Being Ready for Play at Tournaments

Hi Sir,

After a long time, probably 3-4 years, I am asking something. Hope you are well. You and another friend (pingskill member) DK always guided me in past.

For the last 1-1.5 years, I am facing one peculiar problem. I am facing difficulties to start practice, i.e., I am doing strange types of actions at the beginning of the practice. A strange type of wrist movement, a strange type of counter, topspin, block. Every day, every time, whenever I start practising in our club, I face this problem initially. But, after practising with my known friends in the known environment for 10-15 minutes, I come back in rhythm. But, in the tournaments, I do not get that much time. And initially seeing such peculiar and restricted and immature actions the opponent refuse me to practice for at least even 2 minutes.

I want to say that, I am a chopper/defender, and as a player, I know and am able to do counter, block, and topspin on both the side. I know all the strokes. But don't know why, I face such starting problem. At that starting time, if anyone sees me, he/she will identify me as even lower than a beginner. But I can say and believe that I am personally not that. I just need some more time to get the rhythm. In tournaments, because of such problems, I can not confidently attack. And without attack, nowadays it is impossible to win.

If I lose any tournament, that is not my regret. My regret is, I am not able to give my 100% effort unwillingly. I personally know I can play better than that. In our club, within 10-15 min. I recover and practice everything very normally for 45-1 hour and then I play intra-club matches with my friends and I can play my own game, whether I win or lose. But that is not possible in official tournaments.

Please guide me, on how can I get rid of this problem. I don't know whether I am the only one, who faces such a strange problem or not.

Rajdeep, I understand your frustration - it can be very tricky to find your rhythm in a tournament setting. The cause of this problem could be many things - physical, mental, or technical. Physically, it could be that you are not warmed up sufficiently, or your muscles are not trained enough. Mentally, it could be that you are not confident or focused enough to perform at your peak. And technically, it could be that as a chopper/defender, you are not as comfortable and competent with attacking the ball or pushing your game up a level. My advice to you would be to focus more on physical conditioning and getting your body ready to play under tournament conditions. Doing stretching exercises, and building your physical endurance will help you stay focused and take your game to the next level. Mental preparation is also important - staying confident and being able to block out distractions while performing is a must. Finally, work on your technical game. Focus on both your attacking and defensive shots, and practice as much as possible in various scenarios to make sure you're up for the challenge in tournament play. I hope this advice helps you get rid of your starting problem, and that you find success in your future tournaments! Good luck