Woodford boost game with hi-tech robo coach

Tibhar Robot Pro Genius is helping players at Woodford Wells Table Tennis Club to improve their game by relentlessly firing balls from a swivelling cannon across the table at them.

The German made machine will blast away all day and all night, and can also apply wicked spin to a ball to make training even tougher.

The club switched on the latest addition to its staff last Sunday, and nobody has yet dared turn its dial all the way round to ‘maximum.’ Woodford Wells compete in the West Essex league and also the Chesunt league.

Assistant coaching officer Keith Turner compared using Tibhar to having a member of the Chinese Olympic table tennis team at the other end of the table.

“I have never seen ping-pong balls move so fast,” he said. “The shots of opponents in compeition will seem much slower after it.

“We need a lot of practice before we can go up to max power.

“Tibhar will definitely improve our members’ game by giving them constant practice.”

The robo-coach cost around £1,2000 and was paid for in part with a £500 grant from the Redbridge Sports Forum (RSF), which promotes grass-roots sports in the borough.

Matt Maple sits on its committee. He said that the Woodfood Wells club was selected for a grant after meeting its criteria.

“Woodford Wells are a good club and have a couple of members who do not get much of a challenge in matches,” he said.

“Tibhar allows them to develop their skills beyond their opponents.

“We feel it will allow the club to progress.”

The RSF is part funded by Redbridge council and is able to provide grants of up £500 to local sports clubs which need new equipment or services.

It certainly has an eye for gadgets, having recently helped a cricket team to buy a contraption called a Whale.

The device sucks up surface water from the team’s pitch, vastly improving the ground’s drainage, while the Forum have also helped pay for a hi-tech new wave machine.

To find out more about RSF, contact: matthew.maple@redbridge.gov.uk.