Coach Samson Dubina US National Team Coach 4x USATT Coach of the Year
 

To see this website as it was intended, please update to a modern browser!

-->

The Comeback

Learn Some Strategy from Shreyans Bafna (age 15)

 
We have all suffered heart breaking losses. So what should you do the next time your lead is slipping away? Let's start off with having the big lead. When you are up 9-5 or 10-4 or whatever it may be, you feel great. You are about to win the game. However, next thing you know, your opponent has won a few points in a row, and the game is almost tied up. First of all, it is important to be in a good mental state. Recently, I was beating someone 10-4 in the fifth game, but I lost. I called timeout at 10-7 and I was not playing scared. After awhile, it came to me that the reason I lost was because I kept thinking about the consequences instead of strategy. The next thing you have to do is think of the how to win points instead of the fact that you have surrendered a lead.By that, I am saying that instead of thinking that you were winning the game 9-5 and now it is 9-8, think of what you need to do to win the final 2 points. I believe that momentum only exists if you let yourself think that. Go back to what you were doing when you were winning points. Take your 6 point towel break and calm down. Table tennis is a game of runs. One player may get 4 points in a row and then lose 6 and then win 5. The key is limiting the other players runs. 

Category: