It works both ways. European players' struggle lie in their height. They have a much bigger crossover point as well, which is part of the reason why they prefer to play away from the table, but that's exactly why many of them have trouble(read hate) playing against Chinese players because they can't get past the 3rd ball to get into the rally stage. Playing away from the table also leads to the habit of lazy footwork at the table. They rarely step around but would rather rely on the backhand, and that's the reason why many have a weak forehand.Don't get me wrong, Pitch is a top caliber player, but I attribute CNT members' struggles to his wingspan. Think about it for a second, most of the time they play against each other and they're all quite small, especially for athletes. Ma Long is indeed not very long (I apologize about this terrible pun) at 1.75 m, Fan Zhendong is 1.73, Zhang Jike is 1.78, Xu Xin is the tallest of the bunch at 1.81. The Japanese players are shorter yet. There was a number of balls today that would've been straight winners for Fan Zhendong in Super League but Liam was on top of them with relative ease. First set is accomodation, second set the reaction, rest is the re-reaction from Pitchford, but he fell just short both against ML and FZD.
Also the more recent case with Miu Hirano after she won the Asia title beating three CNT singles in a row. Or Feng Tianwei earlier. Too bad there is quite a slim chance Miu Hirano will be fielded in the finals, which is most likely against the Chinese squad.It works both ways. European players' struggle lie in their height. They have a much bigger crossover point as well, which is part of the reason why they prefer to play away from the table, but that's exactly why many of them have trouble(read hate) playing against Chinese players because they can't get past the 3rd ball to get into the rally stage. Playing away from the table also leads to the habit of lazy footwork at the table. They rarely step around but would rather rely on the backhand, and that's the reason why many have a weak forehand.
It's all too common for 1st encounter to be a struggle for CNT players, but once you get your performance appraisal done by the CNT, you'll get the full weight of the technical gap driven right in your face. DO was competitive against ML in his early career but we all know what happened after that.
Where there's a will, there's a way.@zeio
I wonder how can you watch zhibo.tv outside China when it asks some China's phone number (via QQ) for registration (I guess). Do you watch at computer or at gadget (droid one)? Can you share this matter (how to reg at zhibo to be able to watch) I tried at my smartphone but it failed.
Don't get me wrong, Pitch is a top caliber player, but I attribute CNT members' struggles to his wingspan. Think about it for a second, most of the time they play against each other and they're all quite small, especially for athletes. Ma Long is indeed not very long (I apologize about this terrible pun) at 1.75 m, Fan Zhendong is 1.73, Zhang Jike is 1.78, Xu Xin is the tallest of the bunch at 1.81. The Japanese players are shorter yet. There was a number of balls today that would've been straight winners for Fan Zhendong in Super League but Liam was on top of them with relative ease. First set is accomodation, second set the reaction, rest is the re-reaction from Pitchford, but he fell just short both against ML and FZD.