Table Tennis: Super Grand Slam

Chapter 158: Ma Qing failed in his eighth World Table Tennis Championships, and Xia Guo’s national table tennis team swept the men’s singles semi-finals of the World Table Tennis Championships
During the dragon-horse battle between Liang Long and Ma Qing, the atmosphere on the field was always tense.

As Liang Long's momentum gradually emerged, he once gained the upper hand on the situation.

Liang Long won the first game, and Ma Qing lost the first game with great regret.

However, when the match entered the second round, after the two players exchanged multiple shots in a row, Liang Long narrowly won this point.

However, after scoring this point, Liang Long wanted to make some adjustments, thus delaying a little time, and his action was also shown a yellow card warning by the referee on duty.

Seeing this scene, Chen Daqian smiled and said, "I wonder if Liang Long's mentality will be affected."

Li Ying smiled and said, "Probably not. Liang Long is a big-game player."

It was originally thought that this sudden episode would affect Liang Long's mood, but Liang Long, who has matured a lot in recent years, was not affected at all.

In the subsequent games, they continued their efforts and took the lead with a score of 3-0.

In the crucial 4th game, Liang Long wanted to win the match in one go, so his movements were a little deformed when he shot, and he hit the ball out of position, which gave Ma Qing the opportunity to win back a game.

In the 5th game, Liang Long took the lead and maintained the lead in the score. However, both players used the timeout opportunities in this game, and the continuous adjustments made the atmosphere of the game more tense.

The spectators also cooperated and played human waves, giving the two players time to adjust their state. After the game resumed, Liang Long's forehand diagonal returned to Ma Qing's forehand at a wide angle, but Ma Qing failed to pull it. Liang Long won the last point and excitedly clenched his fist and shouted, winning 11-7.

Although Liang Long was once given a yellow card warning by the referee during the game, he was stable and was not affected at all. Instead, he became more and more courageous and won the evenly matched battle in one go, successfully advancing to the top four of the Rotterdam World Table Tennis Championships.

At this moment, Ma Qing, who was sitting opposite the table, was stunned for a moment...his Grand Slam dream was shattered.

After Ma Qing calmly shook hands with the referee, the veteran's back looked a little lonely. After 12 years, Ma Qing's dream was shattered again in the Netherlands. It seemed that fate had come full circle and returned to the starting point.

Seeing this scene, Chen Daqian, who lived in the same era as Ma Qing, felt a little bit sorry.

Twelve years ago, also in the Netherlands, in Eindhoven, the 12-year-old Ma Qing defeated Samsonov, Kim Taek-soo and table tennis legend Waldner to enter the final, where he had a tough battle with Dong Yaobang. After the score was tied at 19 in the deciding game, he lost the World Table Tennis Championships singles championship by two points.

12 years have passed. Dong Yaobang, the men's singles champion of the World Table Tennis Championships that year, has long become the head coach of the Chinese men's table tennis team. Ma Qing has also gradually grown from a young boy into an Olympic champion with outstanding achievements.

In the past 12 years, Ma Qing has won gold medals in the Olympic team, singles and doubles events, the World Championships team, doubles and mixed doubles titles, and the World Cup team and singles titles. The only thing missing is the singles title at the World Table Tennis Championships.

Chen Daqian said solemnly: "Ma Qing has participated in seven World Table Tennis Championships since 97. In the 97th Manchester World Table Tennis Championships in 44, Ma Qing, who was only 17 years old at the time, lost to Samsonov in the third round and was eliminated, but he also accumulated valuable experience in world competitions. Two years later, he unfortunately lost to Boss Dong in the final and missed the championship, and was not selected for the Sydney Olympics the following year."

Li Ying also began to recall Ma Qing's journey in the World Table Tennis Championships.

Ma Qing did not stop moving forward despite numerous setbacks. The changes from small ball to big ball, from 21 points to 11 points, the implementation of unobstructed serve, and the implementation of inorganic glue were all fatal for a straight-grip player, but Ma Qing still tenaciously overcame them one by one.

At the 01 Osaka World Table Tennis Championships, he defeated German veteran Rosskopf and teammate Liu and reached the semi-finals again, but lost to Hou Bingguang, who is good at playing with a straight racket.

Two years later, at the World Table Tennis Championships in Paris, Ma Qing met the biggest dark horse at the time, the chopping master Zhu Shixu. After a hard fight of five games, Ma Qing unfortunately lost by two points.

