Table Tennis: Super Grand Slam

Chapter 157 Men’s doubles successfully meet, the battle between Dragon and Horse!
Saturday, April 5.

The penultimate day of the 51st Rotterdam World Table Tennis Championships.

According to the capital time, the women's singles semi-finals will start at 0:30 in the morning.

of course.

During this period of time, Li Ying was naturally in a deep sleep.

When I woke up, it was eight o'clock.

Eat breakfast before going to training.

At this moment.

Li Ying saw three men's doubles pairs, Liang Long/Xu Guinian, Ma Qing/Su Yan and Meng Li/Kong Fengge, all doing doubles training.

The men's doubles semi-finals are about to begin.

Su Yan laughed wildly and said, "Da Meng, Feng Ge, there is no need for you to train in doubles. In my opinion, you should just focus on singles. Anyway, you can't beat us in doubles!"

Because of Li Ying, Su Yan's singles competition has been eliminated in the 1/8 finals. In other words, she is now in the top 51 of the st Rotterdam World Table Tennis Championships.

Blocked from entering the top eight.

So now Su Yan puts all his energy into doubles.

In addition, he and Ma Qing are old partners and have won the Olympic doubles championship and the World Table Tennis Championships doubles championship. In terms of cooperation, they are definitely far superior to Meng Li and Kong Fengge.

and.

In terms of personal strength, neither Su Yan nor Ma Qing would think that they are worse than Meng Li or Kong Fengge.

The main players of the national team are so confident.

"Hmph, it's still unknown who will win. Do you really think you can definitely make it to the men's doubles final?" Mengli's character is one that never admits defeat.

Because of his past experiences, he has developed an extremely strong character.

It has not been easy for Mengli along the way.

and so.

Now Mengli cherishes the time when he can still compete as a main player of the national table tennis team.

It was simply that the Kirin, Dragon, Phoenix and Turtle rose too quickly, leaving him and Ma Qing no time to react.

From this point of view, Chen Daqian is smart.

of course.

Chen Daqian retired from the national team early in order to become Li Ying's head coach.

Although in his heart, Monli has decided to become a coach for the national team after retirement, he still has to fight for the London Olympics.

"We not only want to reach the men's doubles final, we also want to win the men's doubles championship!" At this moment, Ma Qing showed his dominance for once.

after all.

Today, they are in urgent need of confidence.

Otherwise, facing the impact of young teammates, it seems a bit overwhelmed.

"Even if you defeat me and Da Meng, you probably won't be a match for Xu Guinian and Liang Long!" Kong Fengge was very rational.

In terms of personal combat power, he and Meng Li are no worse than Ma Qing and Su Yan.

But doubles.

It is often not about personal strength.

but.

It is not so easy for Ma Qing and Su Yan to easily overcome this hurdle.

16:00 Men's doubles semi-finals begin.

Liang Long/Xu Guinian face Thiem/Dimitriou.

at this time.

As the captain of the national table tennis team, Li Ying naturally went to cheer for Liang Long and Xu Guinian!
because.

Unlike the men's doubles semi-finals in the lower half which was purely a civil war between the Xia Guo national table tennis team, the opponents Liang Long and Xu Guinian faced were superstars from foreign associations.

not to mention.

Dimitri was eliminated by Tim and got a zero point. He is now furious, and it is very likely that he will vent his anger on Liang Long and Xu Guinian.

The men's team head coach Dong Yaobang personally provided off-court guidance to Liang Long and Xu Guinian.

Sitting next to Li Ying were Chen Daqian, Qin Yucheng and other national team coaches.

As for Liao Huazhong and Wu Weijing, they will all go to the lower half of the men's doubles combination for training.

Sharpening a gun in the face of battle will bring displeasure.

Whenever Liang Long and Xu Guinian made a brilliant shot, Li Ying would stand up, spread his arms, and cheer loudly for Liang Long and Xu Guinian.

Provide steady emotional value to Liang Long and Xu Guinian.

but.

Tim and Dimitri came prepared.

In addition, the German Table Tennis Association has studied the Xia Guo national table tennis team very thoroughly. Even though Liang Long and Xu Guinian played very well, the partnership of Thiem and Dimitri is not weak either.

then.

You play one game, I play one game.

Until the end of the sixth inning.

at this time.

The men's team head coach Dong Yaobang waved his hand, signaling Li Ying to come over.

Li Ying walked up to Liang Long and Xu Guinian.

After giving Liang Long and Xu Guinian some advice, Liang Long and Xu Guinian suddenly felt that the fog was clearing.

then.

Li Yingcai returned to his seat!
The seventh and final game!

Liang Long and Xu Guinian followed Li Ying's instructions very strictly.

In this case.

Eventually defeated the men's doubles pair of Thiem and Dimitri.

First to advance to the men's doubles final.

17: 30.

The men's doubles semi-finals in the lower half began.

at this time.

The two men's doubles pairs were left on their own, with no off-court guidance.

after all.

What Wu Weijin said is not suitable.

Because Meng Li and Ma Qing are both his disciples.

and so.

