Table Tennis: Super Grand Slam

Chapter 149 Table Tennis World Person of the Year Li Ying

During the winter training period, the summer national table tennis team's "Direct to Rotterdam" team selection competition will be held at the Jincheng National Table Tennis Training Base. The men's table tennis players will stage the "brutalest competition" for the tickets to the World Table Tennis Championships.

In addition to the excitement of using the World Cup system, the confrontations between many main players such as Mengli, Liang Long, Kong Fengge, Ma Qing, and Xu Guinian are also full of suspense.

The Xiaguo men's table tennis team held a draw ceremony at the training base.

Li Ying followed the coaching staff.

A total of 16 players participated in the first 'Direct to Rotterdam' selection.

In addition to Meng Li, Kong Fengge, Liang Long, Ma Qing, Xu Guinian and other players ranked in the top 12, there are also Yu Xuejian and Lin Wangyuan who ranked in the top two of the first and second group promotion matches.

Several second-team players who emerged from the qualifying round also qualified for the competition.

nowadays.

The national table tennis team has a total of 14 players, including Li Ying.

Li Ying, Meng Li, Ma Qing, Liang Long, Kong Fengge, Xu Guinian, Su Yan, Dou Yang, Liu Geng, Fang Bo, Yan An, Zhou Yu, Yu Xuejian, Lin Wangyuan.

But Li Ying was favored by the coaching staff and was the first to get a singles ticket to the World Table Tennis Championships in Rotterdam.

In this case.

The other eleven athletes from Team One plus three strong players from Team Two make up the first tryout.

Ranked according to team performance.

Kong Fengge, Meng Li, Liang Long and Xu Guinian became the seeded players of the four groups respectively.

In this case, the person who would feel the most disappointed would be Ma Qing.

Ma Qing never imagined that in just two years, he had fallen from the core position of the national team to the point where he is not even a seeded player in the group.

When Li Ying saw this scene, he couldn't help but feel deeply moved.

"Brother Qian, since our Xiaguo National Table Tennis Men's Team is full of experts, the internal cycle of the National Table Tennis Team has always been regarded as the "most brutal competition". A group cycle like this can easily lead to a "death group."

"The winners this time are Liang Long and Ma Qing. They are grouped in Group C. In addition to the "Dragon-Horse" confrontation, they also have to face the "Killer God" Su Yan who often shines in team selections. If they make any mistakes, it's hard to say whether they can qualify."

Hearing this, Chen Daqian smiled and said, "Do you think Group B, where Meng Li and Fang Bo are, is going to be easy? Young player Yan An repeatedly created upsets in the last season's Table Tennis Super League. As your sparring partner, I'm sure you are very clear about Lin Wangyuan's strength. He is also a very capable "tough guy."

Li Ying smiled and said, "It seems that Kong Fengge from Group A is better off now."

"That's right. Compared with Kong Fengge, Xu Guinian who is in Group D will have to compete with Dou Yang, Liu Geng and Fang Bo for the right to qualify." Chen Daqian said with a smile.

"This competition will be conducted in accordance with the World Cup format, with each match adopting a best-of-seven format, with the top two teams in each group advancing, and a single-elimination system starting from the quarterfinals."

"It seems that the competition pressure in women's table tennis is not that great now, as the 'winner takes the ticket'."

Li Ying sighed.

Chen Daqian shook his head slightly: "That's because the pressure faced by the women's table tennis team is not that great. At present, in the global women's table tennis world, the Xia country women's team has almost no rivals. In this case, whenever they participate in an open tournament, the women's table tennis team can almost win the championship and runner-up!"

Right now.

The men's team head coach Dong Yaobang came to Li Ying and Chen Daqian.

"I pay more attention to the performance of the main players. In the summer, the Chinese men's table tennis team held two "Direct to Rotterdam" trials. The top four players in the two competitions will enter the World Table Tennis Championships lineup, but the specific events will be judged based on the athletes' on-field performance and comprehensive abilities."

The men's team head coach Dong Yaobang said in a deep voice.

"The reason why we took the approach of adding up the results of the two competitions was mainly because there were some loopholes in last year's 'Direct to Moscow' competition."

"Last time, Xu Guinian and Kong Fengge stopped participating in the competition after their first two wins, which means they lost several more opportunities to compete in PK."

"For example, Ma Qing competed five times, while Xu Guinian only competed once. After five rounds of training, Ma Qing's psychological quality was obviously more honed than Xu Guinian's. So this time we have to add up the results of the two competitions, just to make sure everyone can hang on and go all out."

Hear this.

Li Ying couldn't help sweating profusely.

"Dong Zhi, you are still so cruel and ruthless!"

Men's team head coach Dong Yaobang continued with a smile: "Compared with the previous expectation of dark horses, I am more concerned about the performance of the main players this time."

