Waldner dominated

yogi_bear wrote: SKRHG wrote: Yea... Waldner os far too old... he doesn't do much either... just blocks... he doesn't even have footwork any more... so I'm not too surprised when he loses against someone who can actually get to the ball and play aggressively.  I wonder when Waldner is going to retire... I don't understand, especially considering that Ma Lin, Wang Liqin and Chen Qi retired and they're still substantially better and far more active than Waldner waldner is wayyyy older than the retired chinese guys you mentioned

I was lucky enough to see both Waldner and Persson at one of the clubs in the UK recently and have to say that I couldn't have met and chatted to two nicer people in table tennis or anywhere else. The touch and control they have on the ball is amazing still. They are the golden era still playing and best enjoying the game. You have to remember that in 2004 and 2008 both Waldner and Persson made it to the semi finals of the Olympics at or around over 40 years old. Most if not all of the top Chinese Players of their era had retired by that age and are not playing at that level because they can't anymore.

ghostzen wrote: I was lucky enough to see both Waldner and Persson at one of the clubs in the UK recently and have to say that I couldn't have met and chatted to two nicer people in table tennis or anywhere else. The touch and control they have on the ball is amazing still. They are the golden era still playing and best enjoying the game. You have to remember that in 2004 and 2008 both Waldner and Persson made it to the semi finals of the Olympics at or around over 40 years old. Most if not all of the top Chinese Players of their era had retired by that age and are not playing at that level because they can't anymore.

I don't agree with that statement.  Given a chance, they can still play at the highest level.  But the young guns are next in line to compete and the older guys must step aside to give them a chance.  If they are still allowed to play, I believe WLQ, Wang Hao and Ma Lin can still be in the top 50 when they are around 40 years old.

NextLevel wrote: They (Chinese) have more internal competition. WLQ or Ma Lin could still play for any other national team in the world with their standard of play.

True without any doubt whatsoever, who could possibly dispute this?  This is also true I am sure for Chinese players none of us have ever seen or heard of.  But they are much younger than Waldner as I noted above.  Let's see what Ma Lin looks like in 14 years!!!!!  (I suspect he will be a large tub of goo, and I am betting WLQ will look just as fit as now).   If there was a match tomorrow between Jorgen Persson and/or Waldner vs. Wang Tao or even Liu Guoliang, who will you bet on?  Probably would be good matches, just like 20 years ago.  Waldner is really not in great physical shape because he obviously has no interest in training anymore but he is still after all Waldner.  Liu Guoliang (younger than Waldner) could stand to push away from the table a bit sooner himself (but even now could make national teams of any number of countries).  If Waldner wants to occasionally show up and play in a not-too-serious tournament, that is fantastic. 

Baal wrote: NextLevel wrote: They (Chinese) have more internal competition. WLQ or Ma Lin could still play for any other national team in the world with their standard of play. True without any doubt whatsoever, who could possibly dispute this?  This is also true I am sure for Chinese players none of us have ever seen or heard of.  But they are much younger than Waldner as I noted above.  Let's see what Ma Lin looks like in 14 years!!!!!  (I suspect he will be a large tub of goo, and I am betting WLQ will look just as fit as now).   If there was a match tomorrow between Jorgen Persson and/or Waldner vs. Wang Tao or even Liu Guoliang, who will you bet on?  Probably would be good matches, just like 20 years ago.  Waldner is really not in great physical shape because he obviously has no interest in training anymore but he is still after all Waldner.  Liu Guoliang (younger than Waldner) could stand to push away from the table a bit sooner himself (but even now could make national teams of any number of countries).  If Waldner wants to occasionally show up and play in a not-too-serious tournament, that is fantastic.

I think Waldner was actually playing a decent match, some really cool shots. He is still amazing. I think I can explain his attitude regarding fitness... it is like a reserve he keeps for the future that will be unleashed eventually in order to revive the master. 

Edited by JacekGM - 08/15/2014 at 11:00pm

obesechopper wrote: Baal wrote: obesechopper wrote: Waldner isn't THAT old! Look at his contemporaries still playing such as Jorgen Perrson (who moves considerably better) and He Zhi Wen. Ol' Evergreen is just out of shape! I'd imagine JO plays because he loves the game and has fun (or $$ from sponsors, appearances, etc.)! What more reason does he need. That being said, Waldner could probably step off a plane in america and become the new USA TT champ! ok, you named two.  Can you name others? Gao Jun! Primorac, Saive, Korbel (a little younger), Appelgren, Gatien somewhat. Chen Weixing here shortly! Old geezers unite!

Let's remember that when they played their legends tournament, Waldner still beat all his contemporaries.

What's all this "he likes to drink business", he is just a normal guy, and who knows how much or in what situations he drinks

Waldner has some great points here, sharp play.  He might be missing some of the hunger of his younger years but he's 48 after all.

Funny to read all the comments about Waldner being a heavy drinker. Yes, I know the rumours have it that he is, but think guys, he was a top player in TT for a very long time, do you think that would be possible if he was a heavy drinker?

He might drink more then most other top athletes, but, I think most of us, non pro players, drink more then he does.

Yes, he is out of shape, probably many reasons for this, one of them being his back problem, he can't practice as much as he used to. Another might be that he have already achieved pretty much all there is to achieve in TT, so now he enjoys the good life while continuing to do the thing he loves, still at a pretty high level.

Also must comment to those who said he "only blocked", well, I would be very happy to be able to do just that.