Zhang needs to stay calm in small venue
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E-mail Shanghai Daily, July 25, 2012
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Zhang Jike of China returns a ball to Konstantinos Papageorgiou of Greece in the men's event at the World Team Championships in Dortmund on March 25, 2012. |
China's top seeded table tennis player Zhang Jike said he needs to stay absolutely focused during the games given the smaller size of the Olympic competition venue in London.
"The venue is smaller. It's different from other venues in height and space. It seems the balls move faster here.
"I need to be more focused during the competition," Zhang said after training at ExCeL Center in east London.
Chinese players had a four-day training in Leeds before moving to London. The players have been training at ExCeL since Sunday.
The gigantic building was an exhibition and conference center since 2000.
The 6,000-seat table tennis arena was completed within two months.
Asked whether he was excited about his Olympic debut and life in the Olympic village, Zhang said: "I'm here for competition not sightseeing. I'm totally focused on competition."
China's men's head coach Liu Guoliang brushed off the effect of the venue size at ExCeL. "At smaller venues, balls move faster and are more powerful. It's easier for players to perform their best. Normally, competition venues cannot be too big. Wind speed and sound of the balls will be different in big venues. The sound and speed of balls at this venue is similar to the sound at our training venues," he said.
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