Table tennis: Swinging the racket billions of times, achieving a grand slam

Chapter 135: Advance to the Top 7 at Lightspeed! (K)

Macau Championship, only singles.

Moreover, the competition lasts for seven days, which is enough time.

Therefore, there is no need to compete at separate tables.

All competitions are not only held in the same venue, but even on the same table.

The attention level is immediately maxed out.

Except for the semi-finals and finals, all other matches will be played in a best-of-five format.

The 1/16 finals will be completed in three days.

As for Chen Jin's first round of competition, it was scheduled for the last day.

The 11th, 2:15 p.m.

After all, Chuang Chih-Yuan is a temporary substitute and needs more time to adapt to the competition.

There was no match for Chen Jin in the past two days.

After daily training.

He went to the audience with Zhang Jiahao and Xie Mingyang to watch other players' competitions.

There are two matches that Chen Jin is most concerned about.

The first one is between Wang Chuqin and Hong Kong player Huang Zhenting.

Let’s leave Wang Chuqin aside.

Chen Jin almost overlooked that Huang Zhenting, like him, was one of the few straight-blade players in this Macau Championship.

The game hasn't started yet.

The auditorium was already packed.

The place was filled with Wang Chuqin’s fan support cards, and it was overwhelming to keep up.

"As expected, he is a star player."

Zhang Jiahao couldn't help but sigh, with envy written all over his face, "I don't know when I will have so many fans."

"you?"

Xie Mingyang crossed his arms and said calmly, "There is no hope in this life."

"You, there is no hope in the next life."

Zhang Jiahao glared at Xie Mingyang fiercely.

"In your next life."

Xie Mingyang's tone and expression were extremely calm, without any trace of sarcasm at all.

However, this only angered Zhang Jiahao even more: "In your next life, next life, next life..."

"You were such a good kid, when did you become a stutterer?"

Chen Jin joked.

"Brother Jin, you have changed."

Zhang Jiahao seemed to have been greatly wronged. He pouted his lips and looked full of resentment, like a widow crying on a boat. "Do you have a boyfriend outside?"

Talking and laughing.

Game start.

As soon as Wang Chuqin appeared on the stage.

The cheers from the audience resounded throughout the huge stadium like a tsunami.

The fans sitting not far away screamed so hard that they almost fainted.

Zhang Jiahao quickly covered his ears, while Xie Mingyang also frowned and put on earplugs silently.

Only Chen Jin sat upright, enduring the devilish sound that pierced his ears.

This was one of the reasons why he came to watch the game this time.

"Brother Jin, can you withstand such a commotion?"

Zhang Jiahao was shocked.

"It's ok."

Chen Jin smiled calmly, "This is also part of the game."

As a professional athlete, if you can't even handle this little bit of pressure, how can you stand firm on the field?

"That's right."

Zhang Jiahao nodded in agreement, "What if this guy fails in the top 32 again?"

"Fuck!"

Chen Jin was startled.

He was so panicked that he rushed over and covered Zhang Jiahao's mouth tightly.

It was like seeing a ghost and I was still scared.

"Do you want to die?"

Chen Jin said in a deep voice, "Don't say such things that are not conducive to unity in the future."

“No wonder some people say the truth is the sharpest sword, I thought it was Voldemort…Brother Jin, you actually covered my mouth for that uh-huh?”

Zhang Jiahao wiped his mouth and said, "Isn't this the behavior of NC fans?"

"Misfortune comes from the exit."

Chen Jin glared at him and said, "You are so outspoken, you will get into trouble sooner or later."

"A little bit~"

Seeing Chen Jin getting angry, Zhang Jiahao stuck out his tongue, made a face, and stopped talking.

In this match with Huang Zhenting, Wang Chuqin was in pretty good shape.

Especially the first game.

Be aggressive and the first three boards are particularly fierce.

Soon, they won the game with a score of 11:5.

In the second and third games, Huang Zhenting obviously intensified his fighting and the changes in landing points.

The score was once in a stalemate.

However, in the end, Wang Chuqin was more skilled.

At the crucial score, he decisively hooked the ball and reversed the situation in one fell swoop.

The second game, 11:9.

The third game, 11:9.

Wang Chuqin defeated Huang Zhenting, successfully overcame the psychological barrier of the top 32 and advanced to the next round.

