OOAK Table Tennis Forum

You may remember that Gao Jun agreed to an interview with us, and we came up with a series of questions? Well Gao Jun has been very busy, but has given the answers below:

How did you get started in table Tennis?
Because of my father likes table tennis.

Why do you play pen holder style?
My father is a pen holder.

Were you ever a traditional attacking style player or were you always a blocker?
I was a traditional attacking style player.

As you switched to the USA from China, how did/do your friends and coaches in China react to you?
Nothing.

Will you play in the 2012 Olympics?
I did played first trail and I will play second trail in April.

Do you study your opponents before hand and play to take advantage of their weaknesses or do you start out "playing your game" and only alter tactics if you are struggling?
I do study my opponents game before I play.

What type of tactics used by your opponents give you the most problems to play against?
It's hard to say, as in a game there are so many changes.

In another interview you mention how important control is to your game. But what do you mean by control? Is it ball placement, or control of the spin or the speed of the rallies.
All of these.

When you make notes on players or are scouting opponents, what type of things are you making notes of?
Look for their strength and weakness.

You have said elsewhere how important practice is. However, can you recommend any practice routines a player can do if they are by themselves and don't have a table to use eg. it's just a player, a bat and a ball.
There is nothing you can do with out table, you only can practice you stroke and footwork.

Having been world number one, you've seen life at the very top. How do you mentally handle losing to players you used to beat and how to you cope with not being able to play as well as you used to?
There are no allways win or lose.

It seems that almost all of the top women now are shakehanders compared to the top men where there are still many penholders. Does the style of play among women differ in some significant way that puts penholders at a disadvantage? If true, could you discuss why this is so?
Shakehand is easy to pick up and can give more power.

You do a lot of sidespin blocks. Does that give your opponents a lot of trouble?
Sometimes.

Is placement the most important aspect of blocking? Or is spin variation equally important?
Placement.

What are the most effective serves with short pips?
Only serves is not enough.

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thank you for sharing

Great! I'm a big Gao Jun fan.

If she's taking follow-up questions, ask her why there aren't more short pips blockers like her, since the style obviously remains very effective.

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Happy to pass on any further question.. as long as they're not too many Can't promise she'll have time to answer though...

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OOAK Table Tennis Shop | Re-Impact Blades | Butterfly Table Tennis bats
Setup1: Re-Impact Smart, Viper OX, Victas VS 401 Setup2: Re-Impact Barath, Dtecs OX, TSP Triple Spin Chop 1.0mm Setup3: Re-Impact Dark Knight, Hellfire OX, 999 Turbo
Recent Articles: Butterfly Tenergy Alternatives | Tenergy Rubbers Compared | Re-Impact User Guide