Robo-Pong the Table Tennis

Robot @ Newgy.com

Eastern Open

a STIGA North American Tour Event

Piscataway, NJ · July 24-25, 2004

By Alan Williams

If there was one keynote that distinguished this event, that made it stand out from the other Tour stops and from the other Eastern Opens of yesteryear, it was Passion. Yes, that’s Passion with a capital ‘P.’ There were no half measures, no lukewarm responses, and no doubt about the joy and energy that is created when our tribe of Pongists gather to compete for trophies, glory and good old American cash.

Firstly, it is proper to acknowledge the passion of the NATT tournament staff, who drove several hundred miles through torrential rains into flood-ravaged New Jersey and unloaded the 27 tables, the umpire stands, barriers, scorecards, reams of paper, computer paraphernalia, tee shirts, notebooks, and other odds and ends that make up the infrastructure of a North American Tour Stop. It has to be more than money that motivates such an effort; it is a love of the game and the people who play it!

Similarly, the volunteers who answered Terry Bell’s call for Umpires showed a passion for the sport. Larry Bavly, Ross Brown, Pat Collins, Jim Williams and Larry Hodges made the calls and officiated the games when needed. That’s one thankless task, as I well know. Having presided over a few matches in a much more informal setting, I spent most of my time praying that nothing ‘interesting’ happened, and that the players would be indulgent of me. To sit in that chair when a title is on the line, when two players have highly different views of the same point, not only requires dedication but also a small masochist bent, I think.

Table Tennis Pioneers, Gerflor and STIGA have been unflinching in their support for the Tour, an aspect perhaps best shown by Mitch Rothfleisch’s determination to obtain the European-made STIGA Expert tables in time for this event. Brand new and out of the box, this classic design is a player favorite, and Mitch ensured, with his effort, that they got it.

But the biggest ‘Hats Off’ goes to the players, naturally. More than 250 entrants made the decision to come out and play in that difficult travel circumstance. They are the true heroes of our sport, and their support will carry the game well into the future.

One thing on many people’s minds was the recent ‘GQ’ article about Table Tennis. A lively debate was in progress most of the weekend in the aisles between tables and in the hotel rooms surrounding the playing site, the Sonny Werblin Rec. Center at Rutgers University. Was it good or bad for the sport? Was it a fair characterization or not? Those who found themselves quoted embarrassingly, or to whom ‘ungenerous’ adjectives were directed, failed to find much good to say about it. Personally, I was relieved to only find myself referred to as ‘the announcer.’ It’s ironic that GQ began its publication life as ‘Gentleman’s Quarterly’ for there wasn’t much gentlemanly about the language or the inferences that writer found in our gossipy game. The photographs were large and pretty good. I strongly suspect GQ readers only look at the pictures.

This being an election season both nationally and for the USATT board also added a measure of excitement, as petitions circulated and opinions were readily exchanged in a far more gentlemanly manner. “Look at that!” Sean O’Neill remarked to me. “If we want to be treated as professionals, we should dress as professionals. That guy has a tee shirt and cutoffs. What’s wrong with a collared shirt? Ideally, everyone would be in team uniforms.” Ref Terry Bell did his part to keep a dress code active at the Easterns, sternly prohibiting hats on players and insisting on shirts with sleeves, regardless of the player’s sex.

All this Sturm und Drang is, naturally, secondary to the real Passion, the love our members have for the sport and the zeal with which they pursue it, at every level. “Great tournament!” enthused Parul Engineer. “I’ve grown tired of tournaments that cannot run on time and are so disorganized. This is a very pleasant change!” Mr. Engineer can be forgiven his happiness, as son Anand won the U-10 round robin to match his father’s U-2000 victory. “I’m getting better, I really am!” was the boast of Cheryl Friend, whose ‘bring the whole family’ approach is one I endorse. Spencer, Chance, Mackenzie, and husband Todd were once again all in evidence. “Todd served me about a thousand pendulums to my backhand, and now I’m confident I can return that one. I won a game! I won a match!” It’s impossible to gainsay that kind of smiling enthusiasm from a player with her sights set on breaking 1000. Chance’s second place finish in the U-800 didn’t hurt her feelings either.

