OOAK Table Tennis Forum

Hou Yingchao won the 10k first prize at the LA Open yesterday. He steam rolled Ma Jinbao 11-3, 11-4, 11-5, 11-7.

Which leads me to ponder, "How many LA Opens and US Opens will need to be won by choppers before I have to stop hearing the tired old line, 'Once you put pips on your students paddle, you are really limiting their potential. Blah blah blah etc.' ?"

Final starts at 6:17:



https://youtu.be/fl7LfSwZViw?t=6h17m8s

Quarters against Apolonia starts at 1:23

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How old is that guy ?

Best USA players can't beat him.

His 4h looks unorthodox but consistent.

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Hou Yingchao is 38.

Thanks for posting alphapong

Someone wasn't happy about this event, see this post from mytt (http://mytabletennis.net/forum/forum_po ... =1#1036995)

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I saw that post as well. Our players are not back till tomorrow, so I have not had a chance to ask about the venue. The venue certainly did not hurt our results, as we got gold and silver in the U15 and gold and bronze in the U18.

Some of what he goes on about seems a bit silly. Four player groups with one advancing is standard at many US tournaments.

I suspect the parking may have set him off on his rant, but I will know better tomorrow.

Perhaps this isn't want you meant but it sure does sound like you're saying "How could anybody from the US not beat this guy? He's old & washed up."

Simply not true.

But yes. Nobody could beat him which included USA penholder Tao Wenzhang who is USATT 2801.

If that's not impressive enough for you, Hou also beat world class player Tiago Apolonia from Portugal along the way.

Long story short, Hou's a former CNT member for no reason and his slow down the pace of play style suits him nicely for being able to play at a high level well past his physical prime years.

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Hou defeated the other finalist so bad he made him look like a 1200 USATT rated boy playing a 2500 USATT rated grown man player. That is what the difference in class of 100 USAT rating points at the top level. That represents maybe 4-5 levels at that top level, but represents only 1 level at 1900 or below levels.

That is remarkable as the other finalist would rip a new one outta just about anyone other amateur player in USA. Hou did absolutely whatever he wanted to do. I was right there when the finalist walked off the court... we had to remind him that his $5000 prize was waiting for him over there... He wasn't even thinking of that... just the effect of the smackdown he just got. Well, he has given it to others like a pro, he took one on the chin like a pro.

Hou would chop a ball heavy and shoulder high deep near endline inviting him to attack strong... which he did... or TRIED... and the attack didn't even make it halfway to the net. He would look at his bat and go WTF !!! ??? !!! A 2800 USATT player befuddled like that !!
Hou would get tired of pushing the ball around and unleash that FH rocket. One second later you hear the sonic boom and see a 40.5mm hole on the wall 100 feet away. The only evidence of the shot was the vapor trail and IR heat signature.

Ironically, last year I was at the LA Open and saw our beloved Joo Se Hyuk tear Hou a new on in the Open final. Hou was sweating his azz off by the second game, while Joo just goes to his towel in the towel break and pats his hand lightly on the towel and yawns. Hou was running all over the place to get a chop in or step around for an attack... or get to a Joo SH attack... Joo SH simply glided to the ball and did what he does best. Joo casually BH Biatch-slapped Hous best FH rocket booster shots several times with his BACKHAND LP (BH LP !!!!!!) from 4 meters back (13 freegin' feet back !!!) for winners while walking away with a disinterested look like Waldner did to Timo Boll with his famous blocks.

I made my own rant on MyTT if you call it that, I just noted what I saw and what I concluded.

I do not intent to bring the rant here to OOAK, even though HaggisV is long well known for not being adverse to a little mixing it up here or there for spice.

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I thought your 'rant' there was very good... nothing wrong with that, you were just stating the facts.

It does sound like the organisers didn't do right by the players, and I think that deserves to be posted... and hopefully they'll take note for next time.

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I personally think it was the fact that the USA National Team Trials were held in such obvious terrible conditions certainly not fit for any tourney, let alone the national tryouts... that there were MANY OBVIOUS AGGREGEOUS PREVENTABLE poor conditions existing making it look like Keystone Cops ... that the tourney never should have been sanctioned in the first place for several reasons. (average 200 lux everywhere, not 300 minimum for zero star - 600 lux required on showcase tables for 3 start & above, but only 220 at best on showcase table) ... that despite this, the LA Open marketed the venue as modern (implying it was fit for a TT tourney)

The appearance of a money grab, in addition to the obvious poor conditions and marketing fraud making the apearance of our national tryouts look like a 5th world country not knowing how to hold a tourney is likely what really got his goat... but you gotta ask him.

I had a blast at the touney and for the first in a long time, shut out conditions and played TT. I would go back next year, but how the tryouts (and tourney venue) conditions were... that simply has to get fixed time now or the event, and others like it will lose players (and revenue).

Personally, the paragrah above is what got it for me. Why market the tourney as so modern & fit for a tourney when it was so crappy conditions that it should have never been sanctioned in the first place? Yeah, this was our National Tryouts (and a prestigious major USA tourney) and the TT world saw it... and knows how much we in USA got our head stuck up our tail.

