Dodean-Monteiro Continues to Set the Bar High For Rio 2016

Just over a year on from her marriage to Portugese National Team player Joao Monteiro, Daniela Dodean has recovered from a knee injury and is looking to come back better than ever with her sights firmly set on success at the European Championships with team Romania and the not so far off Rio 2016 Olympic Games. Thanks Daniela for doing this interview with me! :)

Full Name: Daniela Dodean Monteiro
Age: 26
Date Of Birth: 13.01.1988
Nation represented: Romania
Highest World Ranking: 19

Daniela Dodean-Monteiro from Romania

Equipment Used?
Blade: Primorac FL
FH Rubber: Tenergy 05
BH Rubber: Tenergy 05

Your Career How long have you been playing table tennis for, when and how did you start?
I started when I was 6 years old, I followed my brother.

You left home at a young age to train at the Olympic Centre, how difficult was that at such a young age, do you think it was important in developing you into the player you became?
I left home when I was 10 and it was really hard but I think it was a good choice because I developed a lot and I became a strong girl.

Daniela and Husband Joao Monteiro at their wedding

What does it mean to you to have a family involved in table tennis, first through your siblings and now through your husband also? It must be special to have the people you care about in your life share the same vision and passion as you for one sport?
In one way is good because we understand our jobs and we help each other but in other way is very hard because gives a lot of emotions following from outside.

What has been the highlight of your table tennis career so far?
Reaching quarter finals in World Championship and the European titles.

What is your next big goal for table tennis?
Next goal is to win European Championship in teams, We were always too close but haven't won yet.

Who has been your biggest rival out on the table since you started playing?
I don´t have one biggest rival but I think most of them were the players that were around the same age as me.

Congratulations on your recent wedding to Joao Monteiro, will being married change either of your goals for table tennis in the near future, or will you continue to train hard and compete for now?
We had one year of marriage on 7 July and in this year nothing changed, we just get older:)

You won 2 gold medals in doubles at the European Championships with Eliza Samara, what is your goal for 2014? Do you think playing at WSA will bring some extra luck or advantage to you?
I hope 2014 will be better then 2013, WSA for sure can give me advantage.

Where do you think you are currently in your table tennis career? Do you think you have reached your peak or do you think you can still do better and go higher?
In my head is always more, never enough and I think I can do much better.

A big match here for Daniela at the 2012 WTTTC

Are you aiming to compete in Rio 2016?
Yes for sure.

Off the Topic Questions
Who’s your favourite sportsperson of all time?
Nadia Comaneci
Favourite food?
Italian kitchen
What do you do when you aren't playing table tennis?
Spending time with the family,cinema,shopping...
Dream Car? 
Ferrari 458 Italia black-Red Mat color:)
Ideal holiday destination?
Maldives or Bora Bora
First thing you would do if you won $1million.
Hard question…Big party I think:)

And Lastly

Would you like to add one last tip, or an inspirational message for other table tennis players looking to succeed?
My tip is, work your body to be prepared for a high level in table tennis.

Why Catering For Spectators Has Backfired

I realise some of my blog posts can take on a very cynical and negative approach to some things but after seeing the two toned ball in the super league semifinal I felt like writing this!

Anyone who is not blindfolded can see that the popularity of table tennis in live arenas is decreasing. While the World Championships have drawn reasonable crowds, most World Tour Events, particularly those not in the Super Series, have a pretty poor showing. Once upon a time table tennis was a hugely popular sport. Now our proud statistics are distorted by enormous numbers of players within China. The truth is table tennis was (and still is) a great sport, it drew great crowds and was a popular game.

Lots of empty seat at Athens 2004 Olympics

Then somewhere along the line things started to change, the crowds were there already but other indoor sports were starting to compete and table tennis had to change to survive. To please the spectators the ball was changed to a 40mm ball, they wanted to slow the sport down and also make the games shorter. You ask any international players from that era and they will tell you they preferred the 38mm ball and the game to 21. In my recent interview with Petr Korbel he also states this fact. The game was faster and fiercer. But ITTF catered for the spectators instead of the players. What happened? The number of players decreased, people were drawn to other sports, spectator numbers fell.

