The big devil in table tennis

Lin Hui's eyes were fixed on his opponent's wrist, trying to capture the trajectory of the ball from the momentary shake.

Sweat was dripping down his forehead, but he was unaware of it, as all his attention was focused on the tiny ping-pong ball.

"Bang!" Another fierce serve, the ball drew a strange arc on the table.

Lin Hui quickly turned sideways, and the racket met the ball at a subtle angle. He determined the direction of rotation!

The ball hit the net and flew towards the opponent's table. The opponent obviously did not expect him to receive it so accurately. When he hurriedly returned the ball, he used a little too much force, and the ball flew high out of bounds.

"4:3! Lin Hui gets the ball." The referee's voice sounded.

A deafening cheer erupted from the audience, and the sound waves swept across the entire stadium like a tide.

Some people waved homemade cheering signs, some stood up and applauded excitedly, and some blew sharp whistles.

The commentator's voice came through the PA system: "Beautiful! Lin Hui showed amazing mental quality at the critical moment!"

Lin Hui clenched his fists, and his knuckles turned slightly white due to the force.

He could feel the sweat running down his back, but the fighting spirit burning in his chest grew hotter.

The coach made a hidden gesture on the sidelines, which was the code they agreed on before the game: "Stick to your rhythm." Lin Hui nodded slightly, and his eyes became sharp as an eagle again.

He caught a glimpse of his opponent wiping the sweat that kept seeping out with a towel. His originally sharp eyes were now flickering, and he frequently looked at the scoreboard and the coaching bench.

When the other party was adjusting his wrist guard, Lin Hui noticed that his fingers were trembling slightly, which was a sign of overexerting himself.

Lin Hui stood in front of the table, gently hitting the ping-pong ball.

The collision between the rubber and the ball made a crisp sound, and this familiar rhythm helped him get back to his best form.

He took a deep breath, and the air mixed with sweat and pine scent rushed into his lungs.

Suddenly, he threw the ball high up, and the yellow-white ball drew a dazzling arc under the spotlight.

Just as the racket was about to touch the ball, Lin Hui flipped his wrist, and the forehand serve he had originally prepared instantly turned into a backhand counter-spin.

This hidden change caught the opponent off guard. The ping-pong ball whizzed past like a bullet, and after lightly touching the opponent's table, it suddenly fell down strangely, as if being dragged to the ground by an invisible hand.

The opponent stumbled to the corner of the table, his racket barely reaching the ball.

Lin Hui wiped the sweat from his forehead calmly, but his eyes were always fixed on his opponent.

He noticed that the other person's breathing was disordered and the blue veins at his hairline were clearly visible.

This subtle discovery made him curl the corners of his mouth slightly. Next, he would continue to exert pressure until the opponent's psychological defenses were completely defeated.

As the game continued, the atmosphere in the entire stadium was extremely tense, and the audience held their breath, afraid to miss any details.

Lin Hui stood in front of the table, gently stroking the rubber of the racket with his fingertips, feeling the subtle friction.

His eyes were calm and focused, as if the whole world was left with only the table and the slightly panicked opponent across from him.

This time, Lin Hui did not choose any fancy changes, but tossed the ball steadily, flicked his wrist, and sent out a fast and low backspin ball.

The ping-pong ball flew past the net and fell rapidly on the opponent's table. The opponent gritted his teeth and fought back, barely pulling the ball back, but the quality of the return was not high. Lin Hui was waiting for this moment!
He didn't hesitate and attacked sideways!

The moment the racket and the ball collided, there was a crisp "snap" sound, and the table tennis ball rushed straight to the opponent's blind spot on the table like lightning. The opponent stepped forward desperately to save it, but the ball was too fast and his racket only touched the air.

The 5:3 lead allowed Lin Hui to gradually master the rhythm. He noticed that his opponent began to look at the scoreboard frequently and his breathing became rapid.

This is a sign of cracks in psychological defenses.

But Lin Hui did not relax.

He knew that in a game of this level, any negligence could lead to a sudden reversal of the situation.

Lin Hui served the ball. He glanced at the opponent and hit the ping-pong ball over.

The ping-pong ball drew a gentle arc and landed steadily on the opponent's table.

This ball looks ordinary, but it has a subtle rotation. Lin Hui deliberately reduced the force to make the ball bounce lower than usual.

The opponent obviously did not expect Lin Hui to suddenly change the rhythm of his serve, and could only barely return the ball with a rub.

The ball bounced high and landed right in Lin Hui's sweet spot for smash.

