Ideal Build for Table Tennis Player, Was it Ryu Seungmin?
Courtesy of ITTF

A vital member of the Korean National Team for well over a decade, many accolades came the way of Ryu Seungmin, the most celebrated of all being in the Galatsi Stadium in Greece, when he won the Men’s Singles title at the 2014 Olympic Games.

Mental strength, athleticism showed through in Athens but according to Germany’s Dimitrij Ovtcharov, Ryu Seungmin had one further feature in is favor that enabled him to succeed at the very highest level.

He was the ideal build; in the production Anatomy of a Table Tennis Player Dimitrij Ovtcharov, who successfully defended his Men’s Singles title at the recent Liebherr 2015 ITTF-European Championships in Ekaterinburg, explains that a height of 1.76 meters to 1.79 meters with disproportionately long arms is ideal.

Ryu Seungmin fits the bill to perfection.

Effective with Wide Returns
The build of the now retired Korean, enabled him to exert great power when he played, whilst also being able to reach the ball when it was wide and return effectively.

Undoubtedly, Ryu Seungmin was an athlete, strong legs, physically fit; Dimitrij Ovtcharov stresses the fact the strong legs are vital, especially when confronting Asian players as every split second counts.

Rigors of Training
Furthermore, the German star explains that to cope with the rigors of international play and six hours training per day, strong stomach and back muscles are vital as is flexibility in the wrist, arm and shoulder joints.

Quite simply, Dimitrij Ovtcharov underlines how sport moves forward, whatever the sport.

High Speed
Table Tennis is now played at a higher speed than ever before; the demands on the body are that much increased, the reaction time is that much less, the need to anticipate and react is that much greater.

In fact are the physical demands and mental demands, although not immediately obvious, greater than those of tennis?

Spin on Ball
The strain on the body may be similar, the requirements of physical fitness the same but does the fact that there is far greater spin imparted on a table tennis ball than on a tennis ball impact greater demands on the ability to be able to adapt, adjust and anticipate?

Listen to Dimitrij Ovtcharov… Available on YouTube