Defender
Strokes and Technique
Shrihari K Asked 7 years ago
Hello, can u give me some tips to become a good defender.
Alois Rosario Answered 7 years ago
Hi Shrihari,
The first thing is to become consistent with your pushing and chop strokes. Practice these a lot so that you can put the ball on the table consistently.
Then it is to develop some more defensive skills with the chop by being able to return topspin. Like any other technique in the game it is about practice and then being able to execute it in a match situation.
Take a look at our lessons on:
Backhand Push
Forehand Push
Forehand Chop
Backhand Chop
Thoughts on this question
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D K Posted 7 years ago
Regarding push,how can I deal with the fact noone wants to train it as "having to push is a sign that you are too bad to attack",but I need to master it?
Alois Rosario from PingSkills Posted 7 years ago
Not sure. See if anyone else has suggestions.
Jean Balthazar Posted 7 years ago
The game in which you push all over the table and need to hit the net to score a point is quite entertaining and could motivate them more than if you ask them to do a push-push drill.
D K Posted 7 years ago
I have already tried this,but everyone replies that it ruins their game as pushing "has no place".
D K Posted 7 years ago
However,I crucially need to learn to play against a deep fast heavyspinny push even faster,heavier push
Rohan Keogh Posted 7 years ago
They'll be the losers in the end DK. I've won more points against attackers with a push than any other stroke. If it "has no place" then all the top players wouldn't use it, but they do :)
If you can afford it, get a cheap robot. I recently purchased an iPong and it works very well for precisely this type of training/practice.
D K Posted 7 years ago
I usually lose a lot of points when I use a push,because I get a powershot before I can get away from the table. That is why I need to have fast and spinny push.
However,I lose even more points when my opponent plays a high ball and then blocks my smash.
D K Posted 7 years ago
Regarding robot: I have access to one,however,when you set it to backspin,it usually does not hit the table regularly. It is many years old,not really mine,and I cannot afford buying my own.
And "top players using it"....emm....show me a top rank player extensively using a push (I mean fast,agressive,long push) except defenders.
Benzene Chiral Posted 7 years ago
@DK yes, top ranked offensive players like Ding Ning not only push but chop returned trick serves from players Miu Hirano during WTTC 2017. It proved to confuse Miu Hirano quite badly as Hirano returned multiple balls into the net trying to return Ding Ning's chop with a topspin stroke.
Defensive players like Isabelle Li also use pushes.
D K Posted 7 years ago
Chop is not a push and I said "except defenders".
Where you see using a long push (not chop) in an attacker vs attacker game.
Benzene Chiral Posted 7 years ago
Hi DK, Ding Ning is not a defender… she's an attacker and so is Miu Hirano. Yes, Ding Ning used a long push to return Miu Hirano's serve which later Miu Hirano attempted to attack but it went into the net. That happened in WTTC 2017.
D K Posted 7 years ago
I will search.
However,they are women.
Have you seen similar thing in modern male competition?
Benzene Chiral Posted 7 years ago
@DK sorry, no.
D K Posted 7 years ago
This is the thing.
However,today I played with woman who kept pushing agressively into me,which caused me to search for a way how can I deal with heavy backspin 3m from the table