Lin Hui's eyes focused, his body lowered instantly, and his right arm swung out like a whip.

"Snapped!"

With a violent forehand smash, the ping-pong ball hit the opponent's table like a bullet.

The opposing player noticed the ball and began to prepare for a counterattack.

Lin Hui's eyes narrowed, and a sharp light flashed in his dark pupils.

He bent his knees slightly, lowered his center of gravity instantly, and his whole body was like a fully drawn bow.

The muscles in his right arm tensed up, and in a flash he swung it out like a whip.

"Snapped!"

A violent forehand smash cut through the air, and the ping-pong ball made a sharp whistling sound due to the huge friction of the racket rubber.

The white ball turned into a blurry afterimage, spinning at almost bullet-like speed and shooting straight at the opponent's table, leaving a sharp white line at the corner of the table.

Across the net, the opponent's pupils suddenly contracted.

He keenly noticed that the ball had a strong topspin and the speed was at least 120 kilometers per hour.

The professional player's instinct made his body react before he thought. He took a half step back with his left foot and subconsciously adjusted his right racket to the backhand position.

The noise in the audience seemed to suddenly fade away, and all his attention was fixed on the white track rushing towards him.

"This ball." The coach on the sidelines stood up suddenly, and the tactical board in his hand fell to the ground with a snap.

"It's going out of bounds!" Before the coach's exclamation fell, the opponent had already determined the trajectory of the ball.
With a slight smile on his lips, his body moved sideways like a ghost, and his right hand racket met the ball at the critical moment.

The moment the racket touched the ping-pong ball, the opponent's player shook and took advantage of the rotation of Lin Hui's smash to cleverly cut the ball back.

The ping-pong ball drew a strange arc, brushing the net and flying towards Lin Hui's table. It landed very short, almost sticking to the net line.

Lin Hui's pupils suddenly shrank. He didn't expect that his full-strength attack would be resolved by his opponent in such a delicate way.

He pushed off the ground and rushed forward, but he was a beat too late. The ball bounced a second time just as his racket was about to touch it and landed lightly on the table.

"Clap."

The ping-pong ball bounced twice and rolled to the ground.

The audience was silent for a moment, and then broke into thunderous applause.

The opposing player slowly stood up, looked at Lin Hui with burning eyes, a provocative smile flashed in his eyes.

5:4
The opposing player threw the ball high up, and the racket drew a sharp arc in the air.

The ping-pong ball came flying like a bullet, leaving a blinding white light on the table. Lin Hui's pupils shrank slightly, and he adjusted his steps instantly.

He sliced ​​the ball backhand and it flew over the net with a strong backspin.

The opponent was obviously prepared. He took a step forward and shook his wrist.

"Snapped!"

The ball hit Lin Hui's corner of the table like a meteor.

Lin Hui's pupils suddenly contracted, and his feet moved sideways quickly, with the soles of his shoes rubbing against the rubber floor, making short "squeaking" sounds.

He sank his wrist, and the racket cut out at an angle. The moment it touched the ball, he pressed hard and "Swish!" The ping-pong ball drew a low arc and quickly passed the net with a strong backspin.

The opponent's eyes flashed, and he pounced forward like a cheetah. He shook his right wrist violently and slammed the racket at an almost vertical angle.

"boom!"

The ping-pong ball fell to the ground like a meteor, hitting the edge of Lin Hui's table with a crisp "click" sound, then bounced off the edge and rolled twice on the wooden floor before stopping.

5: 5!

There was an instant burst of exclamations from the audience on the sidelines. Some people gasped, some stood up suddenly, and some slapped their thighs in frustration.

The referee quickly pointed to the opponent's scoring area and the whistle was short and sharp.

The opponent player slowly stood up, sweat dripping down his temples, but his eyes were more scorching than the light.

He raised his chin slightly, with a provocative arc at the corner of his mouth, as if to say, "How long can you hold on?"

Lin Hui stood there, his chest rising and falling slightly, his fingertips unconsciously stroking the rubber surface of the racket.

The grainy feel of the rubber brought him back to his senses a little. He took a deep breath and looked up at the scoreboard.

The numbers on the scoreboard stung Lin Hui's retinas.

The white light from the stadium's ceiling lights refracted through the sweat, creating a blurry halo. He blinked away the beads of sweat hanging on his eyelashes and heard the sound of his rapid heartbeat overlapping with the squeaking of his sneakers rubbing against the floor.

The opponent has already assumed serving stance.

