Feb 15, 2005 08:10 AM
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(Updated Feb 15, 2005 08:20 AM)
Can you ever think beyond the Chinese in the game of Table-tennis or Ping pong as it was known earlier? You will be pardoned if you didn’t. The Chinese were and still are the most dominant force in Table-tennis. The way they keep churning out one top class player after another is mind boggling. The Chinese are known for making a complete sweep of the titles in every tournament they take part.
China being a communist country can afford to have State run sports hostels and colleges where young talented children are taken to and given complete coaching in the discipline they are selected for. Their studies and future is taken care of. The only thing these talented children are required to do is to hone their skills without worrying about the future. The result is that they come up with human robots that show little emotion and play the game at their highest skill and efficiency each time, every time.
It is an accepted truth that all table-tennis playing countries look at China with awe and respect, and not without reason. But, there was one player who the redoubtable Chinese feared most – Jan Ove Waldner!
Jan Ove Waldner, born in Sweden in 1965 is gifted with immense talent, something even the inscrutable Chinese couldn’t match. At the age of 9 he became the Swedish champion in his age group. At the tender age of 15 he became a professional Table-tennis player and at the age of 16 he won his first Porsche which he could only admire but couldn’t drive (too young to be eligible for a license). Before long, he became the game’s first millionaire. His further exploits made him not only more rich, but more famous. Today, he is the game’s most recognized player ever.
Sweden is a highly respected nation in table-tennis. If you discount China which is the number one in world ranking, the other countries rivaling it are, sadly, not from Asia but from Europe and Sweden is one of them. Waldner is the best player Sweden has ever produced and most followers of the game including Waldner’s opponents agree that he is the greatest player table-tennis has ever seen.
Frankly, I wouldn’t have bothered too much about Waldner’s greatness if I didn’t like his style of play and it was this aspect of his game that drew me to every match he played. If the Chinese are known to be inscrutable, Waldner didn’t show his emotions either. Most of the time, his opponents couldn’t read his mind and couldn’t read his game either. Waldner’s service was as deceptive as a Boggart from a Harry Potter book.
The best part of Waldner’s game was his highly efficient and lethal backhand which allowed Waldner to stay more at the center which in turn helped him in covering both the flanks with ease. Most players try to cover their weak backhand by trying to move towards their left thereby giving themselves more space to maneuver on their forehand side. By doing this most players give away the advantage to their opponents. Apart from his whiplash backhand, Waldner’s counter topspin drives were a heavenly treat for the lesser Gods of Ping Pong.
My knowledge of table-tennis does not stem from just watching, but also playing and coaching. yes, I did coach for some time at club level though nowadays I don’t get much time to either play or coach. And from a coach’s point of view, I find Waldner’s close to the table attacking type of play a treat to watch. In fact to me it was a spectacle.
What struck me most about Waldner’s game was his speed and agility coupled with extraordinary eyesight. He has tremendous reflexes, though; they are now on the wane. The table-tennis ball can travel up to 500 Kilometers an hour, sometimes more, and one needs super quick reflexes to match the speed of the ball. I observed Waldner to be in prime position most of the time to counter the ball. I found Waldner going on the offensive and attacking opponent’s service, while trailing or in an adverse position, and more often than not coming up with a winner. I believe that is the hallmark of a great player.
It took Waldner many years to learn to drive his Porsche, but in the table-tennis arena his forehand and backhand drives reminded me of a blazing redFerrari. A highly disciplined person with an endearing personality, Waldner is a stranger to controversies or throwing tantrums.
At forty, much of Waldner’s skills have waned. He no longer has the lightning reflexes or the stamina he was famous for. But he still has the love for the game and plays passionately, and wins most of his matches through sheer experience.
It is often said that “Jan-Ove Waldner is the Mozart of table tennis, because he can play many different compositions on the table.” I am inclined to agree with that - would you?
© M B Farookh. Feb, 2005.
