All about Table Tennis

How are Hurricane 2, Hurricane 3, NEO Hurricane 3, Hurricane 8 and Hurricane 3-50 different?

-Hurricane 2 was developed in 2000 after Wang Liqin and Yan Sen won the gold medal in Olympics men’s doubles. It creates high speed and spin whilst maintaining stable control. In addition, it generates strong near-table offensive power to make the ball fly in a low arc which frustrates opponent’s defences.

-Hurricane 3 is designed for players who mainly adopt a controlled playing style or have a relatively weak attack. The rubber can add strength and produce a long arc, which increases the ball control and exerts fast attack and loop drive close-to-table.

-NEO rubbers were designed for the era of inorganic glue. It creates a stable and high-speed arc and improves the scoring ability of the players. NEO Hurricane 3 has a high speed, low fast loop, changeful arc and stronger spin.

-Hurricane 8 is a new generation of sticky-speed rubber. Hurricane 8 is specially designed to enhance the spin and speed for 40+ Celluloid-Free T.T. balls. It keeps a good balance between flexibility and elasticity.

-Hurricane 3-50 is made of tacky rubber with elastic sponge. The sponge is receptive to ball contact while the rubber friction grips and holds the ball. Such a combination provides the player with great ball feeling with every shot and suits players who want to exert a fast, stable loop attack.

(Information above is from DHS official website)

While unboosted Hurricane 3 can be hard and not bouncy, a nicely boosted Hurricane 3 can have incredible hand feeling, low throw and great control. However, it’s too much of a hassle for many people.

Neo Hurricane 3 is a bit like boosted H3. It has good spin, control and power but you still need to boost it to maintain the performance after the boosting effect goes off.

Personally, I prefer Hurricane 8. It is friendly to beginners who want to switch from European/Japanese rubbers to Chinese rubbers as it has good elasticity and flexibility. In a way, it does not require the best strength but it trains you to use your own strength to improve the performance. It a tacky rubber with decent spin and speed. It might be less powerful than boosted Hurricane 3 but it’s good enough to use for beginner / intermediate level players. Most importantly, you don’t have to boost it throughout!

(Information above is just personal opinion. Feel free to discuss/comment)

Xu Xin, the left-handed penhold player is famous for his magical shots and amazing footwork. In this video, you can watch Xu Xin’s signature shots (forehand sidespin, lob, forehand attacks, chop block etc) in international competitions as well as in internal training.

Speaking about his unique style, Xu Xin mentioned that it was developed since he was young and perhaps it’s related to his personality: now matter what sports he is into, he likes the athletes who are artistic and creative.

This video was posted by 全经典乒乓 on Youtube.

This article is translated from a Chinese Post: 乒乓球拍地板重量该如何选？国手告诉你

Wang Liqin: I prefer heavier blades of around 95 grams

Hao Shuai: I like heavier blades of 90-93 grams. It has better hand feel. If I use lighter blades, I may miss the ball sometimes or hit the ball with the edge of the racket.

Fan Zhendong: I like blades of around 90 grams

Yan An: My blade is around 88 grams. Heavier blades are more powerful but I am not outstanding in power, thus I choose a lighter one which allows better speed in attacking. It is also quite powerful at back-court.

Qiu Yike: I prefer it a bit heavier but not too much. Around 96-98 grams. If it is too light, it won’t be powerful enough.

Xu Xin (penhold): My blade is around 86 grams. I have good strength. People with less strength can choose lighter blades. I choose the heavier one because I feel I can handle it. Heavier blades are more powerful and easier to gain points.

Chen Meng: I like lighter ones, around 86 grams. It allows me to be faster in forehand and backhand transition.

Fan Ying (Chopper): I like blades with weights of 86-88 grams. As a chopper, I need to be faster in transition.

I put players’ faces in the same sequence, for your reference.

Here are some YouTube playlists of table tennis that I found useful as a beginner:

PingSkills

My favourite English Channel is PingSkills. It is very beginner-friendly and explains table tennis techniques and rules in a simple and clear way.

全民学乒乓 横拍篇(Table Tennis for Beginners – Shake-Hands)

全民学乒乓 直拍篇(Table Tennis for Beginners – Penhold)

My favourite Mandarin Channel is yunpeng guo’s channel. Guo is the founder of pingpangwang.com and he creates various comprehensive videos for different levels of players. He explains table tennis techniques in great details and he is very spot-on when pointing out the common issues of beginners.

Here are some tutorials from table tennis world champions with English Subs:

Shake-Hands Tutorial from Ma Long

Penhold Tutorial from Wang Hao

Here is the summary of a few rules for equipment and attire commonly applied in table tennis competitions in Singapore as at the end of 2017.

1. Three-star size 40+ white balls are used

2. White attires are not allowed

3. It is the responsibility of each player to ensure that racket coverings are attached to their racket blade with adhesives that do not contain harmful volatile solvents

4. Playing clothing shall consist of a short-sleeved or sleeveless shirt and shorts or skirt or one-part sports outfits, socks and playing shoes; other garments, such as part or all of a tracksuit, shall not be worn during play except with the permission of the referee

These rules are just for your reference and some competition follow stricter rule and standards.

You may refer to the ITTF Handbook 2017 for the international standards and the complete set of rules.