I ran into the rarepaddles.com website.
Below is the page showing decorated World Champion Fernc Sido's large rectangular racket & legendary defender (one of the first with long pips) Liang Ge Liang
Click here for Rarepaddles website
Both these rackets are from sponge era.
It looks like a whole lot of hardbat era players preferred superlarge blades. And Sido won his firsr World Singles Title in 1953 after spong arrived.
And Liang Geliang was playing in late 70s thru 90's
So when I get laughed for proposing super large blades for defenders , i am more at peace now with their cluelessness.
Simply because the manufacturers have transitioned away from large blades due to defenders being near extermination (which I completely understand from a business perspective) , does in no way implies that modern defenders should be playing with piece of crap blades like Butterfly Matsushita or Butterfly Joosehyuk or Xiom Joosehyuk.
Yes Joosehyuk is the real GOAT of tabletennis but Butterfly (& other manufactureres) need to stop assuming that what is good for the GOAT is not good for the gander LOL