[Feature]
[Special Feature] America’s star! Jha’s strong points
#1 Putting time pressure on the opponent with quick attacks
Kanak Jha (USA) made it to the quarterfinals of the men’s singles at the 2021 World Table Tennis Championships in Houston, and the quarterfinals of the men’s singles at the recent Paris Olympics. Atfirst glance, he plays an orthodox shakehand style, staying up front and not too far from the table, but inside he is packed with a variety of Intelligent moves needed to win. In this special feature, we will be looking at Jha’s strengths, including comments from him and his coach, Jorg Bitzigeio (Germany). In the first episode, he explains the key points that enable quick attacks, which are the core of Jha’s play.*The technical explanation in the main text is based on a right-handed player.
His strength is being able to put time pressure on his opponents with quick attacks.
Jha: I think I have a high ability to adapt to my opponent’s play. This gives me a mental advantage in many situations. Technically, in terms of developing a rally, I’m a fast attacker, so I can have a time advantage over my opponent. This allows me to put time pressure on my opponent. I think this is my strong point. I’m not a power hitter, but an all-round player, so there are many players who I can’t match in terms of power. For that reason, I try to overwhelm my opponents with the course I take, the tempo, and the speed of my play. And being able to do all of these things throughout the entire match is mystrength.
Jha says his strong point is his speed.
Jha’s timing is faster than the others, so he can dominate the rally.
Bitzigeio: Jha is excellent at returning the ball and putting the ball on the table. His serving and receiving are also at a very high level, but he is strong in rallies, so as long as he doesn’t get hit in one shot after receiving, he can play well against any opponent. In particular, because he plays in a position close to the table, his timing to hit is faster than other players, so I think he can dominate the rallies with an advantage. Another characteristic is that, as long as the game or match isn’t over, he has the ability to turn the game around. As long as the game isn’t set, he has the mental strength to turn it around. This is because he has a strong fighting spirit, but he is also very good at game management in close matches. From my perspective, as his coach, his moves are very strong, so he must seem even more difficult to deal with from his opponents’ perspective.
Coach Bitzigeio has been with Jha since 2017.
Coach Bitzigeio has been with Jha since 2017.
The key to a quick attack is your forehand stance
Jha: Stance (foot position) is important for executing a fast attack in the front court. Specifically, when hitting a forehand, you should hit with a “stance close to parallel feet.” This allows you to catch the ball at an earlier timing. On the other hand, if you try to hit a forehand with your left foot in a wide forward stance, the point of contact will be delayed and you won’t be able to execute a fast attack. If you make an effort to hit forehands with a stance close to parallel feet, not only will you be able to hit the ball at an earlier point of contact, you will also have the advantage of being able to smoothly switch from a backhand (chiquita) to a forehand when a ball comes to your forehand side, or respond to a ball that comes in the middle (around your right hip). However, a parallel foot stance, you won’t be able to transfer much power from your feet to the ball, so you need to be conscious of your body rotation (rotation of your hips) to generate power.
It’s important not to pull your shoulders too much on the backswing
Bitzigeio: Hitting the ball close to the table is one of Jha’s strong points, so he’s working on improving how he uses his body to improve that. Specifically, he’s trying to improve the relationship between his arms and body. To do that, he’s hitting both forehands and backhands with a stance that’s as close to parallel as possible. And when hitting a forehand, he tries not to pull his shoulders back too much on the backswing. If you pull your shoulders back, the point of impact will be delayed that much. However, to generate power, it’s important to turn your hips firmly instead of pulling your shoulders back. So he’s working on improving the coordination between his hips and upper body.
Forehand topspin against topspin
Pay attention to your stance and backswing!
If you take a stance with your left foot far forward and pull your right shoulder back too far, you won’t be able to hit the ball quickly. As Jha himself and Bitzigeio say, his quick hitting point is a major strong point. What they revealed about this will be of great help to players who want to play speedy table tennis. The key factor, according to Bitzigeio, is to use your hips instead of pulling your shoulders back too far, but to be more specific, try swinging with the image of rotating your right hip quickly and sharply. This will make it easier to generate power even with a compact backswing, so be sure to give it a try. In the second installment, we will introduce Jha’s backhand.
Watch the video here (English subtitles available)
(Interview/Summary = Table Tennis Report)