This means that if Chen Jin can successfully advance in tomorrow's match, his opponent in the 1/8 finals will be Wang Chuqin.

Looking at Wang Chuqin who kept waving to the audience, Zhang Jiahao frowned.

"Brother Jin."

Zhang Jiahao looked serious, as if he had encountered a century-old problem. "After watching this game, I am vaguely a little worried."

"Ah."

Chen Jin nodded slightly, "It seems that Wang Chuqin is in good condition."

“It’s not the competition that I’m worried about.”

Looking around, the whole place was screaming. Zhang Jiahao looked painful. He picked his ears and flicked them lightly. "If you beat Wang Chuqin tomorrow, I'm worried whether we can leave this venue."

An unknown new player, fifteen or sixteen years old, unexpectedly defeated the world number one.

It’s hard to imagine what the scene will be like online and offline at that time!
Zhang Jiahao was more worried about his own situation.

If Chen Jin advances and fights with Wang Chuqin, I will definitely come to cheer for Chen Jin.

By then, it would be extremely difficult for me to fight alone.

If Chen Jin won, my situation would be really worrying as I might be the only fan in the audience cheering for Chen Jin.

"It's definitely a bit dangerous."

Xie Mingyang nodded.

"I guess I'll have to wear a helmet then."

Zhang Jiahao pinched his chin, looking serious.

“Not that exaggerated…right?”

Chen Jin smiled bitterly.

I heard waves of excited and thrilling screams, and even his tone became a little unconfident.

The match between Wang Chuqin and Huang Zhenting just ended and it was a seamless transition to the next one.

The next game is also attracting Chen Jin's attention.

Qiu's party versus Lin Zhongxun.

As the current straight-blade player ranked second only to Felix in the world, Qiu Dang's playing style is obviously different from Felix's.

Especially for the backhand, steady defensive technique is the main focus.

With his powerful forehand ability and the pace of full-scale mobilization, it is difficult for ordinary masters to break through Qiu Dang's backhand defense.

In the match with Lin Zhongxun, Qiu Dang demonstrated his backhand characteristics to the fullest.

With Lin Zhongxun's strength, whether it was speed or power, he was unable to penetrate Qiu Dang's solid defense.

not to mention.

Qiu Dang’s solid defense does not mean that he has no offensive ability.

11: 6.

11: 5.

9: 11.

11: 4.

Except for the third round, Lin Zhongxun posed almost no substantial threat to Qiu's party.

In the end, Qiu Dang won the game with a big score of 3:1 and advanced to the next round.

"how do you feel?"

After the match, Xie Mingyang looked at Chen Jin and asked, "Can you beat him?"

Chen Jin smiled slightly and said nothing: "We'll talk about it when we meet."

……

The next day.

After lunch break.

Half past one.

Accompanied by Zhang Jiahao, Chen Jin came to the training hall to warm up for the upcoming competition.

"It's weird."

Zhang Jiahao stretched his muscles and said, "It's not my competition, why do I feel so nervous?"

"Father and son are connected by heart, this is normal."

Chen Jin smiled.

"Godfather, please accept my greeting."

Zhang Jiahao clasped his fists.

After a few jokes, let’s get back to business.

"By the way, who is Jin's off-court coach?"

Zhang Jiahao asked, "Coach Wang?"

"Could it be Li Jiao?"

The words were not finished.

Li Qian's laughter came from not far away: "Yes, it is me."

"what?"

A hint of worry flashed across the depths of Zhang Jiahao's eyes.

For such an important game, they actually asked a temporary coach to provide off-field guidance.

This is a bit too... arrogant.

"Hey, Zhang Jiahao, what's with that expression on your face? Do you dislike me?"

Li Qian glanced at Zhang Jiahao with a hint of dissatisfaction. "When we were in Lima, Chen Jin and I had a perfect cooperation. Even the coaching staff praised me highly."

"really."

Chen Jin nodded and said, "If nothing else, Professor Li's massage skills are absolutely first-rate."

"Did you hear me?"

Li Qian was not ashamed but proud of it, with a hint of satisfaction on his face, "I have not been idle these past few days, and I have learned some other techniques online. I promise that you will be able to compete comfortably."

Jokes are jokes.

Li Qian being Chen Jin's off-court coach was obviously a decision made by the entire coaching team.

