Are you a table tennis fan? For sure you did not miss the 2014 Word Team Table Tennis Championships. The championships happened in Tokyo. It was from April 28 to May 5, 2014. The championship division was comprised of twenty four teams – China, Germany, Japan, South Korea, Austria, Sweden, Chinese Taipei, Singapore, Hong Kong, Belarus, Portugal, Poland, North Korea, Russia, Greece, Serbia, Hungary, France, Ukraine, Romania, Croatia, Brazil, Denmark and Spain.
For the men’s team, China got the Gold. Germany held the Silver and Chinese Taipei acquired the Bronze. For the women’s team, China got the Gold again. Japan held the Silver. Both Hong Kong and Singapore acquired the Bronze. It was Feng Tianwei, Yu Mengyu, Yee Herng Hwee and Li Isabelle Siyun who got the Bronze model.
However, if you are still beginning to like table tennis, you need to familiarize yourself with its basics so you will understand how it works. Learning the basics is crucial. Others see a ball and they think that it should only be hit to get it to the other side. Table tennis is more than that because you need techniques and skills to be successful. So what are the basics of table tennis? Here’s a look:
- Basic stance and footwork: Since you are a beginner, you need to practice your footwork. If you have a good footwork, your strokes will follow. Remember that if your footwork is poor, it would be challenging to return the smashes and offensive drives of your opponents. You have to learn your ready stance.
- Racket grip: If you are familiar with your stance and your footwork, the next thing that you have to learn is racket grip. The good thing about table tennis is that there are no clear rules of how you need to grip your racket. Remember that the way you grip your racket makes a difference. There are four types of grips – penhold, shakehand, v and seemiller. The most common style is the shakehand. You also need to know the basic serve. You need to learn backspin and the topspin.
- Stroke: You need to be familiar with the different strokes. There are three basic strokes to include block, drive and push.
You will surely enjoy table tennis in no time. It may be difficult at first but once you master it, you will surely get good. Table tennis is also called Ping Pong. Of course, things will be easier if you have a coach or trainer to help you.