China were the first to ascend through the phase of the new game and their dominance began, a dominance people grew tired of. As magnificent as the Chinese are to watch and admire, nobody wants to see the same country win over and over again without so much as a challenge, sport is about seeing competition especially on an international level. So excitement dwindled, what's the point in watching if you already know which country is going to win the World Champs, Olympic Games, World Team Champs etc. Then move along a few years and speed glue gets banned because it's toxic. Another measure to slow the game down and bring in water based glue which offers no speed effect at all. Players like Kreanga, the big hitters, take a long period of time to adjust. China excels again, mainly for their creativity in discovering means by which to boost their rubbers which spread eventually around the globe. Once again ITTF tried to make these methods illegal also. They want the game to be slower so that people can watch. Who suffers? The players.

Are we heading back to this?
Maybe the next rule will be to wear long pants again

Now we come again to a new phase of the game, the plastic ball, we are slowing down again. For the spectators. While there are other factors in play like the nature of shipping flammable celluloid balls, the players will again take the hit and the game will slow down again. There are active players who will have to suffer through 3 different phases of the game in their lifetime, possibly even 4 at this rate, all for the spectator. So we will all go back and adjust to the plastic ball and it's slower and lower bounce, less power and speed and spin. Why don't we just go back to playing on a dining room table with sandpaper paddles?

The sport is growing online, viewership is growing online, but not so much in venues where it still suffers. On the internet, slow motion replays can be employed to help spectators see what is happening. Different camera angles and make rallies easier to watch. Higher quality streams and replays will ultimately feed the growing number of fans online. Why do we need to continually slow the game down for the spectators? Take the hint, it's not working. Events like Kuwait and Qatar Open bolster a handful of mildly excitable fans clapping...in the finals.

Table Tennis was a game of speed and spin, we are gradually degrading to a simpleton sport of hitting a ball back and forward, the skill is diminishing. The focus on promoting the sport for spectators is wrong, sport is for playing. How many sports have we seen make this many changes in equipment and rules in the past couple of decades? I think just 1, table tennis.

The Two-Toned Ball

Now CTTA are proposing to introduces a two toned ball, half orange, half white. This is...for the spectators. We want to help them understand spin. Imagine playing with a two toned ball. You serve and your opponent can see the spin on the ball. You try and fool them with no spin, too bad, they can see the ball rotation. I was just watching the Super League semifinals, you can't even see the colours of the ball on the live stream, let alone the rotation. I doubt anybody watching live will be able to see the detail of the ball either. So why are we doing this again? The players are constantly losing out to cater for spectators, the numbers of which are continuously falling and the sport is becoming less popular. It is not the sport it once was.

ITTF should be using speed and spin as it's headline marketing campaign, they should be showing the skill and reflexes of the best players in the world and building up the reputation of the sport. Also they should stick to one equipment regime so that we don't have to keep changing all the time. Every time we change, China gets one step ahead because they already have a new generation of players in the wings ready to adapt to any new systems, rules or equipment changes that can be thrown at them. The popularity of the sport depends entirely on image and big events. Build the grandeur of the events and people will come to watch them live.

My Review of the DHS 3 Star Plastic Ball

Here is my review with www.tabletennis11.com of the DHS 3 Star Plastic Ball. Be sure to check out their site for all your equipment needs and of course to get your hands on the new plastic balls from a range of brands!

Topspin Annual Charity Table Tennis Tournament

I was fortunate enough to attend the Topspin Annual Charity Table Tennis Tournament at the Palazzo Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas last Saturday. This is an event hosted by Chris Paul where NBA players face off on the ping pong table to raise money for the Topspin Charity. Wally Green landed in town along with Soo Yeon Lee and Kim Gilbert to add a bit more table tennis presence to the occasion. I headed down there with Carmencita and Cynthia Alexandrescu and of course Sam Larab who captured some great photos during the evening!

Me with Wally Green, Carmencita and Cynthia Alexandrescu and Katherine Wu
Topspin Charity Event 2014
Photo by Sam Larab

The draw was full of NBA players and the smash talk was pretty fierce, there were some great laughs and some funny points during the event. Soo Yeon and Wally did a short exhibition on the main table. I slid off to the Practice Lounge for a little while to play some games with people who were coming in to check out the event.

The Player's Lounge
Topspin Charity Event
Photo by Sam Larab

I had the pleasure of playing for a little while with Al-Farouq Aminu from the New Orleans Pelicans and then also played some fun doubles with Camy against random challengers. It was great fun to get out in Vegas and be part of the event in such a great environment, these are the kinds of events which are superb for the sport.

