Two Types of Main Battle Tanks
- Fan Zhendong: New main battle tank produced by Bayi - powerful firepower and fast movement!
- Liang Jingkun: Tiger-style main battle tank produced by Hebei - fierce firepower but slow!
Speed Requirements in the Big Ball Era
Before the ball size change, due to the hitting point characteristics under the technical framework, movement requirements for players were not high. The overall rhythm of rallies and transitions was much slower than in the big ball era, and players didn’t have such high demands for forehand-backhand transitions in their middle position.
Now players must quickly connect transitions and catch the ball at its rising phase, which places extremely high demands on footwork speed and action connection speed!
Liang Jingkun has very high single-shot quality, but his body and playing style have gaps from this era’s requirements—slow! Too slow!
Fan Zhendong’s Tactical Core
Throughout the match, Fan Zhendong targeted just one weakness of Liang Jingkun: continuous transitions and connections in the middle position, and won.
As long as he seized this point, Liang Jingkun basically had no solution. The 3-2 score seemed difficult, but the match situation was always controlled by Fan Zhendong. Whenever Fan Zhendong wanted, he could quickly take the match, although at times he wasn’t resolute in executing tactics.
Tactical Execution
Table tennis is a confrontational sport. How to restrict opponents and make them uncomfortable is the core tactical thinking. Targeting the opponent’s vital point is most effective.
Facing his own inconsistent attack quality and lack of feel for backhand-to-forehand switches, Fan Zhendong ultimately decided not to clash head-on with Liang Jingkun, but resolutely focused on Liang Jingkun’s middle-to-forehand position and backhand wide angle with fast-slow rhythm variations in placement and continuity.
After holding in backhand rallies, he continuously pressured Liang Jingkun’s middle position to force his forehand. Under these circumstances, he put full pressure on Liang Jingkun, who frequently made unforced errors, ultimately securing the match!
The Art of Competition
Competition is an art, a philosophical and rational assessment of the situation using the most reasonable methods to strive for victory:
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Players will always have times when their touch is off. How to get through this phase is where understanding of table tennis plays a role—this is the most intellectually profound aspect of sports.
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Resolute tactical execution always tests a player’s technical stability. Successfully executing tactics is what makes tactics successful! It requires strength as guarantee and psychological composure.
Conclusion
It seems like winning through cleverness, but it’s actually about advantages in ability and depth.
Fan Zhendong knows how to play to win, but others know how to play yet still can’t beat Fan Zhendong!
Why? Because they lack the strength!