How to choose a Table Tennis Racquet ?

The official rules of Table Tennis state that a racket can be of any size , shape or weight but the dimensions of Table Tennis Racket are around 15 cms across and 25  cms long including the handle .

In order to select an appropriate Table Tennis Racket , we must first understand the parts of Table Tennis Racket and their functionalities . A Table Tennis Racket has four main parts :

1)  Blade
2)  Sponge
3)  Rubber
4)  Handle

Now , let  us discuss each of these parts one by one :

1)  Blade :   The rules of Table Tennis state that the blade must be made of  atleast 85% natural wood , but the rules also allow for small amounts of other materials such as carbon fiber , glass fiber etc. Carbon Fiber is generally used to make the blade harder and therefore faster. The majority of blades consist of 3 , 5 or 7 layers of wood .

There are two types of Blades :

(a)  Western Style Blade
(b)  Penhold Style Blade


(a)  Western Style Blade :  The Western Style Blade is for the players who use the Western Grip , also called as the Shakehand Grip . In this style , the racket handle is held in the palm of your hand so that the start of the racket head fits into the "V shape" formed by the thumb and the first finger .

(b) Penhold Style Blade :  The Penhold Style Blade is for players who use the penhold grip i.e. the racket handle is held between the thumb and the forefinger . This style is used mainly by Asian players . With this type of grip , it is more difficult to play a full range of strokes .

There is a specific type of wood that is used for a specific type of playing style :

• Attacking Style of play : These blades have harder outer plys of wood which will enable you to generate more power in your shots .

• Defensive Style of play :  These blades have soft flexible plys of wood which will give you better ball control .

• All-round Style of play :  These blades consists of hard inner plys of wood with soft outer plys. It will be a medium speed blade which will help you to control the ball .

2)  Sponge :  The thickness of sponge greatly affects the speed , spin and control on the ball . In general , the below parameters are used by the players to select the sponge thickness :

(a)  Thin Sponge (Less than 2.0 mm) :  This is used for defensive style of play .
Key Parameters : Higher Control , Moderate Speed , Moderate Spin .

(b) Thick Sponge (2.1 mm and above) : This is used for attacking style of play .
Key Parameters : Greater Spin , Moderate Control , Greater Speed



3)  Rubber : The rules of Table Tennis states that one side of the racket must have bright red colored rubber while the other side must have black colored rubber. Table Tennis rubbers can have pimples(pips) facing outwards or inwards.

(a)  Pimples out :  Pimpled out rubber (pips) has the pimples facing outwards which means that the smooth side of the rubber is attached to the sponge . Pimples out is available in two varieties :

• Short Pimples :  Suitable for counter hitting game .
• Long Pimples :   Suitable for defensive style of play . 

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(b)  Pimples in :  Pimpled in rubber has the pimples facing inwards towards the sponge . This is known as reverse rubber and it is the most popular type of rubber as it allows a complete range of strokes to be played .

4)  Handle : The choice of handle shape comes down to personal preference . There are three different types of handles : Flared , Anatomic and Straight .

I hope the information provided above will help you while selecting a Table Tennis Racket that best suits your style of play . To be honest , selecting a good Table Tennis Racket takes too much of time and effort . In order to save you from this chaos Glisten Group is going to launch its Table Tennis Racket Series on 21 June 2017. You can directly purchase Table Tennis Rackets depending upon the specification provided against each model as per your requirement and expectation. This will save a huge amount of time which you can spend on practicing your game .

Our first model of Table Tennis Racquet JX751A  available on Amazon.in from 21 June 2017 with the below highlighted key features :

• Approved by I.T.T.F
• Ideal for a senior and junior TT players
• Suitable for age group of 4 years +
• Meant for professional and intermediate playing level
• Offers Speed of 85 , Control of 90 and Spin of 80
• Box Contents : 1 Racquet
• Made in India

Click on the banner below to buy Glisten Group JX751A Table Tennis Racquet.




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