The 05 World Table Tennis Championships came to Shanghai, China. After eliminating the Danish player Metz, who had defeated two top players from China, Ma Qing had a fierce fight with Chen Daqian in the final. Ma Qing led 2-1 in the first three games, but then he became weak and lost three games in a row to Wang Liqin and missed the championship.

Two years later, at the Zagreb World Table Tennis Championships, he reached the World Table Tennis Championships singles final for the third time after eliminating Samsonov and Monli. In the final, he played quite well for a while and led 3-1. In the fifth game, he was leading 7-1, but suddenly his mind changed. As a result, Chen Daqian achieved a big reversal. After the game, Ma Qing received news of the death of a relative. Under the double blow, he couldn't help but burst into tears.

At the 09 World Table Tennis Championships in Yokohama, Ma Qing, who had already realized his dream of becoming an Olympic singles champion, reached the World Table Tennis Championships singles semi-finals for the fifth time, and had the opportunity to challenge for a Grand Slam for the first time.

But he lost to himself in the semi-finals, so he lost to Chen Daqian and himself three times in a row in the World Table Tennis Championships. In this way, Chen Daqian and himself, this master-disciple pair, can be regarded as his nemesis and the "stumbling block" to the Grand Slam.

The importance of today's match against Liang Long is self-evident. Only by defeating Liang Long can Ma Qing enter the semi-finals and get the opportunity to compete for the championship and achieve the Grand Slam.

In addition, since the result of this competition is directly linked to the singles qualification for next year's London Olympics, this is also a game that cannot be lost.

Ma Qing seemed a little restrained in today's game. After being controlled by Liang Long, he did not fight boldly, but continued to fight with Liang Long step by step. As a result, he was always in a passive state.

The turning point of the game occurred when Ma Qing was leading 9-8 in the second game. Before that, Ma Qing had scored six points in a row and had already established his own rhythm. As a result, the two of them played against each other in multiple rounds of middle and long-range confrontations, and Liang Long scored a close ball. Then he took advantage of the situation to score three points in a row to win the second game, which immediately boosted morale.

Although Ma Qing launched a strong counterattack in the fourth game, he was ultimately unable to suppress the high-spirited Liang Long and regrettably lost the game. This also meant that he failed in his attempt to win the Grand Slam again, and his chances of qualifying for the singles at the London Olympics were also slim.

However, due to his outstanding performance in world team competitions over the past decade and his wonderful performance in the final of the Moscow World Table Tennis Championships last year, he still has a great chance of qualifying as the third team player in the London Olympics.

After 15 years of fighting in the world table tennis arena and overcoming one difficulty after another, Ma Qing will not give up his dream of a Grand Slam easily and may still appear in the World Table Tennis Championships in two years.

At this moment.

After the Dragon-Horse Battle, both the winner Liang Long and the loser Ma Qing were interviewed by many journalists.

Especially the loser Ma Qing.

In response to the reporter's question, Ma Qing smiled bitterly and said: "I definitely have some regrets, but I don't think everything has to be perfect. As long as I try my best, there is nothing to regret."

Ma Qing's dream of winning the men's singles Grand Slam was dashed, and there was a hint of disappointment on his face, but more of it was calm and composed.

Facing the reporter's repeated questions, Ma Qing said frankly: "This match was indeed very difficult for me. In terms of the playing style, I have lost more to Liang Long since I changed to inorganic glue in the past one or two years."

"My opponent played well today, and I was actually looking for changes, including hoping to use more fighting to disrupt my opponent. But after all, we are teammates and we are too familiar with each other. It is difficult for me to really disrupt Liang Long's rhythm and make the tactics unstable. This is really difficult."

"I made too many mistakes in the first two games, and the score was not close. In the second game, I missed a good opportunity. In the third game, I was not very calm. I kept thinking about how I lost the previous opportunities, which led to the third game being lost too quickly. Liang Long was more determined tactically today. I was in a passive situation throughout the game, especially after losing the second game. I felt that I could not play to my strengths on the court."

The most missing item in Ma Qing's cabinet of honors is the men's singles gold medal at the World Table Tennis Championships. Today's defeat means that Ma Qing has once again lost the opportunity to win the Grand Slam.

But when asked by reporters, Ma Qing said jokingly: "I definitely have regrets, but I think this is normal. I have participated in eight World Table Tennis Championships and lost in the first seven, so I don't mind losing one more time."

Chen Daqian and Li Ying were watching from the sidelines.

Li Ying looked at Ma Qing's self-deprecating expression. Did his smile represent relief? Or was it mixed with unspeakable bitterness?
Perhaps, only Ma Qing himself can experience these feelings personally.