Even the irascible Barry Dattel seemed to have a good time, taking home Finalist cash for the U-2375 when he and Champion Patrick Mualem put on a great match at Table 1, right next to the door, where so many dozens of non-table tennis playing spectators had gathered to see ‘how the pros do it.’ Barry’s capstone though had to be his victory in the Over 40, a nice 3-1 win against the gladiator, John Wetzler.

Upsets and come-from-behind wins seemed to be the order of the day, of which, more below. But it would be remiss not to mention Antwain Davis and his victory in the U-22 Men’s group. Davis trailed Raghu Nadmichettu two games to one, and trailed in the fourth game 10 to 4! Davis stayed cool as a cucumber as he fought off six match points to make deuce, and completed the turnabout by winning the match in the fifth. Turnabout was fair play when Antwain himself allowed a 2-0 lead against Ruslan Smolyanskiy to evaporate in the U-2125 final. Oleg Zalesskiy nearly overturned a 3-1 game lead for Duan Changping in the Over 50 before succumbing 11-6 in the seventh game. Oleg also managed a second place finish in the U-2250 to John Wetzler.

But spectator and players alike focus on the ‘money matches,’ those Open Singles matches that would lead to the title, and in this case, a $2000 payday. An unusually large number of no-shows and withdrawals marred the Second Stage Round Robins, leading to suggestion that NATT should be more flexible in letting qualifiers fill the empty brackets. In those matches that were made, and the ones that followed in the Sunday Quarterfinals, we were treated to varieties of drama and, yes, Passion with a capital ‘P,’ that made the Easterns an exciting and memorable weekend.

Group 1: Thomas Keinath, Michael Oyebode, Razvan Cretu, Tahl Leibovitz

The only group in which all four entrants showed up saw the top two seeds advance without incident. Razvan forced a pair of deuce games with Keinath, but lost 4-0. Oyebode was too quick for Tahl and also went on in four straight. Keinath saw Tahl bring deuce twice, but still triumphed 4-0. Cretu managed to take the second game against Oyebode, but couldn’t manage more than that, and defaulted a meaningless ‘who is third?’ match to Leibovitz. “When you write the article,” Tahl asked me, “please at least say I played some points well.” That left Oyebode and Keinath to settle first and second place, but Mike could not manage to put the scare into Thomas that he did in Delaware, and although each game was close, Thomas secured the safer Top seed for the Quarterfinals, -7,9,11,9,9.

Group 2: Chetan Baboor, Atanda Musa, Gao Yan Jun, Richard DeWitt

Gao Yan Jun first showed up at the STIGA Open, like Keinath, a Bundesliga veteran touring in America. There his play was more tentative than in New Jersey this weekend, as he announced his presence with authority, upsetting Baboor 8,9,-9,-4,6,-4,9 in a splendid match. With Musa a No Show, Dewitt would need at least one win to advance. He managed to nick Cheetan for a pair of games but (8,-7,6,7,-5,6) Baboor saved a spot in the Quarters. Gao was more efficient and set Dewitt aside in four straight (9,7,8,8) to become the group’s #1.

Group 3: Pradeeban Peter-Paul, Barney J. Reed, Paul David, Idan Levi

No one works harder than Pradeeban Peter-Paul, and with Barney withdrawing on Friday night, one win was all he needed to advance. He got it straight away, picking on Paul David’s backhand, 6,6,6,7. Levi caught fire against Peter-Paul, but only after dropping the first three games, losing the fifth at deuce. It was Paul David who advanced to the paying position of a top 8, running off four straight against Idan after a first game loss.

Group 4: Wang Chen, Florian Mueller, Xavier Therien, Ludovic Gombos

Here it was Wang Chen who announced a withdrawal, declaring after her win against Renata in the Women’s that she was too tired to compete in the Open. Xavier Therien, with his astonishingly energetic style could relate to being tired. First he played his heart out against the German, Mueller, nearly pulling off a big comeback of his own, but falling short as Florian held on to a 9,7,-4,7,-4,-9,4 win. Against the Frenchman, Ludovic Gombos, a never-say-die opponent with plenty of energy of his own, Therien overcame a deficit of 2-1 to advance 6,-9,-6,6,8,-8,6! Mueller did not find Gombos much easier on a point-by-point basis, but managed to secure the first position in the group and leave Gombos just short of the money, 6,11,12,4.