In this kind of civil war, there will be no off-field guidance.

The other members of the national table tennis team all sat in the spectator seats, watching the game attentively.

And among them.

Liang Long and Xu Guinian looked very carefully.

Seeing this scene, Li Ying laughed and said, "Brother Long, Brother Xu, you guys are taking it too seriously."

Li Ying teased Liang Long and Xu Guinian.

but.

Liang Long and Xu Guinian didn't care at all and continued to watch the fierce battle between the Xia national table tennis team in the lower half!

finally.

Relying on their tacit cooperation, Ma Qing/Su Yan defeated Meng Li/Kong Fengge 4:2.

In this case.

In the men's doubles final, the Xiaguo and Chinese national table tennis teams successfully met.

In this case.

In the men's doubles competition, the Xiaguo national table tennis team has already won the first and second place.

In addition to winning the first and second place in the mixed doubles final, it now seems that the women's doubles final will also be a fierce battle among the Xia women's team!

In the other three events of men's and women's singles, Xia Guo achieved great results.

of course.

The Xiaguo national table tennis team values ​​the men's singles and women's singles championships the most.

19 pm.

The men's singles quarterfinals begin.

The first to go to war was naturally the 1/4 division.

Monri VS Naganuma Atsushi!
Because the four men's singles quarter-finals were held one after another, players like Li Ying, Kong Fengge, Ma Qing, Liang Long and Xu Guinian did not go to watch the games.

Under the guidance of their respective coaches, they did warm-up exercises.

The men's team head coach Dong Yaobang naturally took charge in person and provided off-court guidance to Monli.

after all.

Monli can't afford to lose this foreign war.

if not.

If he loses the foreign war, there will be no chance for him to participate in the men's singles at the London Olympics.

even.

It is possible that the number of places in the team competition will increase unexpectedly.

Naturally, Lin Wangyuan will still serve as Li Ying's sparring partner during his training.

And now.

Lin Wangyuan tried his best to use his imagination to imitate Tim.

because.

Like Thiem, he is left-handed.

"Ayuan, I have to say, your imitation of Tim is quite similar!"

Li Ying kept Lin Wangyuan's kindness in mind. Regardless of whether it was useful or not, at least it could be said that Lin Wangyuan had tried his best.

Lin Wangyuan doesn't want Li Ying to lose at all.

"Brother Ying, I know I can't be compared with Tim. But I still hope to imitate his playing style as much as possible. In this way, when you meet him at 21:45, it can increase your chances of winning even a little bit, I think it's worth it!" Lin Wangyuan said with a smile.

"Don't worry, I will win!"

In front of his own people, Li Ying was too lazy to be humble.

after all.

Being deliberately modest may give you the suspicion of showing off.

But during training.

Li Ying couldn't help but look at the big screen, because on the big screen, the battle between Monli and Naganuma Atsushi was being broadcast live.

Atsushi Naganuma performed well.

but.

Monri is in particularly good shape today.

Precisely.

I was also feeling angry.

The men's doubles have been eliminated.

Now there is only men's singles left.

and.

This year's Rotterdam World Table Tennis Championships is extremely important, and Monli will never be confused under such circumstances.

finally.

Directly swept Naganuma Atsushi 4:0.

In this case.

He was the first to advance to the top four and into the men's singles semi-finals.

at this time.

After the game, a news media reporter interviewed Atsushi Naganuma.

Because they were right next door, Li Ying was also very curious about what Naganuma Atsushi would say.

At this time, Chen Daqian naturally followed Li Ying to watch the show.

"0 to 4, Ryuo's second men's singles player Naganuma Atsushi has now felt the gap between him and the world's top level. Naganuma Atsushi was completely defeated by Monri." Chen Daqian smiled with his hands folded.

The reporter asked: "Mr. Naganuma, you were suppressed by Monri during the game and you were out of breath. You were unable to effectively counterattack the opponent's return serve and the opponent's spinning ball. Your ability to hold the game was insufficient. What do you think about this?"

Hearing the reporter's question, Li Ying exclaimed: "It's these reporters from Western media who would ask this question. This is just rubbing salt into Naganuma Atsushi's wounds."

"If it were me, I would just refuse the interview and leave, but I'm afraid Naganuma Atsushi doesn't have the courage to do that!"

At this time, Li Ying naturally wanted to watch the fun.

I wish Naganuma Atsushi would just walk away in anger and make big news.

But it's obvious.

Naganuma Atsushi doesn't have the courage.

Naganuma Atsushi smiled bitterly and said, "Defend, defend, I can only defend all the time, there is almost nothing I can do!"

Atsushi Naganuma felt his powerlessness in the face of the powerful.

Chen Daqian sneered, "He wanted to attack, but he always fell behind. He even forgot what he was doing and how to do it. His backhand specialty could not be used at all. In addition, the quality of Monli's ball was too high, so his tactics could not be implemented at all."

Li Ying smiled and said, "Although Naganuma Atsushi has defeated Mengge twice in the past, the match against Mengge on the big stage is indeed very tough."

