Three years ago, the Country Hall Liège had been a happy hunting
ground for Germany’s Timo Boll when he had emerged as the champion in
memorable style.
On Friday 26th September 2008, in the same
venue it was not happy hunting; the no.3 seed was beaten in six games
by the ebullient Greek star, Kalinikos Kreanga in his opening duel in
Group C.
Kalinikos Kreanga won 11-7, 11-8, 14-12, 7-11, 7-11, 11-9.
Success for Kalkinikos Kreanga who played in confident mode as did
Nigeria’s Segun Toriola; in the closest contest in the first session of
play, the African champion secured a seven games win over Singapore’s
Gao Ning.
Segun Toriola succeeded 8-11, 11-4, 10-12, 11-6, 11-8, 9-11, 11-5.
Glue
Uppermost
in every player and every coach’s mind in Lie Liège is how are the new
glue regulations going to affect their players?
In the contest
involving Timo Boll and Kalinikos Kreanga it appeared that one player
was not comfortable and the other was on cloud nine.
Time Factor
Timo
Boll, playing fast close to table with heavy topspin on the first
attacks appeared not to be at home whereas Kalinikos Kreanga who plays
further away from the table had more time to play.
The ball was not arriving so quickly and he had time to execute his expansive strokes.
Difficult to Adapt
"It’s
not easy, we both have to get used to the new situation", said
Kalinikos Kreanga. "We both had problems today with receiving service;
neither of us received well, for both of us again it is a question of
adjusting."
In Liège it was the Greek who adjusted the better.
"Timo was not in the first two games", continued Kalinikos Kreanga. "He
didn’t play well at all; I think he may have a slight injury."
Speed Lacking
Certainly,
the speed of Timo Boll was not in evidence; as for Kalinikos Kreanga he
repeated the success of two years ago when he beat Timo Boll at the
same stage in France in the Liebherr Men’s Woirld Cup.
Out of Mind
However
for Segun Toriola he took a totally different approach to the glue
question. He deliberately put the number one talking point out of his
mind in his contest with Gao Ning.
"Yes, if you keep thinking
about the glue then you are not concentrating fully", said Segun
Toriola. "I made a conscious effort not to think about the glue
situation and the difference it might make; I just concentrated on
playing."
Frankly, that’s the most sensible comment I’ve heard regarding the adhesive debate.
Confident
"Today
I concentrated about putting the ball on the table", continued Segun
Toriola who had enjoyed a fine Olympic Games; good form in the team
event and in the Men’s Singles he had caused one of the shocks by
overcoming Jean-Michel Saive.
"Certainly, playing well in the
Olympics has boosted my self confidence", said Segun Toriola. "Yes,
against Gao Ning I felt confident but I wasn’t sure exactly what to
expect, it’s the first time I’ve ever played him."
Confident,
that was Segun Toriola, he was in determined mode and in the seventh
game he rose to the occasion; no coach, he thought for himself and he
succeeded.
Source: www.ittf.com
