After the ball size increase, Kong Linghui and Liu Guoliang, the two top players of the national team, have not achieved good results. Their coach, Yin Shao, gave this explanation.
"The larger ball has the greatest impact on Liu and Kong of all the team players. That's because the two have similar characteristcs: great emphasis on speed and technique, but weak in absolute power. The power players such as Wang, Ma, and Liu Guozheng are at a relative advantage, and that is why they are playing better.
"The coaching team is still studying the principles of the bigger ball, and we have asked Liu and Kong to make technical adjustments in their motions. For example, when they were playing the small ball, they used more of their wrists and forearms, and less of their waists and thighs. Now we emphasize the strengthening of their waists and thighs, and we are also adjusting their equipment, for example adding the sponge thickness and changing the elasticity of the rubber. We have also increased the amount of physical training. Because they have played the smaller ball for so long, they have developed conditional reflexes for the ball that are difficult to change. This is a very tough task, and it requires them to work closely with their coaches; it will take time," Yin said.
At the end of February, after the league has finished the first round, the national team will train for 40 days, to prepare for the Worlds, and to finalize the roster. The reporter asked Yin what if Kong and Liu are still not playing well, would they then be left off the Worlds team. Yin said, "That's impossible. They are still the nucleus of the team."
Liu and Schlager played round three of the Great Wall Automobiles Challenge Series in China on February 17. Liu won 3-0 with scores of 21-17, 21-17 and 22-20. Schlager had a chance to win the 3rd game: he was ahead 20-18, but then he lost the next 4 points due to his own errors. According to reports, Schlager, like other European players, has not trained much recently, and is not as well-adjusted to the big ball as Liu. Also, the long trip and jet-lag affected his performance.
This is the 3rd Chinese victory in the series. Liu Guoliang beat Saive in the first match, and Kong won over Keen in the second.
The women's match was between Wang Nan and the younger player Bai Yang. Bai won 2-0 with identical scores of 21-13. Wang said that she lost because of the lack of training.