Naganuma continued with a wry smile, "I was so exhausted that I thought I could play better. The quality of Monri's ball was too high. He was one or two levels better than me. This match gave me a lot of experience, but this shame and regret is enough just once."

Chen Daqian heard this and continued to sneer, "Before coming to Rotterdam, Naganuma Junya asked the players of the Ryuo team to imitate the playing style of the Xia country players and conducted targeted training. Now it seems that this is completely useless. In this World Championships, including the Xia country players, they all used glue that adapted to the rules to stick their rackets together, and the ball paths they hit back were too weird."

Naganuma continued, "My current training environment is really not good enough, I must go to Xiaguo to learn how to play like that. After this World Championship, I will join Liang Long's team to study. "

Hearing this, Chen Daqian and Li Ying became uninterested and turned their attention to the upcoming competition.

2/4 partition.

The men's singles quarter-finals is between Liang Long and Ma Qing.

at this time.

Even in training.

But watching Liang Long and Ma Qing doing warm-up training.

Li Ying couldn't help but sigh: "With the double halo of the Olympic Games and the World Cup champion, Ma Ge is aiming for the "Grand Slam" again in this World Table Tennis Championships, but he has failed in his previous 7 attempts to win the men's singles championship. I'm afraid it will be difficult for him to make it to the end of this competition!"

Because in the national team, Meng Li is naturally resistant to Liang Long, but at the same time, Liang Long's fighting style is also more restrained against Ma Qing.

In other words.

If Ma Qing meets Liang Long now, he will most likely be eliminated from the top four.

In this case.

Ma Qing's eighth trip to the World Table Tennis Championships will probably still end in tragedy.

"Aying, this is the lesson you need to learn. You must win any championship you can, whether it's the World Table Tennis Championships or the World Cup. Also, the Olympic singles championship is naturally the highest honor and you must never give it up. It's also the most difficult, but as long as you get it, it's a Grand Slam."

"No, by then you will probably have achieved the Grand Slam. Ma Qing, Meng Li, and I are all examples for you."

At this moment, Chen Daqian appeared to teach.

Li Ying nodded heavily.

At this moment.

The competition between Liang Long and Ma Qing began.

In this quarter-final, "Dragon and Horse" will meet head-on. For them who are aiming to participate in the 1 London Olympics, the result of this game is particularly important. Whether Ma Long can make a breakthrough in the world championships and whether Ma Lin can continue his Grand Slam dream, this "Dragon-Horse battle" will tell everyone the result.

In this World Table Tennis Championships in Rotterdam, Liang Long and Ma Qing were both placed in the 2/4 zone in the men's singles competition, which means that only one of them can advance to the semi-finals.

Liang Long and Ma Qing, teammates of each other, are both top-notch players in the world of table tennis today, but they rarely meet in world competitions. The only ten records of their encounters found on the official website of the International Table Tennis Federation were mostly in professional tours.

In the ten encounters, Liang Long had a certain advantage, with a record of seven wins and three losses.

This year, Liang Long and Ma Qing also met twice in the "Direct to Rotterdam" team selection competition, and the two ended in a tie.

In the first stage of the competition, Liang Long defeated Ma Qing 4-2 in the group stage.

In the second stage of the competition, Ma Qing fought back in the semi-finals, narrowly defeating Liang Long 4-3.

Chen Daqian smiled and said, "Liang Long and Ma Qing won the previous two games. Compared with yesterday, they have completely changed. In fact, it is not that their opponents are worse than them, but that they have changed a lot after yesterday's game."

"Especially Ma Qing, who pushed the rotation of the table tennis ball to the limit today like a master, allowing everyone to see forehand, backhand and sideways pulls. This fully demonstrates his understanding of table tennis and his superb feel for it."

"The Liang Long match ended up being one-sided, mainly because of the good preparation before the match, and the serve reception in the first three shots changed a lot."

“Based on the overall performance of Liang Long and Ma Qing in the first four games, this ‘Dragon vs. Horse’ battle is very likely to be a fierce battle.”

"As a player that the Chinese men's table tennis team focused on training during the London Olympics, Liang Long's current strength and competition experience are better than before, but his gentle personality always prevents him from "giving it his all" at critical moments, which has prevented him from winning a men's singles world championship so far."

"On the other hand, as a double champion of the Beijing Olympics, Ma Qing's experience in major competitions is his biggest advantage in qualifying for the London Olympics. He also played a role in stabilizing the morale of the team in last year's Moscow World Table Tennis Championships. However, as he gets older, Ma Qing's room for improvement and impact are not as good as before."

Li Ying knew.

The result of this game also affects Liang Long and Ma Qing's prospects for participating in the London Olympics. Whoever wins in the end will greatly increase his hope of being selected for the London Olympics, so this is a duel that no one can afford to lose.

For Liang Long, whether he can achieve a breakthrough in the world competition depends on this one move.

For Ma Lin, although the Grand Slam title is very tempting, Ma Qing still needs to have a good mentality.
Don't think about the results, don't think about the Grand Slam. Thinking too much will only make him play conservatively.

This "battle between dragon and horse" is actually also a "psychological battle".

(End of this chapter)