by Amaresh Sahu
I’ve been pretty busy with midterms and such so I haven’t posted in a while, but now our regional tournament is just around the corner and the Princeton Team is trying to quickly get into tournament form. Not being able to regularly practice is tough, but I’ve been in the gym and running in my free time to stay in shape. I also went home to Maryland one weekend and got in some decent practice.
Before tournaments, I also enjoy watching a lot of professional matches to get the feel for the angles and types of plays that are popular now – after all, our game is continually evolving and it is great to see what new things the top professionals are bringing to the table. In particular, there have been a couple Pro Tour tournaments that can be found on the ITTF website, as well as some great world team cup matches on Youtube. I remember watching current world #1 Ma Long, who has won the last three Pro Tours that he has played, vs. 2004 Olympic Gold Medalist Ryu Seung Min. Ryu came out explosive in the first set, but as the game progressed you can witness how Ma Long made it impossible for Ryu to use his devastating forehand. The tactics that are involved are a great way for anybody to learn, as even the best of the best get outsmarted.
Hopefully this will help me play well in a couple weeks. And of course, hope to see you all at the Baltimore teams over Thanksgiving.