"If a dark horse emerges, it may disrupt the whole situation, which will surprise the media and fans, and everyone will look forward to it. But after all, this is a qualifier for the World Table Tennis Championships, and it is getting closer and closer to the London Olympics."

Talking about the draw results, men's team head coach Dong Yaobang believed that the strength of the four groups was relatively even.

"We are ranked according to the ranking, with four people on each level. However, I see that whoever is drawn into Xu Guinian's group is very happy. They may feel that Xu Guinian is a little weak in the intra-team competition and it is easier to attack him."

After hearing this, Li Ying shook his head slightly.

He smiled at Chen Daqian and Dong Yaobang and said, "Perhaps they have forgotten that in every previous direct selection, whether it was the direct selection to Yokohama or the direct selection to Moscow, Xu Guinian always got the direct selection ticket with his own strength!"

Li Ying felt that in this kind of big team competition, Xu Guinian might not be at a disadvantage.

"The reason why Xu Guinian left such an impression on his teammates is because he is too strong in doubles, so people subconsciously think that he is weak in singles."

Li Ying smiled.

"But in my opinion, if Xu Guinian is always at his peak, in terms of explosive power, if he really has a lot of power, then Liang Long and Kong Fengge will have to work hard to defeat him."

Men's team head coaches Dong Yaobang and Chen Daqian both agreed with Li Ying's words.

Men's team head coach Dong Yaobang said with a smile: "The remaining main players are relatively average, and the two groups of Ma Qing and Meng Li may be stronger."

"And this World Table Tennis Championships in Rotterdam is probably Ma Qing's last chance to win a Grand Slam!"

As soon as these words came out.

Chen Daqian and Li Ying both fell silent.

Recently, reports about Ma Qing "paying tens of millions to redeem himself" have once again flooded the newspapers.

Perhaps this "divorce battle" that lasted for more than a year consumed too much of Ma Qing's energy. Despite the cost of more than 10 million yuan, Ma Lin felt relieved after being freed.

Chen Daqian smiled and said, "He looked very relaxed when he appeared at the draw yesterday, and he was joking with his teammates from time to time."

"He told me: 'The best thing for me right now is to be able to devote myself to training and playing without being distracted by anything.'"

Hear this.

Men's team head coach Dong Yaobang said with a smile: "People who are familiar with Ma Qing know what the World Table Tennis Championships means to him. He has already won the men's singles titles of the Olympics and the World Cup. Ma Qing is only one St. Bride's Cup away from the Grand Slam."

"In the past ten years of his professional career, Ma Qing has fallen several times when he was within reach of the championship. In 05 and 07, he was blocked by you, Daqian!"

Dong Yaobang looked at Chen Daqian with a smile and teased him.

After hearing this, Chen Daqian said without hesitation: "Who defeated Ma Qing in the 1999 World Table Tennis Championships in Eindhoven?"

Dong Yaobang: “???”

Li Ying did not say anything when he saw Chen Daqian and Dong Yaobang arguing with each other.

after all.

If memory serves me correctly, Ma Qing participated in the World Table Tennis Championships nine times, reached the finals three times and finished second each time, but never won the singles title, which became a major regret in his career.

But he performed well in the World Cup and the Olympics, winning a total of 4 World Cup singles titles and 1 Olympic singles title.

immediately.

Dong Yaobang and Chen Daqian turned to look at Li Ying again.

"I didn't meet him in the final of the Yokohama World Table Tennis Championships!" Li Ying hurriedly defended himself.

Men's team head coach Dong Yaobang said with a smile: "Ma Qing himself said that there were times when he was just a little bit away from the championship, but that's how table tennis is. This little bit of difference proves that he still has a lot of shortcomings."

After this was said, Chen Daqian smiled and said, "Yesterday Ma Qing chatted with me, and he was lamenting that in his limited table tennis career, this was the last chance for him to challenge the World Table Tennis Championships, so he was very eager and took it very seriously."

Hearing this, Li Ying immediately understood.

Ma Qing is playing the emotional card.

after all.

Although direct access to Rotterdam is through internal team selection, the coaching staff often has one or two flexible tickets.

In this case.

If he fails to stand out in the direct team selection for Rotterdam and get a singles qualification ticket, Ma Qing can only hope that the coaching staff will give him comprehensive consideration.

but.

If Ma Qing really wants to have a chance to realize his dream of winning the Grand Slam, he'd better get through the team selection first.

But Li Ying felt that Ma Qing was having a hard time.

because.

In addition to his disadvantageous playing style, he was also placed in the same group with his 'nemesis' Liang Long.

The national team is very magical. If Mengli is the nemesis of Liang Long, then Liang Long is the nemesis of Ma Qing.

So this time, being in the same group with Liang Long, Ma Qing's luck was obviously not good.

