The big devil in table tennis

Chapter 1322 The Beginning of the Contest

8: 6!

The moment the scoreboard flipped, thunderous applause broke out in the stadium. Jianhua clenched his fists and pumped them hard in front of his chest. Sweat dripped down his chin onto the blue stage, leaving dark marks.

"Pretty!"

Coach Zhang in the coaching booth slammed the baffle, causing the metal frame to vibrate with a buzzing sound.

The big screen was replaying the slow-motion footage of the winning goal in real time. The ping-pong ball was squeezed into an exaggerated oval shape the moment it touched the rubber, and then tore through the air like a cannonball.

The other player bent over and supported his knees, his chest heaving violently.

He stared at the almost invisible scratch on the table, and suddenly looked up and made a pause gesture to the referee.

"The opposing player requested a medical timeout!"

The commentator's voice came through the radio, "It seems that the burst just now brought more than just score pressure."

Jianhua walked to the backboard and took the towel handed to him by his teammate.

He suddenly noticed a little boy in a red jacket in the third row of the audience, holding up a homemade sign and shaking it desperately, with the words "Come on, Brother Jianhua" written crookedly on it. This scene reminded him of a few years ago, when he also lay on the windowsill of the provincial sports school training hall, watching his senior brothers play in the team game.

"time up!"

The referee's whistle interrupted his recollections.

The other contestant stood back on the stage with a brand new muscle patch wrapped around his left wrist.

When their eyes met, Jianhua keenly noticed the change in the other's eyes. The trapped-beast-like anxiety disappeared, replaced by an unsettling calmness.

Before serving, the opponent suddenly changed his stance from the conventional sideways position to the rare forehand position. This subtle adjustment made Jianhua's muscles tense instantly. He was too familiar with this sign: this was the prelude to a fight.

Sure enough, after Jianhua served, the opponent used a rare backhand reverse spin to hit Jianhua's dead corner in the middle. The sound of the ball exploding on the table was like breaking glass.

The ping-pong ball left white afterimages on the blue table, like a restless asteroid shuttling back and forth in the gravitational field formed by the two rackets.

Jianhua felt the sweat sliding down his temple and hanging at his chin in the form of a shaky drop of water.

He quickly wiped his face with the wrist guard on his left arm and tightened his grip on the racket with his right hand.

The referee's voice pierced through the buzz of discussion in the arena.

The opposing player was tapping his palm lightly with the edge of his racket.

He is half a head taller than Jianhua, and every time he serves, he habitually bounces the ball on the table three times. This rhythmic movement is like some kind of psychological suggestion, making Jianhua involuntarily count the beats.

"Pah, pah, pah——"

The opposing player suddenly threw the ball, and at the moment the ball reached its highest point, his wrist cut down at a strange angle.

The ping-pong ball brushed the net and made a strange turn on Jianhua's side of the table.

Jianhua's pupils suddenly shrank, and his body reacted before his consciousness. He took a step forward, and his racket just reached the violently spinning white ball at a nearly vertical angle.

"Beautiful!" The audience burst into applause.

The ball was thrown high into the opponent's half of the court, and a smile of success flashed in the red-shirted player's eyes.

He stepped back half a step, and his whole body was ready to go like a fully drawn bowstring. The moment the ball fell, he swung his racket and made a textbook smash straight into Jianhua's right blind corner.

Jianhua felt a burning pain erupt in his calf muscles, but he didn't care.

The friction between the soles of his shoes and the rubber floor made a harsh squeaking sound. At the critical moment, he moved sideways to the position, suddenly flipped his right wrist, changed the racket face from horizontal to vertical, and made a force-relieving action at the moment of contact with the ball.

The ping-pong ball flew over the net as if cast by magic and landed near the net on the opponent's table.

The opposing player obviously did not expect this attack, and his racket hit the edge of the table when he rushed forward to save the ball.

Jianhua heard his own heartbeat was incredibly loud, as if someone was beating a drum inside his chest.

He bent down, supported his knees and took a deep breath. Out of the corner of his eye he saw his opponent staring at the scoreboard, his Adam's apple rolling up and down.

The lights on the top of the stadium faded into blurry spots in my sweaty vision, and the air was filled with a pungent smell mixed with rubber and rosin powder.

Jianhua then slammed the ball onto the opponent's table.

The opponent had obviously studied his serving routine and predicted the landing point in advance, and with a beautiful lob the ball returned to Jianhua's backhand position.

Jianhua shook his wrist and quickly dialed the ball with his backhand.

After the ping-pong ball turned into a beam of white light and went back and forth between the two players three times, the red-shirted player suddenly changed direction and made a large-angle diagonal shot straight into Jianhua's forehand gap.

