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In the men's singles 1/16 finals of the Paris Olympics table tennis, Wang Chuqin, who had just won the mixed doubles gold medal, lost 2:4 to Swedish player Moregaard and was eliminated in the top 32, which was a big upset.

After the game, the entire network focused on the rackets of the two athletes:Wang Chuqin, whose main racket was stepped on and broken, used a spare racket, which led to his poor performance; Moregard held a hexagonal racket, which was his secret weapon to victory.

Wang Chuqin lost 2:4 to Swedish player Moregaard

So, what secrets are hidden in these two rackets?

The backup shot is the same as the main shot, but also different

A photographer on the scene stepped on the handle of Wang Chuqin's racket and broke it. After winning the mixed doubles gold medal, Wang Chuqin also had to compete in the men's singles and men's team, which also forced him to take a spare racket to the court.

Generally speaking, table tennis players will prepare one main racket and two or three backup rackets, and perform adaptation training alternately.However, in special periods, especially in major competitions such as the Olympics, the main racket is used more often. "From a structural point of view, there is no difference between the backup racket and the main racket, but the feel of the two is different for the athlete," explained Qi Yifeng, an international table tennis referee. "The main racket is often used and hit through, so the wood grain is very tight. The backup racket is not often used and does not hit through, so the feel is different."

Changing rackets at the last minute, especially in a high-level competition like the Olympics, will affect athletes psychologically to some extent."Professional athletes specify the weight of the racket in grams and process the materials into a handle that is easy for them to hold. The elasticity of the racket will change due to sweat and moisture. Only after repeated adjustments are made until the racket is familiar to them, will it become a trustworthy and unique partner." Japanese table tennis star Mizutani Jun made a vivid analogy, "It's like spending a long time to finally make a bowl of ramen soup, and then being asked to start over from scratch." He also said that if Wang Chuqin cannot use the main racket that has been run-in, it will be difficult for him to win once he competes with players of equal strength.

Wang Chuqin said that there were many problems with his performance

After the game, Wang Chuqin said that his mood was affected by the racket being stepped on, but it was definitely not the reason for the loss. He still had many problems in his performance and made many mistakes. So it can be understood that after changing rackets, the feel and psychological factors were superimposed, and the impact was infinitely magnified.

Is the hexagonal racket favored by the Swedish team a secret weapon?

At the beginning of the game, everyone was attracted by the racket of the young Swedish player born in the 2000s, Moregaard. He was not holding a common round racket, but a hexagonal one.

Moregaard holding a hexagonal racket

In fact, as early as the 2021 World Table Tennis Championships men's singles final, Fan Zhendong defeated Moregaard 4:0 and won the World Table Tennis Championships men's singles championship for the first time. At that time, Moregaard was holding a hexagonal racket. When he came to China to participate in the Table Tennis Super League last year, Moregaard also used this racket. At the Chengdu World Table Tennis Championships, Swedish female athlete Christina Carlberg used the same racket. The Swedish table tennis team prefers hexagonal rackets.

So are hexagonal rackets legal? What are the different functions?

First of all, it should be made clear thatIn the table tennis rules formulated by the International Table Tennis Federation, the main restriction is on the thickness of the racket, but there are no requirements on the shape of the racket. Therefore, special-shaped rackets are allowed to be used."There are no regulations on the shape and size of table tennis rackets, but the thickness of the rubber cannot exceed 4 mm. One of the two sides of the rubber must be black, and there is no requirement for the color of the other side." Qi Yifeng introduced that in recent years, the International Table Tennis Federation has encouraged more personalized and fashionable elements to enter the sport of table tennis, and the shapes and colors of rackets have become richer. In addition to the stipulated black rubber, red, pink, purple, blue and even green have also appeared.

As for the statement that "the advantage of the hexagonal racket is that it increases the racket's sweet spot, that is, the effective hitting area", many professional table tennis players and coaches said that the effect is not obvious. Once you encounter a ball on the table, there is no advantage.The special-shaped rackets are mainly for increasing the viewing experience.

Further reading:

The Swedish rookie who defeated Wang Chuqin was a "wild man" and the Chinese players were not used to it.

