Effects of lateral preference of eye and hand pattern, task and skill level on performance of table tennis players

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of the lateral preference patterns of hand and eye، task and skill level on table tennis players’ performance. The population of this study was table tennis players of Tehran. 48 players between age ranges of 23. 85 ± 3. 08 were selected after determining the preferred hand and eye، and were put into 4 groups (ipsilateral expert، contralateral expert، ipsilateral novice، contralateral novice) randomly. The Annett Hand Preference Questionnaire (AHPQ) that had validity of 80 and reliability of 86 and “a hole in the card” method were administered to determine the preferred eye and hand of players. The result of mixed factor analysis of variance indicated that the interaction of lateral preference pattern and task was not significant on pattern and accuracy variables (p>0. 05). Also the results showed that the interaction of task and skill level was not significant on accuracy (p>0. 05) but it was significant on pattern (p≤0. 05). In addition the results showed that the interaction of task، lateral preference pattern and skill level was not significant on accuracy and pattern variables (p>0. 05). Considering the results of the present study، it seems that the pattern of lateral preference in performing two table tennis skills of backhand and forehand is not important. It can be said that this factor did not affect the examined levels of our study; however، lateral preference can be influential in the case of professional players. Further research and precise kinematic assessments can show meaningful effects of this pattern.