Waldner v Li Gun Sang (Chopper) Part 2 1987 Euroasian Semi finals

1987(ish) table tennis
My first international tournament and probably the best
Channel 4 covered the tournament with 3 x 2 hour programs
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[@lillarthur]

3:15 - That's why he was the best in the world

[@Spacevet]

no

[@olaniyi570]

Service of is part of the game. We can only speculate if Waldner would have lost more had it not been for his serves, personally I don't thinks so. He destroyed Ma-Lin and Timo boll in the 2004 Olympics when it was already illegal to hide your servers and he was 38 years old, 15 years their senior.

[@SuperHammaren]

Well if it was allowed to use only one foot then one can speculate he would have lost more matches also.. either not valid argument in my book (you play with what is valid at the time). He learnt his served from Chinese players who were leading at the time (81 I believe) and developed them from there himself.

[@cje1]

'Who wants to see the final?' Me!

[@SuperHammaren]

10 years later, at 32, Waldner was World champ again without losing 1 set in the singles tournament.

[@Miguel53de]

And I was there in Athens and I was amazides by Waldners fantastic performance against Ma Lin

[@QuantumStates]

This is incredible, and such good quality too!

[@itshusain5949]

Lol

[@kentschandorff6111]

Great game from waldner❤

[@Miguel53de]

Mr. Pocerface Waldner seems not to be amused by this game. I never have seen him with an reaction but here.

[@Galimah]

Oooh sweet find. Hope u get more views on this one

[@SuperHammaren]

Always liked to see Li play, my favorite chopper. In 89 he was very very good and won SOC in Sweden.

[@rcmontecalvo]

Me too! I wanna see the final

[@Listermintsluesh]

Stomping of foot. So, to this day still happens. My opinion its kinda bad sportsmanship. A bit like the hideous screeching that women make in top tennis. What happened to good sportsmanship??

[@alzinn8231]

Nzinn73 Perhaps You already know this, but players stomp their feet so the opponent can't hear the sound of the blade contacting the ball, the sound will give an idea of the degree of spin, ie. Heavy, light, no spin. Obviously if you're serving You wouldn't want to give the returner this advantage.✌

[@-danR]

How did he hit so many short low chops off the bounce that way? And with such short swings. Only penholders can do that.

[@tim99291]

There commentators are bad, calling fast contra or even topspin serves backspin. Ewww.

[@otisskopik1400]

Absolutely Fantastic

[@LehmannDaHero]

I bet thats matthew syed doing the commentary

[@dmp23wnk.]

li gun sang is north korea

[@Josie54458]

Amazing!

[@kaesees]

Waldner's haircut was so bad back in the day.

[@philippelepage1609]

Looks like Bowie

[@altairthegreatest601]

Against the todays players they have no chance to win

[@HawkOfGP]

+Altair TheGreatest A lot of people make these types of comments, but I think it's a fallacy of thinking that the most talented athletes of the past decades wouldn't be able to adjust to the modern game. Waldner had amazing longevity as it is.

[@TTTTCJGKS]

+MuikuliWander The problem with Waldner readjusting to compete with the modern greats is that he would have to retool his entire style. His most deceptive serve is no longer viable so he needs something else, he is definitely not as fast as Zhang Jike, Ri Chol Guk, or even Liu for that matter. He would also need a coach that is as good as today's Chinese coaches, etc... All in all, Waldner was a breakthrough for table tennis, I look at it as a different time. Better? Maybe. But anything is possible I guess.

[@HawkOfGP]

groudon4616 Waldner still placed 4th in 2004 Olympics with new service rules despite being past his prime by then. I honestly think that the service stuff is fairly minor in the end. I think Waldner's best advantage was his natural ability at reading the play, which is why he didn't have to be the fastest even during his time. Of course it's difficult to speculate with the landscape being so different. Different times. I think the main point is that I don't think anyone should directly compare the way they play today to the past ("oh, they are much faster now!") because it's simply unfair. Equipment has evolved, coaching has evolved, rules have changed and as a result the game itself is different. Can't prove either way if it was possible to adjust of course, but it's a fun thought experiment if nothing else. My instinct that they could is based on Waldner still being a good player at 40 despite the game changing a lot. Looking at other sports, Jaromir Jagr is still a great hockey player at 45. Super talents can have amazingly long careers if they stay dedicated and healthy.

[@SuperHammaren]

+Altair TheGreatest Waldner never adapted to others after 16 years old, he led the development in table tennis for 20 years, always learned new things. The Chinese team gave up their tries to learn him and focused on his team mates at the time. Compare how the gane looked like in 81 with 2004, the same player adapted all the time. Not to todays? Of course with the larger 40mm ball.

[@pingpongtt3582]

you can't compare 1987's style with the style now,but in 1980-1990s europeans have better fundamental skills than now europeans,old europeans have professional fundamental skills but now is very poor.fundamental skills is more important than style