On the afternoon of July 31, at the beginning of CCTV's broadcast of the Paris Olympic Games table tennis event, the host asked Liu Guozheng to talk about whether Wang Chuqin's racket being broken yesterday would affect his future competitions. Liu Guozheng said that Chinese athletes would use their own main and auxiliary rackets during training. My understanding is that Wang Chuqin is not completely unfamiliar with this auxiliary racket. Not only is the bottom racket and rubber exactly the same as the main racket, but also during training, Wang Chuqin would use the auxiliary racket to hit the ball from time to time.

Liu Guozheng finally said that Wang Chuqin's technique should not be affected by changing the secondary board, the key lies in his mentality.

Judging from today's match, the world's No. 1 Wang Chuqin lost to Moregaard.In my personal opinion, it's all a matter of mentality.

Moregaard is a new star of the Swedish team in recent years. He once reached the final of the World Championships. Although he lost in the final, he was already famous for reaching the final at such a young age.

Moregold is an athlete with a very unique way of playing. First of all, his racket is hexagonal. Secondly, the way he holds the racket is different from that of ordinary horizontal-grip athletes. Sometimes he uses all five fingers to hold the handle of the racket while playing.

Moregod celebrates his victory

Different from the regular training style of Chinese athletes, Moregaard often plays in an informal way. By Chinese standards,Many of his methods are "wild ways"。

I think there are two reasons why Wang Chuqin lost today.Psychologically, he was under too much pressure.

Wang Chuqin has been ranked first in the world for a long time, but he has never won a major world table tennis singles championship. The Chinese national team and fans across the country have high hopes for him, believing that he will be the player of the Chinese team who has a great chance of winning the Grand Slam after Liu Guoliang, Kong Linghui, Zhang Jike and Ma Long.

In fact, this puts a lot of psychological pressure on Wang Chuqin. At his age, Fan Zhendong has already won several world championships. But he has not won a singles championship in an important competition. The World Cup not long ago should have been his first stop to win the world championship, but he lost to Ma Long again and returned home in defeat.

Psychologically, I think among all the table tennis players in the world, Wang Chuqin is the one who wants to win this gold medal the most.

All these psychological expectations undoubtedly placed a huge psychological burden on Wang Chuqin.

Mental tension often means that one cannot play at the level of daily training, let alone hit a magic ball or perform beyond one's normal level in the game. Judging from the mixed doubles match yesterday, although they won the championship in the end, Wang Chuqin made a lot of mistakes in the game.

Judging from the match against Moregaard today, Wang Chuqin also made a lot of mistakes. He either hit the ball too far or missed it, and he also made many mistakes in receiving serves and twisting and pulling on key points.

One of the main reasons for this abnormal situation is that the psychological burden and ideological baggage are too heavy.

Wang Chuqin made many mistakes during the game

Technically speaking, Moregaard is not a dark horse. He also participated in the Table Tennis Super League and is one of the few foreign players to participate in the Super League. One of the main reasons why the Chinese Table Tennis Association agreed to let him participate in the Super League may be that they believed that Moregaard would not pose a big threat to the Chinese team in the future.

But Moregaard's technical system is very different from what the Chinese team is used to.

Moregaard's technical system is very different from the system that the Chinese team is used to.

The Chinese team pays more attention to basic skills and so-called advanced techniques during training.There has not been enough research and training on Moregold's somewhat "wild" playing style.

In today's game, Moregod used a lot of cutting and side-turning techniques that are rarely used in normal times., which made Wang Chuqin's return quality relatively low, creating opportunities for Moregod to attack.

Moregaard is a very peculiar athlete. You may say that he has poor mental quality, but he can still hit a great shot at a critical moment. You may say that his skills are rough, but he can still hit a very delicate shot at a critical moment. You may think that he has collapsed and made mistakes repeatedly, but he will suddenly come back and hit a great shot again and again.

Moregod was like this today, with ups and downs in the game, like a roller coaster. When he and the audience were in despair, he was able to turn around and miraculously revive.

Wang Chuqin was a little confused by his rising and falling state.

It is a pity to lose today's game, but we should not be depressed, because there are still team competitions to come. Wang Chuqin needs to throw away the burden of today's game, go into the game with a light load, and perform at his best in the team competition.