Time passes and the game gets closer.

You need to go backstage ten minutes in advance to wait.

"Brother Jin, come on!"

Zhang Jiahao put away his usual playful smile and high-fived Chen Jin.

"Ok!"

Chen Jin nodded.

Take a deep breath.

Accompanied by staff, he walked towards the backstage of the stadium.

There are people coming and going in the backstage passage.

Zhuang Zhiyuan had already arrived.

Seeing Chen Jin wearing the Chinese team's jersey, he knew that he was his opponent in this game.

"He is Chen Jin?"

Zhuang Zhiyuan thought to himself, "The new guy who beat Francesca and Darko Jockeyak before he was sixteen?"

Before this, he had never heard of Chen Jin's name.

So I checked online.

After discovering that Chen Jin was only sixteen years old, he went to Lima to participate in the WTT Regular Challenge under the arrangement of the national table tennis team.

With extremely fierce straight-blade forehand and backhand, he swept two European stars, Francesca and Darko Jockey, cleanly and neatly.

Although he is young, his strength should not be underestimated.

at the same time.

Chen Jin also saw Zhuang Zhiyuan.

From youth to middle age, throughout his twenty-five-year professional career, Chuang Chih-Yuan has always had the face of an uncle, with almost no change.

In contrast, Wang Hao, who was equally famous at the time, perfectly demonstrated what it means that "time is a butcher's knife."

When they met outside the court, Chen Jin and Chuang Chih-Yuan smiled at each other.

Then, each of them immersed themselves in their own world.

Chen Jin was not idle either. He was doing some simple warm-up exercises with his hands and feet, quietly waiting for the game to start.

Two fifteen.

Game start.

Even backstage, I could still hear the music coming from the stadium and the host's opening remarks.

"Chen Jin."

A staff member reminded, "Please prepare to go on stage."

Follow the stairs to the back of the large LED screen.

I heard the host calling out my name in Chinese and English.

Let out a long breath.

Chen Jin took a step forward and entered first.

Walking on the long T-stage, Chen Jin tried hard to calm his nervous heart.

Look around at the audience.

Although it was not as exaggerated as what Wang Hao had said before, "It was crowded with people", there were still a lot more spectators.

Take another deep breath.

Chen Jin walked quickly towards the guidance area, where Li Qian had been waiting for a long time.

"Are you nervous?"

Li Qian asked with a smile.

"Kind of."

Chen Jin did not hide it and said truthfully, "I feel much more nervous than in Lima."

"It's normal."

Li Qian said, "To be honest, I'm more nervous than you."

After all, it was his first time to provide off-field coaching in such a big competition.

At this time, Chuang Chih-Yuan had already entered the venue.

He was on the other side, alone, with no off-court coaching.

After the two athletes entered the field.

The referee and caddy have just taken their positions.

Flip a coin to guess first.

Chuang Chih-Yuan gets the serve.

As usual, two minutes of pre-match sparring.

First, you can warm up, and second, you can get familiar with the opponent's strength.

More importantly, relieve tension.

Fortunately, neither of them was a star player, so the audience was very quiet.

This made Chen Jin feel a lot more relaxed.

After a few pulls of the ball, Chen Jin's inner tension finally subsided.

The whole person gradually enters the game state.

The sparring session is over.

The game officially begins.

0: 0.

Chuang Chih-Yuan served first.

Since this was the first time for both players to play against each other, they were testing each other in the first few balls.

Especially receiving serves, I still need to adapt.

Therefore, Chuang Chih-Yuan's first serve tended to be conservative.

Left of center, short ball down the side.

Chen Jin took a decisive step forward.

Push your shoulders up and raise your elbows.

Turn your wrist inward and twist and pull diagonally.

Chuang Chih-Yuan tried to hit the ball back, but it flew out of bounds.

"Does it twist like this?"

Zhuang Zhiyuan frowned secretly.

As a veteran, although he lost the first ball at the beginning, he was not panicked at all.

Second serve.

Chuang Chih-Yuan served Chen Jin a backhand small triangle.

Fortunately, Chen Jin stared at the ball very closely, slid forward, lowered his wrist and twisted the ball diagonally.

Chuang Chih-Yuan was well prepared, and he turned sideways and shot his forehand towards Chen Jin's backhand corner.

