for Elfrid Payton.The 22-year-old Saric, from corse178's blog
RIO DE JANEIRO -- When 19-year-old American Yijun Feng played Spaniard Zhiwen Juanito He on Saturday, Feng entered the table tennis match with a slight but unusual advantage, despite being outranked and lacking comparable experience. Jacob McQuaide Jersey .Decades ago, He and Fengs 58-year-old coach, Massimo Constantini, were rivals.I used to get killed right away, Constantini said of his matches against the 54-year-old He, one of the oldest athletes in Rio de Janiero.All these years later, He still had it, handily beating Feng four games to two in the opening round of the Olympics.Experience matters in table tennis.Youthful strength, daring and stamina rule in many Olympic sports, but table tennis often rewards the deep experience that can only be won with hundreds of hours of practice and match-play. Older players thrive with a close, even devious attention to strategy, a determination to study and then exploit an opponents weaknesses and a gritty refusal to panic under extreme pressure.Run down the list of players at the Rio Olympics and youll see the proof. While there are 16 and 15-year-old phenoms in the lower levels, the top ranks are mostly in their late 20s and 30s; a fair number of qualifiers are in their 40s and even 50s.You need a lot of concentration, rather than a lot of physical strength in this sport, said 40-year-old Vladimir Samsonov, a former top-ranked player from Belarus. He is still in the top 10 and an outside medal contender in Rio.You definitely slow down after you hit 25, but experience counts for a lot in table tennis, Samsanov said.Older players can keep going because the game values skill and technique, according to Constantini, the U.S. coach and a former Olympian who played on the Italian national team until he was 37. He likens the game to a chess match.Table tennis is often as much mental as physical; older players are good at slowing the pace of the game to take away a younger opponents speed and power, forcing errors with spin and trickery, and encouraging lapses in concentration with frustrating defensive tactics.Older players have also benefited from a flurry of changes in recent years, including a bigger ball and games now played to 11 instead of 21 points. Theres also plenty of time to catch their breaths during and between games in the best-of-seven matches.Earlier Saturday, 53-year-old Ni Xia Lian from Luxemburg faced Brazils Caroline Kumahara, 21, and a massively partisan crowd which erupted in thunderous cheers for every Kumahara point. Ni kept calm and won a 4-3 thriller.When the pressure is high, at 10-10, and you can feel the stress, the mature player is much cooler. Its palpable, Constantini said. You can almost touch the feeling of calm because they have been there many, many times before.Samsonov, who is seeded seventh in Rio, no longer practices as many as eight hours a day, as he did in his 20s. He relies more on stretching and yoga, along with the knowledge that he has put in countless hours of practice over the years.And then theres Fengs opponent on Saturday, He.The left-handed Spaniard, who plays an old-school penhold style, is a master of the mental game, using his vast experience to deceive and fluster his opponents.Feng, ahead of the match, repeatedly called Hes style of play disgusting because its so unpredictable and so at odds with the attacking style of many young players today.In the end, Feng said the match came down to the Spaniards legendary serve, which, like that of many other older athletes, poses serious problems for younger players not used to such a wicked array of spin techniques.The Spaniard shrugged after the match when asked how he has been able to maintain his skills for so long.I take good care of myself, He said with a smile. I dont drink and I dont smoke.---Online:AP Summer Games website: http://summergames.ap.org/--Foster Klug, APs bureau chief in Seoul, South Korea, is covering table tennis and badminton in Rio. Follow him at www.twitter/apklugDiscount Los Angeles Rams Jerseys . With their top three point guards and Kobe Bryant all sidelined by injury, the Lakers signed Marshall out of the D-League on Friday before their home game against Minnesota. Josh Reynolds Jersey . The Australian is competing in his final season in Formula One and still looking for his first win this year. He will look to end Vettels run of six straight race wins on Sunday. Webber, who is fifth in the championship, earned his second pole from the past three races and 13th of his career. http://www.cheapramsjerseyssale.com/?tag=austin-blythe-jersey-sale . Kiriasis and brakeman Franziska Fritz finished two runs in one minute 55.41 seconds -- a mere 0.01 seconds ahead of Meyers and Lolo Jones, who likely bolstered her Olympic hopes by helping give USA-1 a huge push in the second heat. PHILADELPHIA -- The Philadelphia 76ers have signed international prospect Dario Saric two years after they acquired his rights on a draft-night deal.Saric was originally drafted by the Orlando Magic with the 12th overall pick of the 2014 NBA draft and he was quickly traded to the Sixers for Elfrid Payton.The 22-year-old Saric, a 6-foot-10, 243-pound power forward, played the past two seasons with the Turkish team Anadolu Efes. He was named MVP of the 2016 FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament after averagingg 14 points, 10 rebounds and two assists for his native Croatia. John Kelly Jersey. Saric and fellow 2014 draft pick Joel Embiid have yet to play for the Sixers. 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