Quarterfinals

Keinath vs. Therien

Xavier is not going to leave anything in the tank as he goes after the top seed in this match, and after three games, leads 2 to1! But Keinath is, as always, cool as the other side of the pillow, and 2,9,2, puts away the Canadian. Therien did best on exchanges of pure power, but had serious issues with Thomas’ service game, especially a mindbending short serve to the backhand delivered with little effort that was absolutely loaded with spin. Keinath advances, 4 games to 2.

Baboor vs. Peter-Paul

No one works harder than Pradeeban Peter-Paul, who is capable of firing and reloading with incredible rapidity. In previous meetings, however, Peter-Paul had never solved the puzzle of Baboor. This incredibly well-played match began with Baboor winning at deuce, only to have Praddie storm back to an 11-2 victory in the second. In the third, Peter-Paul wins a deuce of his own to establish a 2-1 lead. But Baboor is always moving Peter-Paul, never letting him get set, varying his pace and placement. Pradeeban determinedly fights for every point, refusing to yield the table, but Baboor goes up 3-2 with consecutive 11-9 games. 14-12 in the sixth, Baboor advances, leaving a great match in his wake, and a reduced payday for Peter-Paul.

Mueller vs. David

Mueller has an awkward-looking game that belies its effectiveness. The strokes aren’t pretty, but they work! Paul David senses vulnerability and goes for the throat. After dropping the first game at 9, David reels off one, two, three straight wins to build an impressive lead, 12,6,9. Mueller is laboring, and seemingly out of it as Paul David goes up 10-6 in the fifth game. Quadruple Match point! But pride is a great motivator, and Florian refuses to fold, wins four in row, then six in row! He reverses the precarious position to take game five! Coaching from Keinath seems to help, and Paul David is shaken by this resurrection, goes soft, loses game 6 by an 11-7 count. Then in the deciding game, it is Paul facing match point at 11-10, but when he wins three in a row and the match, bounds onto the table, strikes a Rocky Balboa pose and screams in victory! Talk about Passion! It was gratifying to see, especially since Paul has dropped some very tough matches at Tour events in the past few years.

Oyebode vs. Gao

This excellent match saw the quick off-the-bounce play of Oyebode matched against the fine tactics of Gao. It seemed to me that Gao was much more comfortable in this tournament than he had been at the STIGA, where he lost to Han Xiao in his first US appearance. Michael exploded all over Gao to take the first game 11-7, but lost the second of the match at deuce. Oyebode keeps the pressure on his opponents as well as anyone I’ve ever seen play, and when he took the third game 11-9, was in the driver’s seat. But this is where Gao impressed! Down two games to one, he defeated Michael 12-10 to even accounts, and then 11-5 in the fifth game to go ahead 3 games to 2! Now it was Michael looking ‘all in,’ moving heavily and unable to rip his forehand or find that ever-so-effective backhand block down the line. But there is a serious money differential between the Quarters and the Semis, and a determined Oyebode springs back 12-10 in the sixth to create the passionate tension of a decisive game. Gao decided that the best idea was to establish a big early lead, and never let go as he prevailed 11-7 in the seventh.

Semifinals

Keinath vs. Baboor

You’d be hard pressed to find two greater gentlemen than this pair. They had projected to be the Finals pairing, but Gao’s upset of Baboor pushed Cheetan in the bracket with Thomas. They certainly started with a barnburner! Back and forth they traded points as they felt each other out. Each man had several game points, but Thomas was the first to put together two in a row and won that first game by a score of 17-15! Cheetan had to have been crestfallen following that tough loss, and Keinath took advantage quickly, notching games two and three only allowing 3 and 6 points each. The more I see him play, the more I realize what a consummate pro Keinath is. He’s quick to discard disappointment, quick to follow up an advantage, and poised and composed in all circumstances. But Baboor is no slouch himself, and trailing 3 games to 0, grabs both game 4 and game 5 and pulling himself back into the match. Keinath realizes that Baboor is too dangerous, too experienced an opponent to allow back into the contest and closes out a close game 6, winning 11-9.

