Hi Celia, I'm going to do an interview about your sport: table tennis. First, the people think that is an easy sport. Is it true?
No, the people think that table tennis is one of the easiest sports, but it isn't so easy. In table tennis you don't only hit a small ball, you have to move very quickly, you have to pay attention to your opponent, you have to do special moves… Is true that there are more complex and difficult sports but table tennis is not easy.
What do you mean when you say “special moves”?
For example the backwards or the globe. This are movements in which you have to stay in a specific position and hit the ball with a specific part of the paddle. This movements are very difficult and requirement training and strategy in the matches.
Strategy?
Yes, when you are playing in a championship you must have a strategy. For example: hit the ball always to the right, and suddenly very quickly, hit the ball to the left. The most common strategy is the swindle, and for do that you have to be very attentive and you have to study your opponent during the match in order to swindle him.
Very interesting. Celia, how are the trainings?
First, we run more or less ten minutes, and then we do a specific warm up. When we go to the tables we start practising the basic movements and then we do the special. We do games to, we play games like roulette and put it in the hole. The roulette is a game in which more than 2 players have to hit the ball running around the table. When one played have reached one side, he has to hit the ball and the other player that reached the other side has to return it.
In the game “put the ball in the hole” you have to hit the ball to a specific part of the table very small. I think this game its the most difficult because the hole is as small as a base of a Cola Cao base.
And the championships?
The table tennis championships aren't like football or basketball championships. When the title is in Calahorra for example, the Calahorra`s players are the only players that can play. The same occurs in Logroño, Arnedo… For that I only compete in Calahorra. But there are other types of championships in which several provinces compete, and we can go to the place representing to Calahorra.
Thanks for your time Celia.
