Small adjustments in his attacking game, combined with an innovative fitness plan, went a long way in helping India’s Manav Thakkar claim his first win against a top-15 player.
Manav, 24, defeated world No. 14 Jang Woo-jin 3-2 (5-11, 11-9, 5-11, 11-9, 11-7) in the 32nd round of men’s singles at the Asian Table Tennis Championships. Ta. Saturday. He then lost in straight sets to Hong Kong teen sensation Baldwin Chan in the 16th round, but the victory over Woojin was a sign that while the Indian fighter needs to be more consistent, he needed to win against the world’s strongest fighter. Show that you have something. .
In a great display of backhand attack, Manav chose to step up to the table rather than fall back to absorb his opponent’s attack. He did not allow Woojin to settle into the match after the Koreans took the first game 5-11. He looked a little nervous in the first game, but came back in spectacular fashion to win 11-9 in the second game. The South Korean, who reached the semi-finals at the Saudi Smash, rallied to score his third goal, but that was all Manav, who was in incredible form, was going to give him.
Coach Massimo Costantini appears to have told his Indian players to attack Uzin’s backhand more. And that’s exactly what Manabu did. He played it across the table, kept it low against Woojin’s backhand, and when the pace picked up he tapped down the line to keep Woojin off balance. The Korean succeeded in returning the ball at an even faster pace, and Manav did a great job of placing the ball on the table.
A win against a top 15 player is just what the doctor ordered for Indian men’s table tennis, which has struggled to emulate the women’s performance. Coach Costantini spoke earlier this week about the need to get a big win.
“Once you win big, you believe that you can beat even the strongest opponents. We need it. Manika Batra did it for women years ago and look at where they have reached now,” Costantini told The Indian Express.
change of strategy
After the Paris Olympics, where India lost to China in the men’s team event, Manav had some time to think. After talking with Constantini, I came to the conclusion that I would need to make some adjustments to my game to beat the top players in the world.
“What I realized, and what my coach told me too, was that I was waiting for the ball to come towards me. I wasn’t going for it.
When you wait for the ball, you tend to be passive and I wanted to change that,” Manav told The Indian Express from Astana.
He first started making this adjustment at the season’s first national ranking tournament in Himachal last month. Although he won the tournament, his new strategy didn’t work out very well. Immediately after, in China Smash, she was unable to perform well in singles and lost the first match. At the national team’s training camp in Beijing, he focused on getting to the center stage.
After the Paris Olympics, where India lost to China in the men’s team event, Manav had some time to think. After talking with Constantini, I came to the conclusion that I would need to make some adjustments to my game to beat the top players in the world. (File photo).
In Astana, he took on the sport for the first time in the men’s team event and had moderate success, defeating the very dangerous Kirill Gerasimenko of Kazakhstan and giving India its third consecutive bronze medal at the championships.
In the singles event against Woojin, this tweak seemed to improve his game.
“Being more attacking means you have less time to react. With this adjustment, you don’t have to return the ball with very high quality, so that’s fine. You just need good positioning with normal quality. And that will give you points,” Manav said.
Another change Costantini wanted him to make was to become more expressive. The Italian felt that Manav was too restrained every time he scored and tried to rush back and continue the match.
“He told me to scream loud, celebrate and have fun. He told me that showing some aggression towards the other person is a good thing because it makes the other person feel high. said Manav.
focus on fitness
Although the adjustments to his game have been primarily technical, Manav has been focusing on his fitness in recent months, knowing it is the key to beating top players. The problem he faced was that while traveling for tournaments, there were always days when he didn’t have access to the training center, even though he had plenty of time.
Often he traveled alone and did not know what kind of exercise was suitable for him.
“When a particular muscle hurts, you should only do certain exercises to strengthen that muscle, or don’t put any pressure on it at all. Of course, we know how to do regular exercises, but I felt I needed an expert because if I did something wrong I could get hurt,” Manav said.
He joined a gym group that would send out a trainer whenever he wanted. “Sometimes this is very helpful when I travel for tournaments where I end up playing just one game a day and doing nothing the rest of the time,” he said.
So do they work out at the gym?
“If you don’t have access to a gym, use your own body weight and use stretch bands. You know you’re ahead of the game tactically and technically, but you’re a little weak in terms of power and stamina. There are things I’m missing. I hope by working on my fitness I can improve my overall game,” he said.
