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Placing your shot is as important, if not more than, as playing a quality shot. If your opponent happens to be an expert level table tennis player, he will most likely return your shots with equal, if not higher, caliber. After a few rallies, you might find yourself overwhelmed. There is, however, a better way to take advantage of a deadlock situation by starting to place your shots.
Placing your shot is as important, if not more than, as playing a quality shot. If your opponent happens to be an expert level table tennis player, he will most likely return your shots with equal, if not higher, caliber. After a few rallies, you might find yourself overwhelmed. There is, however, a better way to take advantage of a deadlock situation by starting to place your shots.
In
table tennis, you need to place your shot to get maximum leverage. There are a
few ways to place your shot. Let's discuss some of them to get you that extra
edge in your playing skills.
One
of the best ways to place your shot is to hit it in the DIRECTION of your
opponent's body. This will force him to move away from the trajectory of the
ball in order to give himself sufficient room to negotiate his return stroke.
It is quite difficult to hit back a ball that's coming right at you! In this
way, you will be able to UNSETTLE your opponent. If he delays moving away from
the ball, his return stroke will probably not be of good quality - and you can
take the ATTACK right to him by taking full advantage of the poor return - by
hitting it back with POWER.
Another
way to place the shot is getting it into an area of the table that is farthest
from him. This will FORCE him to rush at the ball. Again, if he
delays, his return stroke will not be of good quality or he might mishit the
ball or fail to hit it altogether.
Playing
a drop shot is another excellent ball placement technique if your opponent
likes to play away from the table. To play a drop shot during a power rally is
a bit risky. You need to control the ball well in order to hit a drop shot.
Take the ball gently with a slight backward or 'cushioning' movement to unload some
of the momentum in the ball. The ball will limp away from you and drop tamely
on the other side. Best is if it falls near the net. Your opponent will likely
come rushing in and lift the ball back at you. This is a SUPER situation to go
for the KILL or a scorching topspin – WITH placement if possible. You will most
likely win the point.
When
you place the ball, you keep your opponent under pressure. But remember to
place the ball using quality shot. A lame duck shot will not have sufficient
effect. In fact, your opponent might take advantage of a poor shot to put YOU
under pressure.
It
is not always easy, though, to place a shot. The ball coming at you might have
different types of complex motions that might be risky to negotiate for
placing. If you JUDGE the ball poorly for placing, it might fly out of
control. Slower or medium paced rallies are ideal for ball placement. Use your
best judgment, and if in doubt, don't go for ball placement. It might land you
in trouble.
As
you gain more and more experience with table tennis, you will know intuitively
when it's okay to place the ball. Keep a watch on your opponent's movements all
the time. Go for the SURPRISE placement, especially if you are winning the
game. You are likely to win an EASY point. In such situations of imminent
defeat, a player crumbles under the slightest pressure. It's always better to
apply that pressure and win easily.
