The Taiyuan Stop and Reserve Strength; ALC and Z03 Are the Trend
1
Never mind reserve strength — our national team’s youngsters should pass the chopper test first. At a regular challenge where neither China’s nor Japan’s mains competed much, in women’s singles, two Japanese choppers dazzled. The women’s final four: three Japanese (Satsuki Odo, Honoka Hashimoto, Hitomi Sato) and one Chinese national player, Shi Xunyao. In the semis, Satsuki Odo beat Honoka Hashimoto 3-0 — too-familiar teammates. Hitomi Sato beat Shi Xunyao 3-0. We know Honoka Hashimoto well — besides Sha-yu, ordinary national players really struggle to pass her. Even Wang Manyu won only 4-2 at the Worlds, hard-fought. And the other chopper, Hitomi Sato, also passed three of our national players with three 3-0s.
2
In men’s singles, reaching the final are Wen Ruibo and Maharu Yoshimura. Tonight is the final battle. On a Stiga table, if a Stiga star finally wins, that really is perfect. Wen Ruibo: Luma hybrid carbon, Neo blue national Hurricane, DNA Hybrid 55. Maharu Yoshimura: outer SALC custom, Z03 on both sides. The other two of the men’s final four are Li Tianyang and Puka. The former uses the DHS classic chop blade custom 08X; the latter uses the Tibhar Alexis with K3 Pro on both sides. Li Tianyang crushed Chen Yuanyu 3-0 this time, showing that even among teammates, our non-mains may not handle choppers. In the semi, Wen Ruibo also struggled, 3-2 over Li Tianyang. Li Tianyang’s serve is varied, from different stances to spin variation. His receive can also get on the offensive — a very interesting chop-attack style. Worth some amateurs learning — we need not have backhand pips; double-inverted works too. Whatever Li Tianyang’s ceiling, at least he can be a sparring partner, because every return needs your on-the-fly adjustment. This strengthens your adjustment ability, very useful against unfamiliar opponents internationally.
3
On choppers using long pips versus short pips, pips-out or short pips, on the backhand, I think each has pros and cons. Long pips, like Hitomi Sato’s Curl P1V, more easily create absolute strong reverse-spin. Short pips, like Li Tianyang’s pips-out (model unknown) or Honoka Hashimoto’s DO Knuckle (thickness: medium), have less absolute reverse-spin than long pips, but win on “fuzziness.” Whether pushing or chopping, it is easier to achieve “spin and no-spin” within similar motions. And one more point: short pips are easier to counterattack. So more choppers now use short pips.
4
Look at a few players’ gear. Huang Youzheng (I switched blades again! come at me): Fan Zhendong ALC, Hurricane on both sides. Hitomi Sato: Butterfly Diode V, Z03, Curl P1V long pips. Sakura Yokoi: Fan Zhendong ALC, Z03 on both sides. Satsuki Odo: Tomokazu Harimoto SZLC, forehand Z03, backhand D09c. A few interesting points. First, anyway, if you played ALC, you must try SALC. Some, like Huang Youzheng, switch by mood and state. My conclusion: those with good enough power, choose ALC. Those wanting to save effort and borrow the blade’s rebound, choose SALC. This can be generalized elsewhere, like the Bingfeng HRD (green-aramid carbon) and Zhou Qihao 90 (super green-aramid carbon). Another point: in Japan, the Z03 use rate is astonishingly high now. Very many women national players switched the forehand to Z03. Before, in the T-League, Sakura Yokoi was D09c on both sides; now she switched blades, and the rubber became Z03 too. But everything should be viewed dialectically. Why? Because Satsuki Odo was originally forehand Z03 backhand D09c; this time against Honoka Hashimoto, she flipped the bat the whole way, becoming forehand D09c backhand Z03 — maybe feeling D09c is more stable looping underspin on the forehand?