Monday, February 27, 2012

Sharath, Subhajit, Amalraj and Sanil to fight it out

Banking on another upset? A Amalraj and Sanil Shetty play top seeds Ma Long and Wang Hao. What's your bet? The giant killers Sharath Kamal and Subhajit Saha play Leong Kin Wa and Che Chi Pan of Macau in a bid to reach the quarters. Sharath and Saha have a good chance of a medal since their half is clear of the 2nd seeds Ma Lin and Zhang Jike. Every match at this level is very tough. So Gals and Guys, cheer your heroes!

Amalraj/Sanil's match has started at 3 PM Macau time. Sharath/Subhajit get on to the court at 3:45 PM local time.

Sharath and Subhajit beat Ma Lin and Zhang Jike

Just in from Neha Aggarwal. Sharath and Subhajit beat Ma Lin and Zhang Jike 3-0 at the Asian Championships! And the win was pretty easy. They won 11-2, 11-9, 11-5 
In the other half, Amalraj and Sanil Shetty are to play top seeds Ma Long and Wang Hao.

Saturday, February 25, 2012

Amalraj and Soumyajit Stars of India Table Tennis at the Asian Championships

Anthony Amalraj was the star of the Indian team at the Asian Table Tennis Championships including in the Quarter final. Facing Chinese Taipei and with the prospects of an unprecedented medal, Amalraj won two rubbers against higher ranked opponents, but his team mates could not finish off their rivals.

Earlier, Amalraj shone against the Iranians too and young Soumyajit Ghosh won the decider against a very experienced opponent.

The Women too did well to reach the Champions group and the Quarterfinals, where they lost to the formidable Chinese team.

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Famous Bengal Table Tennis Players

The names are not in order of rankings.
Soumyadeep Roy
Subhajit Saha
Sourav Chakraborty
Poulomi Ghatak
Soumyajit Ghosh
Anirban Nandi
Mouma Das
Ankita Das
Sourav Saha
Raj Mondal
Souvik Basu Roy
Ranbir Das
Shubham Choudhary
Mousumi Paul
Anandita Chakraborty
Kasturi Chakraborty
Soumi Mondal
Nandita Saha
Kritika Sinha Roy
Pallavi Kundu

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Sharath Kamal beats Waldner again!

A Sharath Kamal beat Table Tennis legend Jan Ove Waldner again on this weekend at the German (Bundesliga) Table Tennis league.

Facing Waldner in the 3rd and crucial singles tie, Sharath prevailed 11-5, 11-5, 7-11, 12-10


Waldner was about to make a terrific comeback but Sharath was determined to close out the match in the fourth game. Thus Sharath's team S V Werder Bremen beat Fulda Maberzell 3-2 and kept its hopes alive of advancing to the play off round. Werder Bremen coach Cristian Tamas was full of praise for Sharath for containing the sleeping giant, Waldner, who is no longer active on the International circuit.


Nittaku Resoud blade

Nittaku Resoud is a blade that retails for Rs. 1.2 Lac to Rs. 3 Lac for each piece. It is made of a very special timber from the Resoud forest. The same wood is used to create the best piano and violins in the world. The person who started working on it initiated it and it was crafted over a decade and a half with the co-operation of top Japanese Table Tennis players.
Sorry, we don't stock it :-). Quite a few people mainly in Japan buy it. It is the most expensive Ping Pong blade in the world.

The blade comes in a regal case. 2 Nitakku 3 star balls free ;-)

Monday, February 20, 2012

US Table Tennis Olympic Trials 2012

Table Tennis legend Gao Jun led the Women's trials table with 11-0, while Michael Landers topped the Men's trials with 9-2. The amazing thing is that Jun is 43 years old and still going strong!
Gao Jun is a medallist at the Olympic games. She moved to the USA in 1994 from her native China.

Table Tennis Olympic Trials Results

Womens Results Mens Results
1) Jun Gao (11-0) 1) Michael Landers (9-2)
2) Ariel Hsing (9-2) 2) Barney Reed (8-3)
3) Lily Zhang (9-2) 3) Adam Hugh (8-3)
4) Erica Wu (9-2) 4) Timothy Wang (8-3)

Forrest Gump Table Tennis


A still from the famous movie Forrest Gump (played by Tom Hanks) playing ping pong.

From Wikipedia:
Forrest Gump is a 1994 American epic comedy-drama romance film based on the 1986 novel of the same name by Winston Groom. The film was directed by Robert Zemeckis, starring Tom Hanks, Robin Wright and Gary Sinise. The story depicts several decades in the life of Forrest Gump, a naive and slow-witted native of Alabama who witnesses, and in some cases influences, some of the defining events of the latter half of the 20th century.

Saturday, February 18, 2012

Jun Mizutani documentary

Nice documentary on Japan's Table Tennis star, Jun Mizutani with a lot of focus on his magic serves.



Editor, www.TableTennisBug.com

Thursday, February 16, 2012

Uneven Table Tennis bounce?

Extreme Ping Pong. Do your friends complain of uneven bounce on the table? Then try playing on this one!
 

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Waldner vs Persson - Spectacular Table Tennis rally!

Waldner vs Persson. Watch this amazing rally by the All Time Greats and World Champions of the last Millenium! Let's spread the word around. Click Share on Youtube. These kind of moments can help raise Table Tennis awareness among the masses, although it may seem routine to a Pro player.



