A Smart Analysis of Technical Skills of Top Male Table Tennis Players

Abstract

ABSTRACTThe purpose of this study was to evaluate technical skills of top male table tennis players in the world in 2017. Subjects used for this study were top four male table tennis players who got into the semifinal more times than other players during both 2017 International Table Tennis Professional Tour and World Table Tennis Championships. Data collected were analyzed statistically using percentage, regression, and assessment methods that were designed specially for table tennis. The following three points could be concluded: (1) From the overall technical analysis of four top players, it showed that they got the ‘pass’ grades in score percentage and usage of the three-staged techniques. Ma Long and Fan Zhendong in particular got the ‘excellent’ grades. Technical skills of these four top players were versatile. Their styles of play were unique; all of them received excellent in the evaluation of three-staged techniques. (2) ‘Attack after serve’ technique was the main technical skill used to play and score the points throughout the game by Ma Long and Fan Zhendong. Ovtcharov only got the ‘good’ grade in ‘attack after serve’, but got the ‘excellent’ grades in both ‘attack after receive’ and ‘rally’. Because of his excellent skill in ‘attack after receive’ and ‘rally’, he was well known in the field of table tennis throughout the world. Xu Xin got the ‘pass’ grade in ‘rally’. Even though Xu Xin showed excellent performance in three-staged techniques, he was no better than other players. In the future, Xu Xin should improve his stability and score percentage in ‘rally’ in order to get better results. (3) Serve, attack after serve using forehand stroke, attack after receive using backhand stroke, continuous forehand stroke attack, and continuous backhand stroke attack were the main technical skills which could be used to predict the result of the game for winning 2017 World Table Tennis Championships in men’s single event.