[ivo-M2]

Zitat von Janus

Ich glaube nicht, dass J.O. Waldner weiß, was ein Tenergy ist...

Zuletzt war er mit JO Gold (VH) und JO Platin (RH) auf seinem Senso Carbon unterwegs, was hier auch schon richtig gepostet worden ist.

I can confirm the Senso Carbon (20-may-2010), but on the forehand he used a red rubber;

http://www.mijnalbum.nl/Album=Z3EYHWPZ



But he wants to try a faster blade according to this interview, where he also confirms the mentioned rubbers:

The first question about you is often what equipment you use. So, what rubbers do you use these days?
Coppa JO Gold on forehand and Coppa JO Platin on backhand.

Which blade do you play with?
Right now I use Waldner Senso Carbon.

How important is the equipment for you?
It is naturally very important and I always have good stuff to play with.

Do you try out a lot of blades and rubbers to find the best match for you?
No, not really. I know what I want and I am happy when I have that. J�rgen Persson tries out a lot more equipment than I do, for example.

So you have never been an EJ?
No, never.

Have you changed a lot of equipment since the speedglue ban?
No, not really, but the rubbers themselves have changed a lot. However, I will try out a new faster blade now and I guess that is the closest I am to a change these days.

What kind of equipment did you use during the following championships?
1989
1992
1997
2000

I really don�t remember. As I said, I was never really into equipment.

What are your thoughts on long pips and anti players? What are their pros and cons?
It is hard to become good with anti as it � per definition � makes it hard to add spin to the ball. Long pips suit defenders very well though. In spite of that it is very hard to become a really good defender these days. It is no longer enough to be good defensively, you will need a very good offensive game as well. That means that to become a really good modern defender, you will have to practise twice as much. If you look at Wang Xi, our defender in the Fulda team, I am sure he would be in the World Top 50 if he played a purely offensive game.

In the 1989 World Team final you played the Chinese team with Chen Longcan, Teng Yi and Jiang Jialiang. Did all the Swedes speedglue at that time?
Yes, we all did.

Did the Chinese as well?
Teng Yi did. Of that I am almost certain. I am less sure about the other two, but I think they did. After all, both Chen Longcan and Jiang Jialiang were traditional penholders.

*

After opponents and equipment related questions we move on to rules and changes to the game.

What do you think about the booster ban?
It is OK.

Is boosting common among the world players?
I don't know.

These two answers seem to come more from Waldner the Diplomat than Waldner the Private Person, right?
Well, you can put it like that if you want.

How do you feel about the ban of frictionless pimples?
It is wrong to eradicate a style of play in this way. It would have been different had the rubbers still been the same colour on both sides, but as it is now it is just a daft ban.

How have the new rules affected you personally?

No hidden serves: A small negative change for me, but I think I have adapted pretty well.

40 mm ball: I think it has led to less spin and less entertaining table tennis. More players play with less imagination and more like robots these days.

Sets to 11 instead of 21: Perfectly fine.

Ban on speedgluing: Speedgluing should have been allowed to continue providing it was harmless. As things stand now, we face problems we didn't have to deal with previously, such as the disqualifications of Wang Liqin, Adrian Crisan and Petr Korbel.

I'll cut in here. What is your view on Wang Liqin's recent disqualification?
It is perfectly fine when someone uses illegal equipment. Everybody knows the rules.

Does this affect your esteem for him?
No, not at all.

Back to rule changes; how did they affect you? Negatively or positively?
I cannot say I was affected more than anyone else, so on balance things stayed pretty much the same.

In what way has the game changed during your career? I am not thinking about rules now, but rather how the actual play has evolved.
The game has become much faster. Also, we see more robot-like players these days and fewer styles of play.

Are these changes caused by equipment or training methods?
They are connected and consequences of each other. When the equipment becomes faster, the players must become faster and stronger. Evolution is inevitable. All you need to do is to look at the way I played in the beginning of the 80's as opposed to the end of the 80's. Or compare the play today with that of ten years ago. The differences are quite big and this shows the natural progression when equipment and training methods develop.

What would you like to change in table tennis?
I want more big and serious competitions or better Pro Tour competitions, for example. They have stagnated and not really evolved for a long time. The developments on the web and on TV is a good thing, but it could be even better. The situation in China is better than anywhere else, in this respect.

Let's have a look at some rule changes. I'll suggest some and you comment briefly on them.

A larger ball?
Bad.

A higher net?
Bad.

A larger table?
Bad.

I think there has been too many changes recently. Changes make it hard for non-players outside table tennis to follow what is going on. Apart from that, the changes you mentioned above, would carry huge development costs for manufacturers, costs they will have to push onto the players and clubs. Furthermore, I believe the above changes will lead to even less styles of play and more robot-like players.

What are your thoughts on two players per nation in the Olympics and at the Worlds?
It is useless. The very best players should play. If a certain country is the best, then so be it. Let the others work to catch up instead