COMPARATIVE STUDIES BETWEEN THE TECHNIQUES OF SINGAPORE AND THAILAND MALE ELITE TABLE TENNIS PLAYERS FOR SEA GAMES 2001

Abstract

Singapore and Thailand Table Tennis players often compete with each other during the finals of major events. As such, an experimental study was done to compare the differences between the types of styles adopted by these national athletes during the SEA Games 2001. The scope includes the players' techniques, arm movements, ball speed and ball contact position. Video recordings from the actual competition were transferred to Peak Motion analysis system and the data was processed to obtain the required kinematic quantities. Two distinctive types of styles were observed when the players return the ball; one with fully stretched arms while the other with arms kept close to the body. In terms of ball contact position, all players contacted the ball higher and produced more ball speed when they stood further away from the table showing an emphasis in the drive technique.