Effect of Sports Vision Training on Playing Ability of Table Tennis Players

INTRODUCTION

Training is undertaken across a long period of time and involves many physiological, psychological, and sociological variables. During this time, training is progressively and individually graded. Throughout training, human physiological and psychological functions are modeled to meet demanding tasks. (Haff, 2009) Of all of the systems, required in sports, the visual system is perhaps the last to be achieved successfully and the most difficult to develop and hold. Once the visual systems understood, it will be easier for a coach and the player to achieve success in sports. Vision requires awareness and concentration, and like other learned skills, vision can be taught and trained to improve performance. Vision is the process of learning and reaching to what one sees. (Jayaraja, 2004) Vision is the signal that directs the body to respond and provides athletes with the information regarding where and when to perform. If the visual system is not receiving messages accurately or quickly enough, performance may suffer. (Berman, 1990) It is essential that visual systems should be functioning at their highest levels because sports performance can be one of the most rigorous activities for the visual system. (SA, 1993) The term ‗sports vision‘ has many different meanings to both optometrists and the public, from the very broad through to a sometimes narrow focus on the use of vision training to enhance visual and hence sporting skills. The latter tends to attract a disproportionate degree of attention, as its secrets are highly sought by coaches and optometrists. It is easily the most controversial aspect of sports vision practice. (Erickson, 2007) make sure your bat goes to exactly where the ball is, not to where you think it should be. The sweetspot on a table tennis bat isn't all that big - you need to be watching the ball closely in order to make sure you hit the ball in the sweetspot and not the edges of your bat. (Letts, 2017)

A total of Forty (N=40) male state level table tennis players from Zappers Table Tennis Academy Haldwani (Uttarakhand), age ranging between 14 to 17 years were selected for the study.

The table tennis playing ability consists of alternate push, alternate counter, target service and forehand drive on push.

Randomized group design was used for the study. The selected subjects were randomly assigned into two equal groups (n=20) namely, Group-I acted as Sports Vision Training Group (SVTG). Group-II acted as control group (CG). The pretest was conducted on both of the groups in table tennis playing ability before training and after the completion of twelve weeks sports vision training the post-test was conducted.

The participants of the control group undertook only regular table tennis practice.

The participants of this group went through the sports vision training program. Which was scheduled for three days (Monday, Wednesday, and Friday) per week in the morning between 7.00 a.m. to 8.30 a.m. for twelve weeks. The sports vision training programs consisted of warm up and stretching for 12- 15 minutes cool down for 8-10 minutes. In evening they went for their regular table tennis practice. The training protocol involves the following procedure: A. Day 1 training includes Basic eye exercise, Swinging ball exercise, Catching drills, Juggling drills, Multiball drill, Peripheral vision chart and Ball tossing drills. B. Day 2 training includes Ladder training exercises, Reaction drills, Shuffle reaction C. Day 3 training includes Service practice with target, Target hitting drill, Third ball attack (with target), Alternate push drills.

Table tennis playing abilities was assessed by the test constructed by Dr. Pushpendra Purashwani. (Purashwani, 2011)

The data obtained from the experimental groups before and after the experimental period were statistically analyzed with dependent‗t‘ test. The level of significance was set at 0.05.

Table 1 showed the descriptive statistics (mean and standard deviation) of control group and sports vision training group before 12 week of training and after 12 week of training on table tennis playing ability (TST: target service test, APT: alternate push test, ACT: alternate counter test, FDP: Forehand Drive On Push)

Table 2 showed the results of the paired t-test for control group. For control group the p-value for

difference in control group table tennis playing ability before 12 week of testing and after 12 week of testing on regular table tennis practice. It also showed the results of the paired t-test for table tennis playing ability of sports vision training group. For sports vision training group the p-value for target service test (.000), alternate push test (.000), alternate counter test (.000) and forehand drive on push (.000) which is <.05 it showed a significant difference in sports vision training group table tennis playing ability before 12 week of testing and after 12 week of testing on sports vision training.

It is essential for an athlete not only how good his eyesight is, as it might be measured by looking at a standard eye chart, but also how good his vision is, that is, how well his brain can interpret the information his eyes pick up, particularly when that information involves moving objects that may be glimpsed only for a split second. Hence vision training helps the athlete in having faster judgment and response in the game as visual information enhances the ball catching skill. (Laurant M, 1993) Many studies suggested the relationship between vision training and sports specific skills which ultimately enhance the sports performance. The present study also showed a significant difference in sports vision training group who underwent a twelve (12) week of sports vision training programme which leads to significant improvement in the table tennis playing ability of training group in comparison to the control group who did their regular table tennis practice. The selected playing abilities target service, alternate counter, alternate push and forehand drive on push plays a crucial role in the performance factor in table tennis. Table tennis is a sport which comes under the world fastest ball game. It needs lots of quickness and excellent skills to perform on top level. athletic ability can form a platform for this search. The results of the present study indicate that sports vision training improves the table tennis playing ability. As such a specific visual training program targeted to a particular sport can be productive for the performance of an athlete. The present study may help the coaches to make their trainees better so they can perform on the top level.

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Ph.D. Scholar, Department of Physical Education Pedagogy, LNIPE, Gwalior