"Well, that's how competition is. No matter if you're playing against a strong or weak opponent, you have to go all out. In-team competitions are more random and competitive than outside competitions. So in every game, you have to go all out and give it 100%!"

Chen Daqian seemed to have some hidden meaning.

Li Ying smiled and said, "Brother Qian, why don't you just report my ID card directly? I have never failed to do my best in any match. I have always been working hard!"

Even though it seemed that Li Ying did not make any special training for his teammates, in the fantasy space, no matter which player of the Xia national table tennis team he met, Li Ying would use the fantasy space to simulate the game.

Despise your opponent strategically and pay attention to him tactically.

Li Ying would never make the mistake of underestimating the enemy.

Because Li Ying will never forget that his one day was mostly due to his career panel. If he worked hard, it would only account for a few hundred million points.

On December 12, Table Tennis World magazine, sponsored by the Chinese Table Tennis Association, announced the various table tennis awards for 27.

Li Ying was eventually named "Person of the Year" and the women's team final of the Moscow World Table Tennis Championships won the "Event of the Year" award.

Table Tennis World is the most authoritative table tennis publication in Xiaguo. In this year's selection, the magazine first selected the nominees for each award, and then selected the final results. In the most important "Person of the Year" award, Li Ying was completely ahead of the rest, and no teammates could compete with Li Ying, and he was finally elected.

The "Event of the Year" was given to the historic final of the women's team at the Moscow World Table Tennis Championships. Although it is a scene that Xia Guo fans no longer want to mention, the classic level of the game itself is indeed unquestionable.

Qiao Yuning, Ji Chuanxia and Xu Mingyue, who carried the banner of the women's table tennis team, failed to withstand the tremendous pressure of the final. In the end, the Xia national team handed over the Koblenz Cup that had been preserved for 17 years.

The "Breakthrough of the Year" award was naturally given to the Singapore women's team. They deserved it for breaking the undefeated myth of the Xia country women's table tennis team.

Although Li Ying won the Person of the Year award, it did not affect the heated atmosphere of the Rotterdam team qualifiers at all.

On January 2011, 1, in the final of the first qualifying tournament, Mengli defeated Kong Fengge 9-4 to win the championship of this qualifying tournament and secured a favorable competitive position for himself.

In this case.

This closed winter training is over.

Because the 2011 table tennis tournament starts with the Slovenia Open on January 1 and ends with the finals at the end of the year, it will last for 18 months, and there will also be individual World Table Tennis Championships, the World Cup, the Asian Cup and other events in between.

And because there is the Rotterdam World Table Tennis Championships this year, even for the Slovenia Open, among the six main players of the Chinese table tennis team, only Li Ying did not sign up.

Meng Li, Kong Fengge, Ma Qing, Liang Long and Xu Guinian all signed up to participate.

among them.

Men's doubles.

It is composed of Meng Li/Kong Fengge, with Liang Long and Xu Guinian as partners.

The closed winter training in Jincheng has ended.

Li Ying went straight back to his hometown.

He didn't even go back to the imperial capital.

Because people like Kong Fengge, Liang Long, Xu Guinian, Meng Li, Ma Qing and others are going to participate in the Slovenia Open, they naturally have to go to the capital to rest in advance and fly abroad in advance.

Li Ying returned to his hometown happily. This way, he would not be in a rush like last year and could spend a wonderful New Year quietly in his hometown.

Wang Xianlan really wants to go back to her hometown with Li Ying.

but.

The women's team cannot allow her to be so willful.

So much so that Wang Xianlan even called Li Ying to complain.

As long as I win the women's singles title at the London Olympics next year and achieve a Grand Slam, I will retire.

Li Ying could only continue to comfort Wang Xianlan.

Li Ying returned to his hometown on the tenth day of the twelfth lunar month.

The family was very happy when Li Ying came back.

Grandpa and grandma's faces were filled with smiles.

Mom, Dad, and my brothers and sisters were all extremely happy.

When Li Ying returned home, he saw that his hometown had changed a lot.

"Dad, is this the new house you were talking to me about on the phone?"

Li Ying was stunned.

Looking at the luxurious villa in front of him, Li Ying felt very unfamiliar.

"Since we have money, we can fix it better."

Li Zhenguo laughed.

Mother Ying Shimei said with a smile, "Ah Ying, this is all for your future marriage. No matter which girl you marry, you must not neglect her."

Li Ying suddenly understood.

really.

Parents always think about themselves.

"It's already been repaired, so it's OK if the living conditions are better!"

Li Ying didn't care. Building such a mansion in the countryside would cost at most one or two million yuan, but the luxury villas that Li Ying bought in the imperial capital, the magic capital, Shenzhen, and Guangzhou, including decoration, cost more than 1 billion yuan.

(End of this chapter)