2026 Xiamen Sports Expo: Here I Am, Part 2
3: DHS
Basically no new blades or rubbers. I think it is a pity. The maker surely has its thinking. Launching new products, good or bad, is a kind of attempt. They cannot all be as bestselling as the Hurricane, but there should at least be something new.
For national-player rubbers, the relatively new one is Chen Yi. Huang Youzheng’s existed before, but I only noticed this time that his backhand star rubber is 39.5 degrees, also the Hurricane 8 surface plus 20# orange sponge. In fact, the true hardness many national players use is even harder than the star national rubber. But for us amateurs, it does not have to be that hard. After all, the harder it is, the more you have to boost. On site I saw more DHS backpacks and jerseys. Before, it mostly promoted Li-Ning bags and apparel; now the direction has shifted slightly, probably going dual-track.
In pickleball, very many brands have already gotten involved. Besides established powers represented by Recter and Joola, DHS, Double Fish, Yinhe and Victas have all joined this segment. It is fairly trendy these years — a relatively new domestic project, perhaps with more opportunities and profit. For other DHS things, let us just enjoy the photos.
4: Double Fish
Balls and tables have always been the worry-free advantage areas. There are some new blades, at least with learned naming, like the Fuguang, Cangyuan and Jingsha. Many rubbers actually play decently; the market just discusses them little. As for the Zhou Qihao Project Z, although this Korean-made blade’s market price has fluctuated, overall sales are decent — after all, the value is quite high. I chatted with Double Fish’s equipment department head about market and development. Maybe we should look forward to Double Fish’s ESN rubber.
(Monai shows his face.) Some small gadgets are interesting.
5: XIOM
This time XIOM did not set up a booth at the Expo, but held a dinner at the Shangri-La Hotel. This was the brand that impressed me most yesterday. One reason, of course, is that I had walked all day and was fairly hungry. Signing men’s head coach Wang Hao is clearly fairly successful and meaningful. XIOM also foresees more future cooperation with the Chinese national team.
This company, founded only 20 years ago, achieving such results, makes one look anew. Now some companies really are trying to copy XIOM. Tonight the Korean boss came, along with three capable men from the R&D team. I also swiped three new rubbers. This is the new Tap Dance series: Gang (60.5 degrees), Bao (57.5 degrees), Yong (55.5 degrees), three in all. Such high hardnesses seem a bit flashy, especially considering these three tacky rubbers are all domestic. But regardless, we still have to test-play before giving an objective evaluation. Nowadays, using domestic tacky rubber other than Hurricane on the forehand, the real-match effect is not necessarily worse than a tacky tensor. This is many players’ true feeling.
At the dinner, XIOM China’s Mr. Ji also talked about fortune. Not long after signing Wang Hao, Wang Hao led the Chinese men’s team through danger to win the Worlds crown. I do not think fortune is mysticism. A person’s fortune has its rises and falls. When fortune rises, ride it; when it falls, lie low. There may be many ways to raise fortune. But I think continuously attending to your own growth, making yourself better, is the most core thing we need to do whether fortune rises or falls.