Jianhua dived out almost parallel to the ground and just managed to lift the ball before it was about to touch the table for the second time.

The ball bounced high, the opposing player's eyes lit up, and he leaped into the air, ready to end the point.

Just as he swung the racket, Jianhua suddenly realized something and the corners of his mouth rose unconsciously. It was a trap.

Sure enough, the seemingly sure-shot spike strangely changed its trajectory when it touched the net, brushing the sideline and flying out of bounds.

The opposing player smashed the racket hard on his leg, and the plastic edge guard made a dull impact sound.

Jianhua took the opportunity to wipe the handle of the racket with a towel, and the sticky sweat had soaked through the anti-slip tape.

He noticed that his opponent began to lick his lips frequently, which was a typical sign of declining physical fitness.

But when he looked up, he met a pair of eyes burning with fighting spirit, without the slightest sign of retreat.

Jianhua inadvertently glanced at the audience and saw the coach tapping his temple with his index finger. This was the secret signal they agreed upon: keep thinking.

The opposing coach excitedly demonstrated cutting movements, obviously emphasizing the rhythm of the attack.

At this moment, the opponent seemed to have changed. His serve no longer pursued spin, but simply suppressed speed.

At one point he felt a sharp pain in his right shoulder, which was the protest of the muscle that was strained during training last week.

"Hold on," he said to himself, "Just three more minutes."

The opponent's player hit a wild loop ball that hit the net and changed direction. Jianhua barely saved the ball back, and the opponent immediately seized the opportunity to attack his backhand continuously.

Jianhua was forced to retreat to the far table, and every shot was accompanied by heavy breathing.

The cheers from the audience gradually formed a rhythmic wave. The ping-pong ball went back and forth between the two players for a full forty-seven times. This was the longest tug-of-war of the day.

When Jianhua finally seized the opportunity to change line and attack, the opponent suddenly shortened the attack as if he had expected it.

Jianhua staggered towards the net and his racket reached the ball at the critical moment.

The ping-pong ball drew an exaggerated parabola, lightly rubbed against the opponent's table, and then rolled strangely along the sideline.

"Borderline!"

9:6
The opposing player angrily threw his racket onto the table, and the loud noise of plastic and wood colliding made the entire stadium quiet in an instant.

The referee showed a yellow card warning.

Jianhua took the opportunity to take a deep breath and adjust his rhythm. He noticed that his opponent's hand holding the racket was shaking slightly, not because of fatigue, but because of tremors caused by anger.

Jianhua served next, but the opponent immediately raised his hand to signal, and the referee called a violation.

One penalty left Jianhua completely confused.

His height was enough, but the referee pointed to the other player.

This penalty completely ignited Jianhua's anger, and he made mistakes in the next two serves because he was too focused on spin.

The opponent gets the match point.

The entire audience stood up.

Sweat flowed into Jianhua's eyes, and the stinging sensation made his vision blurred.

Then he saw the other player serve a simple backspin ball, but the other player attacked like a gambler with all his strength, an unreasonable burst. When Jianhua wiped his sweat, he found that his hands were shaking, not because of nervousness, but a physiological reaction after physical exhaustion.

But at this moment, Jianhua threw the ball high up and gently rubbed it with the racket face during the descent. This is a rare reverse rotation shot.

The opponent made an error in judgement and returned the ball too high.

Jianhua seized the opportunity to attack sideways, but changed his mind in the instant of swinging the racket, and with a flick of his wrist he hit a short ball near the net.

The opponent player pounced on the net like a cheetah, and his racket reached the ball at the maximum distance.

The ping-pong ball hit the net and bounced onto Jianhua's side of the table.

Jianhua had already predicted this possibility, and he took a step forward and gently kicked the ball before it reached its highest point.

Time seemed to stand still.

The ping-pong ball drew a perfect parabola and bounced on the opponent's table. The opponent immediately stretched out his racket.

The moment the ball landed, the entire stadium erupted in deafening cheers.

The opponent player actually succeeded in turning the tables 9:7
Jianhua's legs went weak and he fell to his knees, sweat forming small puddles on the plastic floor.

He looked up and saw the frozen frame on the scoreboard, and the equally exhausted opponent across from him.

The coach rushed into the field and slapped him on the back, and the sports drink he handed him flowed down his chin to his chest.

Jianhua looked at the scoreboard and suddenly realized that this was just a contest, but the sound of the ping-pong ball hitting the table was still echoing in his ears, bang, bang, bang, like the aftermath of his pounding heartbeat.

Afterwards, Jianhua regained his composure.

Next, the opposing player served the ball. The ping-pong ball left white afterimages on the blue table. Jianhua and his opponent's sneakers made sharp sounds as they rubbed against the plastic floor.

