Preparing to play a State level player

Hi Alois/Jeff,

As an ardent follower, I have closely seen all the videos possible with my membership type and followed your advise. I play for pleasure at my office level. As there is an ongoing tournament in office (my first table tennis tournament in life), I had a match today with a State level player. Although an extremely quick learner, I am still new to playing table tennis. I lost the game 11-04, 11-09, 03-11, 11-09 to him.

Before the match I noticed my nervousness along with simple BH and FH pushes resulting in ball going out of the table. Also my counter shots lost directional control and my FH smashes were not in control. As a result I tend to play extremely cautiously and was on the backfoot from the minute we started. 

I do not want this to happen to me ever again.

Kindly advise :

1. How should I control my shots?

2. I had no footwork at all. I was honestly trying to reach out for balls too far on the table.

3. How should I not put myself under pressure?

4. I noticed my racquet is a pre made (GKI Euro Spintec) and is extremely fast. I think I need to change it. But whether to change it to Pingskills Rook or Pingskills Touch (MarkV, Rakza 7, Tenergy 05), I am extremely doubtful between the 3 variants of pingskills touch range. Not sure if I should select Rook only. I play everyday in my office and there is a lot of competition and I am usually regarded in the good league, if not top. Should I even go for a custom racquet? If yes, please advise which one?

I am keen on improving my level. And I request you to help me please.

Hi Arun,

Firstly well done on getting through so many videos and also getting to a stage that you can play with a player of that level.

The feelings you felt in that match are really normal.  It was the first match for you that mattered so much.  The first thing that happens is that you will start to become anxious about the result or how you are going to play. Then one of the first signs in your body will be that your legs will feel heavy and not want to move.  You will reach for the bat as a result.  This is what you felt.

The key is to find ways to control your emotional level.  Implementing things like relaxation through deep breathing can help enormously.  Also think about playing good Table Tennis rather than focusing on the result.  Allow yourself to relax and enjoy the experience as much as possible.

Take a look first at the tutorial we have in our Sports Psychology section on how to Recognise Your Feelings.  This will give you good information again.

If your emotional level is not right then all the hitting you do doesn't matter much at all.