Previous Story
Japanese champ to lead 12-man contingent in Big Ball tourney
|
Posted on Sep 03 2008
A champion ping-pong player will lead an eight-woman, four-man Japanese team on their three-day trip here in the CNMI for the upcoming Big Ball Tournament organized by the Marianas Amateur Table Tennis Association.
MATTA is currently finalizing the venue to hold the event, which is slated from Oct. 9 to 11.
MATTA president Steve Lim and tourney coordinator Budhi Gurung said they are working on the possibility of holding it on Tinian, which was the original plan.
MATTA decided to move it to Saipan but Lim is still hoping that Tinian will host the games.
The 12 players from Japan, Lim said, are the Ambassadors of Big Ball.
He said they have been promoting this sport for quite a while.
Lim said Big Ball is gaining popularity in the United States and in Europe.
“It is already popular in Asia, like in Japan, and Korea,” he said referring to the use of a larger 40mm table tennis ball.
Manufacturers particularly in Asian countries like Japan, Korea, and China theorized that the use of such kind of ball could improve a player’s performance.
The 40mm ball weighs in at 2.7 grams, compared to the old 38mm ball at 2.5 grams.
Accordingly, the bigger size makes the ball travel four to eight percent slower and reduces the effect of spin on the ball about 10 to 13 percent.
Proponents of the game also theorized that the intent was to make the rallies longer and in turn make the game more exciting for players and spectators.