Both the legends run around the table and keep the ball rolling! This spectacular and comical Table Tennis rally thrills the crowd in the hall.

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Oldest Table Tennis Player

The oldest Table Tennis player in the World, Dorothy De Low, plays with fiery competitive spirit. She holds the current World record.
 

Friday, February 10, 2012

Thursday, February 9, 2012

This Week's USA Table Tennis tournaments

Trolley Car Table Tennis Club Philly Open February 2012    
Philadelphia    PA    2/11/2012 - 2/12/2012  
Ken Weinstein, 215-247-5555

Arizona Open    
Phoenix    AZ    2/11/2012 - 2/12/2012  
Mark Dewitt, 623-421-0227

Robopong February 2012 Broward Table Tennis Open    
Dania Beach    FL    2/11/2012 - 2/12/2012      
Carlos Zeller, 954-849-5436

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Beat the beast!

Can you beat this guy at Table Tennis? I predict the score will be 10001100010011110001 or something similar.

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

Ping Pong Car

A car decked with Table Tennis Balls!
Would you like a ride in the Ping Pong car?

Monday, February 6, 2012

Indian National Champion Amalraj's Interview with TableTennisBug.com

A Amalraj - Photos are by courtesy of the ITTF.
Editor: Hello, from all our readers, Congratulations for winning the National Table Tennis Championship. How does it feel?

Amalraj: It feels great. It was always my dream to win the National title. I have always looked up to players like Kamlesh Mehta, Sharath Kamal, Manjit Dua, Chetan Baboor, S Raman, and many others who have won the title and it feels great to join them on that roll of honour. This is my first national title other than the Inter-institutional title that I won earlier this season. I'm obviously thrilled to win the Nationals because it is my first one right from my Cadet years!

Editor: Did you do any special preparation for the nationals?

Amalraj: Yes, this time, apart from the technique and other aspects, I paid a lot of attention to the mental preparation part since I have faced challenges in the mental aspects in the past. For example, I played semi-finals and twice I was very close to reaching the finals, but in both cases, I was unable to close out the matches. Against Sourav Chakraborty, I was leading 3-2 and 9-6 but lost from there and also lost to Pathik Mehta another time when I had chances to reach the finals. So, I made it a point to train myself mentally for big matches, especially this season.

Editor: What did you do for the mental training?

Amalraj: Well, I got counseling in camps and also in Chennai from Sports Psychologists. Apart from this, I am constantly telling myself to be positive and approach situations very positively no matter what the stage of the match. I also remind myself of former Indian great players, such as Kamlesh Mehta, who are brave and put up a fight on and off the table in an elegant way.

Editor: How is the competition in Slovakia? How are the conditions there?

Amalraj: I have shifted base in Europe to Seligenstadt in Germany and I play league matches there. It is much better in Germany. I got to practice with International players such as Steffen Mengel and Ruwen Filus. The standard there is much higher and a lot of people are noticing me. If I do well, I can move higher.

Editor: What are your practice sessions like in Germany?

Amalraj: My practice sessions are always on schedule. I never miss practice whether I am in India or Germany or in Indian camps at Patiala and so on. I try not to let anything come in my way of practice. I play in the morning and evening and also work on my fitness and gymming.

Editor: What are your aims now?

Amalraj: To win the Nationals was my ambition. I feel I have achieved my goals at the National level. I want to now improve and make my mark at the International level. I want to play more and more Pro Tour events (now called World Tour events). Sharath has done very well on the International circuit. I want to emulate him.

Editor: To achieve these aims, do you have good sponsors?

Amalraj: ONGC is my employer and my national needs are well met. Tibhar sponsors my equipment. However, playing in Pro Tours is very expensive. I am managing with my own money right now. I hope I can get a sponsor now that I have become the National Champion.
It will be great if people like you raise awareness about Table Tennis. It deserves attention since we are winning medals at Commonwealth level and our Juniors have even won a medal at the World Championships.

Editor: Do you think you need higher level training, for example in China or Austria (Schlager academy)?

Amalraj: Yes, I feel the need for higher level, world class training to reach higher on the International rungs. I hope I get an opportunity to train at such places.

Editor: Any words about the controversy in the media after you celebrated your win?

Amalraj: I would just like to say that I gave vent to my feelings. It was an exhilarating feeling to be crowned the Indian Champion, a dream that I am pursuing from nearly 20 years. I hope people understand how much I have worked for this. The sacrifices and the pain that I have gone through had to come out somehow and I guess they did come out in an emotional way.

Editor: It was a great pleasure to talk to you. We hope that you continue to taste success and that you achieve your ambitions at the World level.

Amalraj: Thank you very much. It was my pleasure too.

Thursday, February 2, 2012

Natalia Partyka, the brave Table Tennis Player from Poland

Natalia Partyka is a female Table Tennis player, who was born without a right hand and forearm, she participates in competitions for able-bodied athletes as well as in competitions for athletes with disabilities. Her current world ranking is 92 and she is only 22 years old. The highest Indian woman in World Rankings is not in the top 200!

She has won gold medals at European level in Cadets for able-bodied people!

Read more on Wikipedia here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natalia_Partyka

Wednesday, February 1, 2012