Ferenc Karsai Video Interview Part 5: Are Boosters Good for Table Tennis?

Ferenc Karsai, one of Europe's top table tennis coaches, discusses boosters. Are they good for the table tennis?

Who is Ferenc Karsai?

Karsai is one of Europe's most famous table tennis coaches. He was the head coach of Austrian Men’s National Team from 1995 to 2013 working with Karl Jindrak, Robert Gardos, Chen Weixing, Werner Schlager, Daniel Habesohn, and others. Coach of World Team against China in 2004, and was elected to be the best trainer of all sports in Austria in 2003.

Although officially retired after leaving the Austrian National Team, he remains active and has been seen coaching Canadian and Belgium players at World Championships and other important international competitions.

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WATCH THE REST OF THE INTERVIEW BY TOPIC:
Ferenc Karsai Video Interview Part 1: How Plastic Balls Have Changed Table Tennis
Ferenc Karsai Video Interview Part 2: How Could the Best European Players Beat the Best Asian Players?
Ferenc Karsai Video Interview Part 3: Is the Sport of Table Tennis Expanding or Shrinking?
Ferenc Karsai Video Interview Part 4: Advice to Recreational Table Tennis Players for Improving Their Game
Ferenc Karsai Video Interview Part 6: Are the Many Recent Changes in Table Tennis Rules Good?

OR WATCH THE FULL 1 HOUR INTERVIEW HERE:
Ferenc Karsai Full 1 Hour Interview - Plastic Balls, Boosters, How to Improve Your Game, and Much More

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Transcript of the Interview:

The Interviewer: Another topic is booster. A lot of table tennis players in the national team, on junior level, on national team level, we wouldn't say who exactly, but they use special treatment of the rubber. They use boosters, which gives the rubber more power. What do you think, these boosters are good for table tennis? 

Ferenc Karsai: Of course, it's good. 

The Interviewer: So they improve?

Ferenc Karsai: Yeah, of course. Normally, they have the rules that under, I think, two PPM now, or three. Under three PPM is allowed to play with the rubber. 

The Interviewer: As far as ...

Ferenc Karsai: Three PPM is meaning the gas, what's coming from the rubber with this special machine, if it's under three PPM after, it's okay. If you make with booster, after, you never go to three PPM more, if you put your racket outside one hour or in the night, after your racket is always 0.8, or 0.6 booster, as a PPM.

The Interviewer: Normally, booster has zero PPM because it's absolutely clean.

Ferenc Karsai: PPM. He has. But, immediately ...

The Interviewer: Immediately disappeared.

Ferenc Karsai: After one night, it's out. They have in the factory also, the booster. They put the booster in the rules, only after the factory, if the rubber comes, you cannot do yourself. The booster inside. They don't speak about it anymore, because they have the rules that under three PPM, everything is okay.

The Interviewer: Everything is okay.

Ferenc Karsai: Nobody speak about booster, and the booster is allowed or not allowed, but everybody close their eyes, because they cannot see that it is fresh boosters.

The Interviewer: Boosters make rubber faster?

Ferenc Karsai: Also, the Chinese players, they play with these Haifu boosters, it's unbelievable. They're very hard rubbers, like Hurricane 3 is unbelievable hard, or Skyline, unbelievable hard rubbers, but with boosters, but they put unbelievable so much, after the rubbers, is very elastic and very fast, and very good feeling also. Before it's too hard, not so good feeling. The noise is also not so good. But after the boosters, it's unbelievable. I take the racket from Wang Hao, he was also in Austria played, and he played with boosters. It's unbelievable, this Hurricane. With boosters for very fast, very elastic and everything, the feeling is unbelievable. The best rubbers, after the special Chinese boosters.

The Interviewer: We can say that you don't recommend for amateur player, to use long pimples with this destructive effect, which really breaks the table tennis game. But booster, you think it’s improved the game. You think that ...

Ferenc Karsai: The booster is like... Instead of gluing.

The Interviewer: Instead of gluing before.

Ferenc Karsai: Yes.

The Interviewer: Instead of the speed gluing.

Ferenc Karsai: Yes. Because 2007, the ITTF want finish the gluing. They found one rules that now gas anymore, that came this eight PPM ... What they don't think about it, we want liquid like oil, they can make same fast rubbers like ...

The Interviewer: Like before.

Ferenc Karsai: ... before.