loops... I don't know if it's right what I'm saying, but at least makes sense to me :p

Its really way too difficult to tell
KTS was in a faster ball era than RSM
Maybe if KTS was using slower ball speed like RSM, he could be more explosive.
I can say XX of today won't be able to be as explosive in 38mm days too, or even the likes of Ma Long/ZJK in 38mm
Its just way too difficult to tell, as each era the players move/focus onto something different
 
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Amazing how some posters underestimate past players

Every generation of sports fans thinks that the players of their era are the greatest ever.
Consider Boll and Samsonov. They were top players from the late nineties and still are. Ok, give Sammy some leeway because of age.
The point is Boll and Samsonov were top in the era of 38mm ball, speed glue and hidden serves. They have adapted to all the changes to remain the strong players that they are today.
So yes, RSM would still be as competitive as he was then. So would Persson, Gatien, jiang, ding song, Schlager etc.
 
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Here. This is RSM old and not in his best shape agains ML who at the time was WR#1 and in the middle of a streak to tie for the most matches in a row without a loss. So, ML at his best, I would say:


In his prime he was as good as anyone. Look at that. :)
 
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As much as I like RSM and his game, I am very sceptical - he would be TOP50, but IMO he would not make it into TOP20.

There are simple reasons:
1. His serve would not be as spinny with the plastic ball, combine that with the banana and strawberry BH-Flicks of today and he would not be let to play that big FH so often.
2. He already suffered a lot by the speed glue ban, the plastic ball would mean further serious problems. What is the point of leaving the whole table open, run round and go for a FH winner when the opponent can block into the wide FH with a smile on his face. Look at Ma Long of nowdays - he adapted, he is not FH-dominant any more, he has an allround balanced game. It is not possible to be purely FH dominant these days, ironically, the most devastating FH is that of Falck, as he has pips on FH and smashes and that is the only way to put the opponent under "fire", but not consistent enough...
 
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He proably would not have played the same if he played today. Have a hard time Seeing that players would choose JPEN.

I also think his backhand could have been pretty good if he had not run forehand on everything.
 
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He proably would not have played the same if he played today. Have a hard time Seeing that players would choose JPEN.

I also think his backhand could have been pretty good if he had not run forehand on everything.

Lula,

Do you know RSM can understand a good deal of English and might see this post? :D

His English has improved a lot over the last 7 years. Thanks to Joel.

RSM hears you say RSM would avoid J-Pen... that is tantamount to a declaration of war by mis-statement.

Maybe his fans will chase you down before RSM finds your secret hideout.

Quick, hop on a plane to NYC and have Carl stash you in Stakeout APT #16 with his backup spyPhone... it is for your health.
 
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Table tennis is mostly played in the head at that level , so a head that belongs in top 10 in any era has a high likelihood of belonging in top 10 in another era :p ... case in point Timo , Vladi etc ... variations, unpredictability , clear strategic play .. these are more important than whether Harimoto can block earlier than most , otherwise Timo Boll would have no chance against Harimoto ... but he does beat him sometimes still :)

The first two touches still determine most of the outcome in a table tennis point , the serve and the receive ...

The two disadvantages I see with the new ball is :

1. Players targetting RSM's backhand with banana receive ... well a J-Pens most potent weapon is the side swipe or side spin block .. so it would get neutralized for the most part ...

2. the cross court loops from backhand side to a RH player's BH would be more blockable down the line ... how many did we we see RSM hit in the match against ML ?

So RSM will be top 10 or even top 5 still in this generation , no doubt !
 
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As some mentioned before RSM would most likely be a shakehand player in this era. And I cant imagine what RSM would have achieved with his footwork, FH and a shakehand grip. ML would have had tough competition.

He'd have a different footwork if he were a shakehand player. The mindset is totally different for both grips. RSM wouldn't have worked on that penhold footwork.

 
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I think it depends on exactly the rules.

Are we talking about magically plucking RSM from a decade and a half ago to play a game? He would struggle as balls are different, and he's optimised for the game back, not the game now.

Are we supposing RSM were born at such a time he's in his prime now, and developed from a youth in the modern game? There's be no reason why he wouldn't be one of the top players. His style of game might be... different.... but there's no reason why he woudln't still be at the very top levels of the game. Footwork, feel, physicallity, game knowledge and metality. The fundamental requirements are the same now as they were back then, and he has all of those.

Perhaps the most interesting, would be if we plucked say, an 18yo RSM out from his time, and let him play the modern game for a few years, then see how he does. I think in this case, he'd still be a top player, but probably not winning any major tournaments with strong competition.
It may be an unpopular opinion, but modern players are almost certainly, on average, objectively better players (in pretty much any sport). Not because they are necessarily more talented, but because they have the luxury of being from a time where we know more, and do things better.
We know now how to: train better, eat better, prep for a game better, recover better. And we've had more time to try more ideas, and seen more ideas tried by those before, those amount to some fairly compelling advantages over a sporting lifetime.
 
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RSM would be world top 10 in today's game. He may not beat ML, but thats not a jpen issue. It's an ML issue. Good luck to anyone trying to beat him. He is just too good
 
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RSM is too talented. You won't see many players with that touch and physical ability. His FH receive was really great, comparable to Ma Lin and Ma Long. A prime RSM in today's table tennis:
Top 20: for sure
Top 10: probably
Top 5: too hard without BH

JPEN style is beautiful but the BH disadvantage is too much and it's difficult for JPEN players to last long because the style is so demanding on the body.
 
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