I would have been just fine for all the obvious money grabbing (not allowing outside water inside. Selling tiny .5L bottles of water for $1 USD Heck, you gotta drink 20 of those every day there, what is $20 USD a day? $10 USD for a parking spot every day 3 days. $15 for a towel that falls apart leaving black and blue threads all over your face... but does a bang-up job of hiding your wrinkle lines...)

I woulda been just fine if they had small signs next to what they were selling reminding us that it costs money to attract pros to a USA Tourney and pay them 2x or 3x what they would earn for winning an ITTF proevent... LATTA was trying to go big and make the sport big... I get that and they oughta get big applause for having the guts to try... but they and USATT outta hear it for how crappy they planned, executed, and marketed the whole shebang.

EDIT: There were DOZENS of LATTA (volunteers I believe) doing all manner of unthankful work for over 16 hours a day x3 or 4 days... plus the TD staff... the USATT Media folks (MH TT & Co) and parents/coaches doing all manner of stuff to make it a blast regardless.

Alphapong... the venue did not hurt my results at all either... and I am damned notorious for simply loising it when conditions are like that. Kudos to your Warriors who shut up, played TT, and fought better than their opponents. That was a winning formula for me too... until I faced much better players who could do that too. It was probably my best tourney performance as well. As a fat/50yr old dude, I played all out for 5, 11, 10, and 7 hours and did not get sore or cramp up... I took care of hydration and mineralization... but a few others didn't and paid a price. A small investment in Magnesium/Zinc/Calcium... and low sugar 1000 mg Vita C/electrolyte powder went a long way.

SO.. I have no gripe with how I played given the bad conditions, but we as TT players and members of the TT community have a responsibility to raise a royal ruckas over the obvious mishaps that should never happen and demand/take decisive action to make them right forever. Our National Tryouts deserve conditions that are at a minimum the standards listed in the USATT Tourney guide and sanctioning checklist. We in USA blew it in front of the world and need to get it right... now.

One player advancing out of four at a large tourney is the norm for most singles RR groups I have played in, but some DO advance two players. I really wish only one player advanced... I won my O50 RR group 2-0... then had to face the same player again in finals and didn't quite make it. Congrats to Jim Zhang. Pip Power dude (Even if a much lower rated fat dude ate your pips for one match) Actually, I am glad they advance 2 players out of O50... I got another chance at glory. I think they advanced 2 out of group if there were only 8 groups or less.

Charging over $100 USD to get in the Open made for a very small number of groups, so I heard 2 advanced out of group for the Open RR as well.

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I was told that the netting in between the table tennis and soccer kept "most" of the soccer balls out of the table tennis courts.

That looks ridiculous...

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Part highlighted in bold directly contradicts the underlined one . As long as people keep coming back, there is no strong incentive to change.

500ml water bottles for 1$ are actually a bargain, IMHO, that's what I pay in my club. I'm much more used to ~3$ water bottles at major tournaments: Open, Nationals, Teams etc. They did not stop you from bringing yours in, though.

Darkness, glare, white walls, loud soccer match next to my table, and forced 10$ parking fee with other good stuff would set me off as well, though.

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Nah, I already said I was willing to go back for a major LA tourney... I did hear MANY players say they will never come back if it is like this. They said it with conviction.

If we see a written plan to address the errors/incompetence/willing misleading of this tourneys and all sanctioned tourneys that ensures standards are enforced, it will be great.

The USATT Tourney Guide.... that is one nice document. Spells out just about anything one could think of in easy to understand terms with many real life examples. That pdf from the USATT rules page is a must read for every USA TT player for insight on how a tourney is supposed to be sanctioned and run. Players need to know the stuff in the pdf before talking, so they can talk effectively to whoever.

USATT has established, understandable and enforceable rules in that Tourney Guide. What they don't have is a system to enforce it. I hope the result of our bad experiences motivates our natl assn to get right and stay right.

We pay the natl association and the club/assn a lot of money to participate in sanctioned tourneys. We would expect the venue and execution of the tourney to be done to at least minimum standards in the tourney guide. When the venues and execution of tourneys are bad, you get negative word of mouth... and USATT depends on us members going to tourneys to raise money for the few top amateurs to do a couple stuff. We will never grow membership that way.

Establishing enforcement of a consistent, minimally high standard enforced everywhere will raise standards of play across the board and make for a consistent positive tourney experience... which gets told by word of mouth to the rec center champs, then the basement champs, then the social rec players... and if USATT ever could get a USATT membership form and a printed magazine of amateur TT in USA showing the game and where to play... then put one of each in every one of the 250,000 - 300,000 TT tables sold in USA... they might get 2% to actually become members... and after a decade, we might have another 50,000 to 60,000 USATT members... which would give the assn enough money to build a national training center (with contribution from other govt like USOC) and fly everyone to the proper venue for a tryout....

Then you might get some equality in the sport. As it is now, unless the parents have a lot of money to burn (think 250,000 USD for a decade minimum) then only the elite rich can play the sport. With another 50-60 k of dues paying members, we could do some stuff both for the average members and for the hope of the nation - the young skilled players.

Don't credit me for any of these alien ideas, these are just a few of what I overheard at the tourney and though were worth repeating.

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