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A day before tournament

Strategy

azhar bhabha
azhar bhabha Asked 13 years ago

hey alois i have been employed by anglo eastern ship management as third officer, and i leave on 25th february. i hope to find good players on ship. 

but the reason i mention this is to underlay the importance of my last tournament that i am to play on sunday 3rd feb. it is a home tournament in my club and i am extremely nervous about my performance. i have an excellent chance of winning and am very nervous about a certain player in round robin in my group (only one from each group goes ahead to semis). this player is very very aggressive in attitude and equally aggressive in game. he cheers himself during points and screams while doing so looking me in the eye. i have beaten him many times but he has gone to a new coach and his game has shot up drastically. the problem im facing as modern defender is that he virtually always does forehand sidespin topspin and never pure forehand topspin. n when i am way back chopping, he suddenly makes a slow, low, spinny forehand sidespin topspin to my forehand corner which is very difficult to block OR counter spin.please advise what i can do about this. 

also, what would u suggest i should train on a day before a tournament to keep me in the zone on D day ??

thanks a million :)

 

Alois Rosario
Member Badge Alois Rosario Answered 13 years ago

Hi Azhar,

Well done on your employment.

It sounds like this tournament feels important to you.

Try to focus on what you need to do each point.  At the moment you are getting way ahead of yourself thinking about this one player and what he has been doing and what he has been practicing and what he might do.

Tomorrow, just focus each point one at a time.  If you keep doing that then games and matches will take care of themselves.  You also have other matches to think about for tomorrow.

Focus on what you are doing.  Don't worry about what is happening at the other end of the table.  You can't control that.  Each point watch the ball very, very carefully and react to what it is doing.

Practicing the day before a tournament is a matter of preference.  The way you are talking though, I think you probably need a hit today to settle yourself down a bit.

Good luck tomorrow.  Just focus on what you are doing every single point.

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Thoughts on this question (6)

azhar bhabha

azhar bhabha Posted 13 years ago

Thanks a lot alois. that is extremely helpful. yes u r right this tournament is very important as not only is it my last tournament but also one that is not far away n close to home, so all those who know i play table tennis will be coming to watch so there is the added pressure of performing. n i too think im stressing onone player too much, but thats because i do not want to lose n the league stage. that will be a shame. as for today, should i stick to training drills or should i play games with my training partners ?

your reply was really elaborate, i thank u for removing the time. but could u tell me what would be the best response to the spinny forehand sidespin-topspin that i mentioned earlier ?

Alois Rosario

Member Badge Alois Rosario from PingSkills Posted 13 years ago

Today I would play training games mainly.

Against the sidespin topspin, just chop it back and he will get some of his own spin back to him.

azhar bhabha

azhar bhabha Posted 13 years ago

thanks a million alois. games in 12 hours now

Alois Rosario

Member Badge Alois Rosario from PingSkills Posted 13 years ago

Don't forget to have a good sleep.

azhar bhabha

azhar bhabha Posted 13 years ago

Alois , i just wanna thank you so very much for all your advice and moral support... and also a big thank you to pingskills, whose mental preparation section i went through entirely before my matches... the deep breath count till six helped immensely !! and most importantly, alois, i want to tell u that not only did i win my round robin matches in straight sets, i also won the semis in straight sets, and the player i referred to earlier i defeated in an epic match but in straight sets again.. i won silver eventually as i lost the finals... it was a hell of a day, and i am so very grateful to u, for giving me the confidence to shake off my nerves.. thank you...

Alois Rosario

Member Badge Alois Rosario from PingSkills Posted 13 years ago

Hi Azhar,

That is great news.  Well done for taking the time to prepare for the matches so well.  It should give you confidence to know that you can control yourself better now.  It is a skill that you can keep practicing now to get even better at it.

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