The small yellow ball spun in the opponent's palm, leaving an afterimage, like some kind of raptor ready to attack.

The moment Lin Hui bent his knees, he suddenly noticed the old wound on his opponent's left ring finger.

"Snapped!"

The small ball turned into a streak of white lightning and flew straight to the corner of the stage.

Lin Hui's body was faster than his mind. With a side step, he attacked and his racket drew a crescent-like arc in the air.

The moment the rubber touched the ball, his wrist trembled subtly.

The ball drew a strange curve, leaving a pale yellow afterimage in the air.

Lin Hui's serve had a strong side spin. The moment the racket touched the ball, he shook his wrist slightly, giving the ball an irregular spin.

The moment the ping-pong ball hit the net, there was a slight "click" sound, and then it fell rapidly on the opponent's table, as if it was pulled down by an invisible hand.

“Another ghost curve ball!” The commentator’s voice came through the stadium’s loudspeakers. “This is Lin Hui’s signature serve, with a success rate of 78% this season!”

The opponent's pupils suddenly contracted.

As an experienced veteran, he immediately determined that the direction of rotation of this ball was completely different from that of a regular serve.

His feet instinctively moved to the left, but the trajectory of the ball strangely deviated to the right at the last moment.

The opponent's horse's muscle memory conflicted with what he saw, causing him to react a little slower.

"Oh no!" The other player cried in his heart, and could only make a backhand move in a hurry.

The angle of his racket was not adjusted properly, and the racket face was slightly raised, causing the return ball to be high and floating.

The ping-pong ball drew a high parabola, crossed the net, and landed in the center of Lin Hui's half of the table. This was an excellent offensive opportunity.

Lin Hui's pupils suddenly shrank and all the muscles in his body tensed up instantly.

He took a half step back with his left foot, lowered his body's center of gravity, and the racket in his right hand drew a sharp arc from bottom to top.

At the moment of hitting the ball, he suddenly exerted force with his wrist, concentrating all the strength of his body on the contact point between the racket face and the ball.

"Snapped!"

A clear explosion echoed throughout the stadium. The yellow ball turned into a stream of light and flew towards the other side's table at a speed of nearly 100 kilometers per hour.

The ball's trajectory was low and fast, with a strong topspin, and it hit the opponent's table near the edge, then bounced towards the audience at a nearly right angle.

The opponent's body had already made the saving move, but his prediction was wrong.

By the time he realized where the ball was going to land, it was too late to adjust his pace. His racket was vainly skimming through the air 20 centimeters away from the ball, and he could only watch the buzzer-beater go in.

"Good shot!" The audience erupted in deafening cheers. Several young people in the front row wearing Lin Hui's T-shirts even jumped up and raised their arms high.

A middle-aged man wearing glasses excitedly patted his friend's shoulder and shouted incoherently: "Did you see it? This is Lin Hui's trump card!"

In the commentary booth, the voices of the two commentators almost rose an octave at the same time: "Incredible smash! Lin Hui seized the opportunity when Ma Wenbo's return was too high and scored directly with a thunderous forehand!"

The referee raised his right hand and announced clearly: "6:5, Lin Hui is leading!"

The numbers on the electronic scoreboard jumped and changed, and the spotlight on the top of the venue projected the figures of the two players on the smooth floor. Lin Hui clenched his fist and waved it lightly, with a hint of restrained joy flashing across his face.

He knew that in a competition at this level, every point could determine the final outcome.

The opposing player bent down, picked up the towel on the ground, and wiped the sweat from his forehead.

His eyes were still focused, but his brows were slightly furrowed, and he was obviously thinking about how to deal with Lin Hui's strange serve.

He walked to the sidelines, picked up the water bottle and took a sip, taking the opportunity to adjust his breathing rhythm.

The noise in the audience gradually died down, and everyone waited with bated breath for the next goal.

The air was filled with tension, like a taut string. The photographer's telephoto lens was aimed at the two players, ready to capture the next wonderful moment.

Lin Hui stood in the serving area, gently tossing the ping-pong ball in his hand.

He glanced at the opposing player and noticed that he was standing half a step back from before - this was an adjustment to prevent him from using the "ghost curve ball" again.

Lin Hui's mouth curled up slightly, and he already had a new tactic in mind.

"The game continues," the referee's voice broke the brief silence, "Lin Hui serves."

The ping-pong ball was thrown high into the air, gleaming faintly under the spotlight. The venue suddenly became quiet, and everyone's eyes were focused on the small yellow ball.

This point may determine the direction of the first game.
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(End of this chapter)