Week after week, that's the mantra followed by Chinese kids who are turning heads at the Asian Junior Table Tennis Championship
China is the powerhouse of table tennis. Such is their dominance over the sport that 13 of the world's top 20 players (across the men's and women's categories) are Chinese. The Chinese contingent at the 20th Asian Junior Table Tennis Championship gave spectators at the National Sports Club of India, Worli, proof of its pedigree. For the record, they have already swept four of the six categories on offer.
The question on everyone's lips is how do they manage to do this on a consistent basis. Opponents have tried their best but to no avail.
Yan Sen, the head coach of the girls' team, credits her wards for their dedication. "There is no difference between players from other countries and ours. It's not that our kids are training harder than them. We do lose games as you can see. When they started out with us, they practised only four hours a day. Over the course of time, it became seven hours a day. But they key is to start young so that you get your basics straight," says Sen.
There is no question of them managing school time with table tennis practice as these kids attend school thrice a week. The remaining days are dedicated to training.
They've already won the title in junior boys, junior girls, cadet girls and junior girls doubles. What is even more commendable is that each of these four ties were all-Chinese affairs. "Having played together back home, the kids know each other inside out. Here, it all comes down to how much have they learnt and how much do they remember," Sen adds.
Sun Yingsha, a 14-year-old from Shijiazhuang, won the cadet girls final. Starting from the age of seven and practising for such lengthy periods has played a crucial role in her development. "The word 'grassroots' is of great importance to us. It doesn't matter if the player comes to us or we, through our clinics and multiple centres across the country, happen to find that player. A majority of these kids do come from the big cities like Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou due to better facilities, but it is our network at the bottom of the pyramid that sets us apart from the rest. You will see a table tennis club in almost every remote city. We are so flexible in our approach that we keep in mind China's size and conduct training camps across the country. We don't want to leave anyone out."
With 10 finalists playing on Tuesday, is there is never a feeling of stage fright among the kids. "Back home, you have so many kids playing table tennis and wanting to win so that competitive edge is there right from the start. By the time they represent the country, they would have played so many games and gathered so much experience that mentally and psychologically they are right up there. That barrier of expectations and pressure is already eliminated." It does seem so.
Final Results: Junior boys singles: Y Ziyang (CHN) bt L Jingkun (CHN) 4-1 (11-7 11-6 6-11 11-6 11-7); Junior boys doubles: K Yoshimura/ Y Tsuboi (JPN) bt A Sakai/ Y Kizukuri (JPN) 3-2 (15-13 11-9 7-11 12-14 11-5); Junior girls singles: C Xingtong (CHN) bt W Manyu 4-3 (12-10 8-11 5-11 11-9 11-9 4-11 13-11); Junior girls doubles: W Manuy/ C Ke (CHN) bt L Gaoyang/ C Xingtong (CHN) 3-2 (11-5 9-11 11-8 9-11 12-10); cadet boys singles: An Jaeyhun (KOR) bt Hwang Minha (KOR) 4-0 (11-7 11-4 11-9 11-6); cadet girls singles (Final): S Yingsha (CHN) bt M Jingyu (CHN) 4-0 (11-9 11-7 11-9 11-7)
China's next big guns
Yu Ziyang: Junior boys singles
Chen Xingtong: Junior girls singles
Wang Manuy/ Chen Ke: Junior girls doubles
Sun Yinghsha: Cadet girls singles
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