Sweat slid down Jianhua's brow bone, hung on his eyelashes for a moment, and was shaken off by his hard blinking.

The referee's voice pierced through the cheers in the arena.

The opponent, who was wearing a dark blue sportswear, was wiping the handle of his racket with his left hand.

His backhand slice seemed to be cast by magic, and it would bounce back strangely every time after touching the table.

Jianhua licked his cracked lips and tasted the saltiness of sweat.

"Pah, pah, pah——"

The opponent tapped the ball on the table three times and suddenly threw a high toss.

The ping-pong ball spun into a blurry white shadow under the light. Jianhua squinted his eyes and determined that it was a short ball with side spin.

He took a quick step forward, flicked his wrist, and returned an equally short swing.

The net vibrated slightly.

The opponent obviously didn't expect this and hurriedly returned the ball with a half-high ball.

Jianhua tensed all his muscles, pulled his right leg back to gather strength, and his whole body was like a fully drawn bow. However, he changed his mind at the moment of swinging the racket, flipped his wrist and released a very short lob.

"Good shot!" The coach on the sidelines slapped his legs.

But the opponent's reaction was astonishingly fast.

He rushed forward, his racket almost touching the table, and lifted the ball. The ping-pong ball drew an exaggerated arc, lightly touched the table on Jianhua's side, and was about to touch the table for the second time.

Jianhua rushed out, supporting himself on the ground with his left hand, and used the racket in his right hand to pick up the ball at the critical moment.

The ball barely passed the net. The opponent had already retreated to the middle table and immediately stepped forward to smash.

Jianhua saw his opponent suddenly frowned when he swung the racket, and the return ball had a strong backspin!
"Snapped!"

The ping-pong ball hit the opponent's bank hard.

As a result, the opponent player hit the ping-pong ball again.

Jianhua's pupils shrank and his body reacted instinctively.

He pushed the ground hard with his right foot and rushed towards the table like an arrow, his racket drawing a silver arc under the light.

The opponent's backspin ball fell violently on the table with a strange arc.

Jianhua's racket suddenly lifted up the moment it touched the ball, and his wrist twisted at an incredible angle. It was a textbook save.

The ping-pong ball flew past the net and suddenly changed direction when it bounced on the opponent's table.

The audience burst into exclamations, and the commentator's voice suddenly rose: "This side-spinning loop! Jianhua actually played an offensive spin while passively defending!"

The opponent obviously didn't expect this and hastily returned the ball with a backhand slice.

But this return ball was too high and floating, Jianhua seized the opportunity to leap into the air, his whole body like a fully stretched bow - "bang!" A powerful smash hit the opponent's corner directly!

10: 6!

Jianhua won and then served.

He took a deep breath and spun the ball in his palm. He had practiced this serve for three months. It looked like a normal reverse spin, but at the moment of contact with the ball, his wrist would have a very subtle shake, causing the ball to bounce irregularly.

The moment the ping-pong ball left his hand, Jianhua saw his opponent's pupils shrink slightly.

Let Jianhua realize that it succeeded!

As a result, the opponent player successfully saved the ball again.

The opponent's mouth curled up slightly. The pressure returned to Jianhua.

Jianhua is adjusting his breathing rhythm.

The pain in my right shoulder became more and more obvious, like a red-hot needle stirring inside.

Jianhua hit the simplest long backspin ball.

The opponent immediately attacked and the two of them instantly entered into a high-speed confrontation.

The ping-pong ball exploded on the table with a series of crisp sounds, and the cheers from the audience gradually formed a regular rhythm.

The opponent suddenly changed the ball line and the ball went straight to Jianhua's forehand corner.

Jianhua flew sideways, feeling a tearing pain in his right shoulder, but he didn't care.

The racket touched the ball at the extreme position, and the return ball drew a strange curve, hit the net and fell on the edge of the opponent's table.

The opponent rushed to save the ball.

Jianhua heard his own heartbeat as loud as thunder.

Sweat flowed into my eyes, blurring my vision.

The opponent was pacing in front of the table, fanning himself with his racket to cool down.

Jianhua knew that at this moment, the competition was about who would collapse first.

Then the opponent hit a non-spinning ball and Jianhua cautiously returned to the middle.

The two began to test the water cautiously, and the ping-pong ball drew shorter and shorter trajectories on the table.

The opponent suddenly increased his strength and rushed straight to Jianhua's backhand.

Jianhua instinctively moved sideways to make room, but the moment he swung his racket he realized that this was a trap. His opponent deliberately left a forehand gap to lure him into attacking!

In a flash, Jianhua changed his tactics temporarily, changing from a violent attack to a light wipe, and the ball hit the net and landed near the opponent's table.

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