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[729 fx]

Have any one of us out there, fell in this type of situation before :
You are down 3-0 in a best of 7 single games and trailing 2-7 in the 4th game.
What do you do? What is your level of confidence? What to motivate you when the chips are down?

For me I am always the optimistic type even I am trailing in my game and am making numerous silly mistakes. I will think there is still hope for me making the good shots and my opponent will make some mistakes along the way for me to claw back to level with him.

Care to share your view?

[rokphish]

for me depends on my opponent... if i think i can win... although i had to crawl.. then i could summon up my will power, concentration, put the mental pressure to work for me instead of against me, and what not... and sometimes it really works for me...

but when i'm up against someone who's clearly way above my level... i just tried at least to not play like a dummie...

[729 fx]

Yes, when I am facing someone who's clearly way above my level, I will try to make the best of my shots and considered the game as an "eye-opener" for me, that is to learn and improve on my weaknesses when going against such player.

[varghese]

Oh my God!

This is a good qn. If I'm in that position, I will surely have pressure. In many occasions I've seen friends of my opponent giving advises to my opponents. I can figure out what he is going to do technically, but such kind of incidents bother me a lot, and I can lose the match.

I won't take normally pressure to control me. That is one reason I will let the game to go to my opponents sometimes.

In our area I have got a pretty good respect of the best pips player having control over any spin. A boy who started playing ping pong recently was interrupting my games I play and he was giving advises to other players - advising them to play underspin against my pips. He might have got this idea from some internet site. This guy has got some super fast blade and he has a very unorthodox shot.

Last week he came to play with me - after coaching all my opponents. In the first two games, I have given him only 3 to 4 points. In the third game, he started coaching me. This has really bothered me. I lost that game by thinking about why this guy is acting smart. I knew this is going to effect me. I took a few seconds of break, chat with another friend to get out of this guy's mental control over me. I regained the control and beat him.

Next time, when I play him I wont probably give him a good game. Probably I will let him win. That's how I sometimes take the pressure out of me. Is it bad or good?

I have to change this habit of becoming bothered by my opponent's actions. I'm trying.

[ejunkie]

it 's hard but I try not to even bother to look at the scoreboard 'cause I don't like playing with a finish line in mind. I play to win and to gain control of the match. So I don't think I play too much differently with that score or a winning score. My focus would be on how to get control of the table and win point easier, where is the weakness of the oponent, where is my strength against his style. All these are changing by the minute and a lost of concentration would surely be the end.

[729 fx]

Yes, varghese, try to change the habit of becoming bothered by your opponent's actions or comments. Just treat it as he has not said anything or that you did not see his action that is bothering you.

ejunkie, you are right in advising not to look at the scoreboard, but the umpire's voice when he/she called out the scores, will have some effect too. The focus on getting control of the table/game and win easy point easier, as well as looking for the opponent's weakness by the minutes is the main ingredient to success. Anything others than these - try to block them out of the mind.

[varghese]

Yes, varghese, try to change the habit of becoming bothered by your opponent's actions or comments. Just treat it as he has not said anything or that you did not see his action that is bothering you.

Thank you. Appreciate your advise.