Matt Hetherington and Soo Yeon Lee
Photo by Sam Larab

I also had the opportunity to catch up with Soo Yeon Lee. I remembered Soo Yeon from the year she spent in New Zealand ten years ago when she was crowned 2004 NZ Open Champion in the women's singles. She had flown to Vegas at the last minute after deciding she just had to be there for the Topspin Event.

You can see the video from the event here. Chris Paul won in outstanding fashion, beating Jerome Williams in the final and making two years in a row. Now everybody is out to get him for next year. I had great fun at the event, it was a good opportunity to have a great evening with my good friends, especially Wally Green who did a fantastic job hosting the event. I definitely hope I can go to more events like this one again! :)

European Stalwart Aims for Academy: MHTT Exclusive Interview with Petr Korbel

It was a huge honour for me to interview Petr Korbel. He is certainly a player to be admired, still a force to be reckoned with on the international stage, many years after his best performances. I used to watch Petr as a junior at the age of 14 years old when I was (at the time) also using his Butterfly blade which has been and remains to be very popular. Petr is now focusing on starting his own table tennis academy in the Czech Republic.

Name: Petr Korbel
Age: 43
Date of Birth: 6.6.1971
Nation Represented: Czech Republic
Highest World Ranking: 15

Petr Korbel (Czech Republic)
Image from ITTF

How and when did you start playing table tennis?
I start to play at the age of 7 years old, but only once a week. After the age of 11 I started to play table tennis every day. 

Petr is still active in international competition, making him one of the most experienced players still active along with other legends, the likes of Jean-Michel Saive and Jorgen Persson.


What has been your most memorable moment in your table tennis career?
To beat China at World Championships 1991 in Japan
Olympic Games Atlanta 1996 (4th place in singles)


How do you feel about the changes in the sport over the years? Which era of the game did you prefer playing in?
I prefer to play the time before changing the scoring system (score to 21, 5 serves each) and with 38mm ball. 

Which international table tennis player have you held the most respect for over the years for their playing ability and attitude to the sport and competing?
Guo Yue Hua
Jan-Ove Waldner
Andrzej Grubba
Jorgen Persson
Jorg Rosskopf

You placed 4th in the Atlanta 1996 Olympic Games, what can you tell us about your match with Rosskopf? There must have been a lot of mental pressure?
I would not to say mental pressure. For both of us(we are very good friends) the match was difficult to be ready and to be focused for this match after both losing in the semifinal stage.

Petr Korbel stretches Mizutani to 7 games in 2011 Japan Open

How important do you think experience is in table tennis? You still managed to beat players like Koki Niwa and had a very close match with Mizutani a couple of years ago, well after your peak level. Was it experience that allowed you to still continue to achieve results against formidable rising players at that time?
I think experience, concentration and the right tactics. Basically experience makes a lot in TT.


What is your current table tennis focus? Will we be seeing you on the World Tour this year?
Focus is on my own Team in Czech Republic(STEN Marketing HB Ostrov) and I want to play some World Tour tournaments. This year I also started with APEKO(Academy Petr Korbel).

Petr is in the early stages of starting his academy APEKO which opened 3 weeks ago but is looking to build to a permanent venue.

Butterfly's Petr Korbel OFF blade

What is your opinion on Zhang Jike? Do you think he has what it takes to be the first player to achieve 2 Grand Slams?
At the moment he is the best TT Player that is why he can do it. On the big tournaments like Olympic Games and World Championships he is the strongest player mentally.


How do you feel about the level of play in Czech Republic within Europe? Do you think there is a lot of promise for the future with the current juniors and the strength of the league system?
My opinion is, we have a few talented young players, but a bad system...We have to start to invest in the coaches, make a system for the young players like practise system etc. This is for a long discussion, which I try to explain to our TT Asociation already since more than 10 years. But most important is that the players need to work very hard.


Across your career who were your toughest opponents internationally and what made them so difficult to play?
I did not like to play against any crazy-risky players...


Off Topic Questions


Favourite Food: Japanese and Czech food
Favourite Holiday Destination: Florida in summer, Austria in winter
Favourite Sportsperson: Pete Sampras, Phil Mickelson
Favourite Music Band: U2
Favourite Actors: Al Pacino,R. DeNiro, Morgan Freeman


What do you like to do when not playing table tennis?
To have my own Academy and teach TT. In free time play Golf....


What advice can you offer to anyone aspiring to play table tennis at international level?
Hard work and never give up.



Thanks Petr! It's a great honour and privilege to be able to do this interview with you! :)


With Pleasure, Matt!