(by Steve Hopkins) In an announcement that was not a surprise, Japan has officially announced they will bar spectators from the Tokyo Olympic events.  The announcement was made yesterday by the Tokyo Olympic Organizing Committee, and it follows the country’s declaration of a State of Emergency due to COVID infection rates.  A few months ago, […]

(by Steve Hopkins) In a video posted in June (on a channel hosted by TT Smash City), Dimitrij Ovtcharov demonstrated his gluing technique. Watch the video below as he outlines how many layers of glue he uses and how he attaches the rubber to the blade.  Included are a few pro tips: (1) pull the […]

(by Steve Hopkins) MK Georgia Table Tennis is in Duluth, Georgia just off of I-85 to the Northeast of Atlanta.  Duluth is in the greater Atlanta metropolitan area, and is a suburb with a strong Asian influence which includes about 10% of the population being of Korean descent.  The club itself is located off Peachtree Industrial […]

(by Steve Hopkins, photo by ITTFWorld) Chen Meng is currently at the top of the ITTF rankings, and it isn’t close.  China’s top player has 11850 points and the next closest player, Japan’s Mima Ito, is nearly 1400 points behind.  Chen will be the top seed at the Olympics and she’ll be a solid favorite.  […]

(by Steve Hopkins) The ITTF Rankings take on more meaning as we are now 23 away from Preliminary Singles rounds at the Olympics (and one month away from the first Team matches). In the most recent ITTF Weekly Rankings there was some shuffling near the bottom of the Top 10.  Dimitrij Ovtcharov and Timo Boll […]

by Steve Hopkins) Despite a draw that required Timo Boll to tackle German teammate Benedikt Duda early (winning 4-3 in the Round of 16), and Dusseldorf teammate Anton Kallberg in the quarterfinals, and top seed Mattias Falck in the semifinals, it was Boll that cruised most of the way.  When Boll faced Dimitrij Ovtcharov in […]