The Best Defenders, and How Equipment Helps, Part 1
Tabletennis Kingdom interviewed many Japanese players and coaches, asking them to name their three best defenders. I excerpt some Q&A, then combine gear knowledge to discuss these blades’ traits and use.
Kenta Matsudaira’s choices: Ma Long, Jun Mizutani, Tomokazu Harimoto
Kenta Matsudaira said Ma Long excels at “intercepting” close to the table — solid with few errors, well using the opponent’s spin and giving no reaction time. Jun Mizutani defends from a position fairly far back, but has strong tangling ability. Tomokazu Harimoto often unexpectedly defends back balls thought already decided, feeling like the ball is sucked into the bat, with strong over-the-table control too. Matsudaira feels his own defensive type leans toward Ma Long and Harimoto, able to “absorb” the incoming ball’s spin fairly well.
From gear, we see Ma Long uses the W968 with Hurricane on both sides. Theoretically, high-tack rubber on both sides really catches incoming spin more easily. But on one hand, once familiar with the gear, you naturally develop a set of strokes and tactics suited to your defense. On the other, rubber like Hurricane 3 suits using “hidden power” to add spin. Against incoming spin, it is not necessarily about neutralizing — it can also be, through your own hidden power, using your understanding of the incoming spin to add force. Ma Long’s understanding here is of course top-tier. On blades, I generally think outer-fiber ones really defend better, because blades with fiber more toward the outside more easily show the fiber’s traits — part of the incoming spin gets dissolved by the fiber’s external force. But everyone’s strokes differ; some amateurs find a softer blade like the 968 better for unloading pace.
What about Jun Mizutani, ranked second? Reviewing Mizutani’s career, he especially emphasized “neutralizing incoming spin” in gear choice. 2013: SZLC custom, T64, T80. 2014: SZLC custom, T64 both sides. 2015: Jun Mizutani ZLC, T64 both sides. 2016: SZLC custom, T80 both sides. 2017: Jun Mizutani ZLC, T80 both sides. 2018: ALC custom, T80 both sides. 2019 to retirement: Jun Mizutani ZLC, D80 both sides. I analyzed the Tenergy line before — T05 then marked the highest spin quality and precision, more suited to powerful attack. Mizutani’s most-used T80, besides spin and speed between T64 and T05, has one key point: it better handles incoming spin. Simply put, if you create spin more by your own active power, T05 is better. If you more passively handle spin and score by various means, T80 is better. That is why, personally, I run T05 forehand and T80 backhand — because my backhand attack is not mature enough, often passively defending, and T80 catches less spin. In the Dignics era, Mizutani still chose No. 180 pips, so he switched to D80 on both sides instead of D05.
On blades, the Jun Mizutani SZLC is relatively firmer and springier, with better attacking power than the Jun Mizutani ZLC, but best if your strokes are more compact, or errors run a bit high. The Jun Mizutani ZLC is also relatively softer; “soft” means more adjustment room when handling the ball. This just answers a player’s earlier question: why is the Heima PLC a PLC and not a MAX PLC? Because denser-woven fiber, in the outer state, has faster first speed but a higher control threshold. And the PLC’s bottom power, I think, is enough.
For the third choice, Kenta Matsudaira voted for Tomokazu Harimoto. When he mentioned Harimoto, “feeling the ball sucked into the bat” just corresponds to the inner SALC plus kiri core’s traits. A kiri core eases damping, unloading pace, and good defense, while inner fiber, under medium power, makes the feel softer.