The reporter asked again, "Speaking personally, I don't think everything is necessarily perfect. We don't have to pursue the Grand Slam or win all the championships. I have tried my best in the competition, and it's good enough if I don't have any regrets." Ma Qing said very sincerely.

"Will your fans still see you, the hard-working man, in the next session?" The reporter's questions are no longer so aggressive.

“I can’t really say now, it depends on how my abilities are maintained. If my abilities are indeed a little bit poor, I may not be able to (participate). If I can still maintain this ability and the desire to win, I believe there is still a chance.” Ma Qing said frankly.

After the interview.

When Ma Qing walked out of the inner field to the mixed interview area, thousands of spectators cheered and applauded for him.

On the other side, Liang Long also faced the reporters' cameras.

Even though Liang Long won the competition, he was very humble.

Liang Long laughed and said: "It looks easy in terms of the score, but in the actual game the difference is mainly one or two goals."

Liang Long believes that the second game had a key impact on the entire battle. "I was leading 8-3 and then fell behind 8-9. This was the most critical moment. Winning in the end probably boosted my confidence a lot and put more pressure on my opponent."

Talking about his adjustment when Ma Qing chased him for 6 points in the second game, Liang Long said: "At that time I told myself to calm down and play point by point. After all, he was only 9-8, not 10. The most important thing was that I was more resolute in my shots, so I was able to win in the end."

When asked by reporters whether Ma Qing only needed one World Championship Men's Singles title to win a Grand Slam, Liang Long replied: "He can win the Grand Slam if he wins this World Championships, but in fact, it is not only him who desires it, everyone desires to win the World Championships singles title. From today's burden, I was better than him. Maybe he played a little cautiously at the beginning and wanted to control me. I think I won mainly because I was more resolute than him at the beginning, which surprised my opponent."

Looking ahead to the semi-final against Li Ying, Liang Long said: "I feel that my overall condition is still good from this competition. This competition is the highest level in the world and will restrict each other. The key is how to adjust the mentality before the game, including how to respond during the game. Li Ying is recognized as the most difficult opponent in the world. I think I have to maintain confidence and continue to put down my burdens to play against him."

After listening to the interview, Chen Daqian took Li Ying away.

Men's singles 3/4 division.

Kong Fengge VS Xu Guinian.

This is an internal fight among the new generation of Xia country's national table tennis team, Lin, Long, Feng, and Gui.

According to Kong Fengge's current competitive status.

Most people thought that Kong Fengge should be able to defeat Xu Guinian easily!

but.

No one expected it.

No one expected it, including Li Ying.

Xu Guinian actually fought with Kong Fengge until the seventh round.

Showing an extremely tenacious playing style.

But in the end.

He still lost to Kong Fengge in the deciding game.

But even so.

Xu Guinian still plays in his own style and at his own level.

After the game.

Kong Fengge looked at Xu Guinian and said with a smile: "Anian, I see you are always excited every time you face me and Liang Long!"

Among the dragon, phoenix and turtle, although Xu Guinian is the weakest, as long as he fights with the two of them, Xu Guinian is not particularly at a disadvantage.

There was absolutely no timidity in facing Li Ying.

"Dragon, Phoenix, and Turtle, who said it has to be arranged like this? Why can't it be arranged as a unicorn, a turtle, a dragon, and a phoenix?"

Xu Guinian said proudly.

Kong Fengge: “???”

According to Xu Guinian's arrangement, he, Kong Fengge, actually became the last one of the unicorn, dragon, phoenix and turtle.

At last.

It's the quarter-finals of the men's singles 4/4 division.

Li Ying met Tim again.

Although Tim fought back.

Representing the last bit of glory in European table tennis.

but.

Li Ying is no longer the same as before.

not to mention.

Li Ying knows Thiem's ​​playing style and tactics very well.

The German Table Tennis Association formulated various tactics for him to deal with him, and Li Ying had tried out all of them as early as when he was simulating a match in the fantasy space.

In this case.

If you are on guard, these tactics will not be effective at all.

finally.

Li Ying was the last one to reach the men's singles semi-finals.

And saw this scene.

The men's team head coach Dong Yaobang just wanted to scream to the sky.

"Meng Li, Liang Long, Kong Fengge, Li Ying, haha, our Xiaguo national table tennis team has swept the top four men's singles in the Rotterdam World Table Tennis Championships. In the next game, no matter who wins or loses, it doesn't matter!"

As the head coach of the men's team, Dong Yaobang no longer cares who will eventually stand on the podium.

Anyway.

The meat is rotten in the pot of Xia Guo’s national table tennis team.

(End of this chapter)