Gao vs. David

Defeating Muller figured to be David’s moment in the sun, and the Final now looked to be Keinath and Gao, but fate stepped in and changed all that! After winning the first game, Gao trails 10-7 in the second when he cramps so badly that play has to be stopped. Umpire Pat Collins gives Gao a timeout and on the sidelines his entourage quickly goes to work massaging his aching leg. After 60 seconds, Collins is looking for his player, but Gao is still in too much pain to play. Terry Bell, the tournament Ref now pays a courtside visit and Gao is out by default. What an uproar ensues! “It’s unfair! You can’t default him! He is injured!” protests a group of Gao fans. But defaulted he is, and properly so. A cramp is not an injury, it’s a conditioning issue, and you can no more take an injury timeout for a cramp than use one to catch your breath. It’s not a popular decision, but it’s a correct one, and Paul David, due to a lack of bananas in Gao’s diet, advances to the final! I make a mental note, that if I am ever seized with a cramp, I will fall down awkwardly and claim to have twisted an ankle.

Championship Match

Keinath vs. David

There’s no question that Keinath is the dominant player here, and unlike Mueller, his skills will hold off Paul David’s best efforts. His serve (11-4) his return of serve (11-5) his perfect footwork and superb conditioning (11-3) make him more than a match for Paul who now retreats to the barriers and turns into a lobber. Even though he ceded the fourth game 11-9, Keinath leaves no doubt and when he takes the title 11-6 in the fifth, stands on the table himself in a mock tribute to David’s earlier dramatic moment, the new Eastern Open Champion! Keinath is an absolute joy to watch, and the tournament, despite the lopsided Final, has been a great success for Paul David as well. USATT Certified National Coach Larry Hodges is, in fact, moved to state that David can make 2600 in rating.

“He has a few flaws,” Larry had noted after the Quarterfinals, “but they are fixable flaws, things that can be corrected with proper technique. Some players cannot overcome their weaknesses, but his are fixable. He needs to better control the depth of his backhand serves so he can vary it long and short. He needs to be willing to attack with his backhand more, so he can stay closer to the table when he serves, not have to always cover the whole table with his forehand. I can see him maybe breaking 2600 in a year or two.”

And with that prediction of future growth, the torrential rains stopped, the sun came out, and North American Table Tennis closed the curtain on another successful event. Next on the calendar, the Matthew J. Murad Memorial in suburban Maryland in August, where passionate pongers will once again put their games to the test.

Open Singles – Final: Thomas Keinath d. Paul David, 4,5,3,-9,6; SF: Keinath d. Chetan Baboor, 15,3,6,-9,-7,9; David d. Gao Yan Jun, -8,10,def.; QF: Keinath d. Xavier Therien, -10,6,-10,2,9,2; Baboor d. Pradeeban Peter-Paul, 10,-2,-10,9,9,12; David d. Florian Mueller, -9,12,6,9,-10,-7,11; Gao d. Michael Oyebode, -7,10,-9,10,5,-10,7.

Women: Wang Chen d. Renata Peluchova, 2,5,3,-7,6.

Over 40: Barry Dattel d. John Wetzler, -9,4,6,5.

Over 50: Changping Duan d. Oleg Zalesskiy, 8,6,-4,8,-9,-9,6.

Over 60: Mike Kuklakis d. Gary Gudzenko, 3,5,16.

Under 22 Men: 1^st Antwain Davis; 2^nd Raghu Nadmichettu.

Under 16 Boys: Charles Lin d. Giovanni Quinones, 3,9,8,6.

Under 13 Boys: 1^st Nathan Kung; 2^nd Justin Kung.

Under 16 Girls: 1^st Karen Ma; 2^nd Isabella Chen.

Under 13 Girls: 1^st Wing-Yee Man; 2^nd Connie Wang.

Under 10: Anand Engineer d. Annie Guo, 5,3,-9,1.

U2500 – Final: Xavier Therien d. Paul David, -4,7,7,5,6; SF: Therien d. Razvan Cretu, 8,-4,6,9,7; David d. Gao Jun Yan, 7,-4,-2,9,8,7.

U2375: Patrick Mualem d. Barry Dattel, 9,-9,9,-6,9.