Moving his feet quickly, Chen Jin quickly adjusted his position and restored it.

Facing the incoming ball, he threw it backhand. "Pah!"

Tear back the opponent's center line.

Although he is a veteran, Chuang Chih-Yuan is still in great shape.

Use your forehand to pull the ball diagonally.

The forehand strength of the older generation should not be underestimated.

however.

After all, I couldn't resist the reaction speed of young people.

Chen Jin pushed his body center of gravity forward and used his backhand to quickly tear the line.

"Snapped!"

The ping-pong ball stuck to the white line on the right side of Chuang Chih-Yuan's table and suddenly, it rushed out.

Faster than lightning!

Chuang Chih-Yuan risked his life and dived for the forehand.

After all, it was still half a step too late.

2: 0.

Chen Jin took the lead at the start.

The familiar straight blade, the familiar backhand turning into a straight line.

Zhuang Zhiyuan glanced at the young man standing opposite him and asked, "Is he Wang Hao's favorite disciple?"

"It smells like that."

At that moment, he was not affected by the failure.

After taking a few steps, Chuang Chih-Yuan bent down and prepared to receive the serve.

"Da da da, da da da..."

Chen Jin made a short hook shot to the side.

The arc is low and flat with strong rotation.

It is very difficult to twist and pull the serve directly like this.

Chuang Chih-Yuan did not choose to play short, but instead rubbed Chen Jin's backhand halfway out of the table.

"Is this intentional feeding of the ball to me so that I can try out new technology?"

Chen Jin did not hesitate either.

Take half a step back at an extremely fast speed.

At the same time, squat down, move your right foot slightly forward, and press your center of gravity forward.

Keep your chest and abdomen tucked in, and gather strength in your left leg.

Keep your forearms slightly inward and your fingers and wrists relaxed.

Identify the high point of the incoming ball.

He threw it out with his backhand.

The moment of hitting the ball.

He accelerated his wrist and pressed it down hard.

"Snapped!"

The momentum is as swift as thunder and the force is over a thousand pounds.

The tiny ping-pong ball flew towards Chuang Chih-Yuan with unimaginable power and speed.

"What a violent ball!"

Zhuang Zhiyuan's pupils suddenly shrank.

In a hurry, he tried to block with his backhand.

But the body is out of place.

I could only watch the ball fly past me.

3: 0.

There was constant applause in the audience.

"nice shot!"

"Pretty!"

Seeing Chen Jin's backhand and downward spin, Zhang Jiahao almost jumped up.

however.

Out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of Wang Hao sitting next to him.

The powerful aura of the head coach of the Chinese men's table tennis team was like the Five Finger Mountain of Buddha, which barely suppressed Zhang Jiahao.

"Good boy!"

Wang Hao had a pleased smile on his face, his eyes full of admiration, "You've put your knowledge into practice so quickly."

"I didn't expect Chen Jin to learn things so quickly."

"If I had known this, I should have taught him a few more moves before."

"But there is still a long way to go."

As a master of straight-blade horizontal hitting, he has never met a good straight-blade player over the years.

This left Wang Hao with a wealth of straight-blade horizontal hitting techniques that no one could teach him.

After holding it in for so many years, I finally met a young man who could pass on my skills to me.

How could he not be happy about hunting?
"Chen Jin's hook serve is pretty good, but we can't just be satisfied with that."

Wang Hao thought to himself, "When the time comes, I'll call Ma Lin over and give Chen Jin some private lessons to teach him a few serves."

The mind has not changed.

The score on the field has already widened the gap.

0: 5.

Zhuang Zhiyuan was suppressed by the young man in front of him and had no chance to defend himself.

"Although this kid uses a straight blade, his backhand power, speed and stability are no weaker than Wang Hao back then."

"It's even faster. With my backhand, I can't withstand such a fierce attack."

“We have to change our tactics.”

Think of this.

Chuang Chih-Yuan quickly adjusted his tactics and served with a hook shot.

Short forehand ball.

"Changed to a hook serve?"

Chen Jin's heart sank.

He had heard Li Qian say this before the game.

In addition to forehand loops and backhand twists, Chuang Chih-Yuan's hook serves have many variations and are extremely confusing.

Therefore, when seeing Chuang Chih-Yuan change his serve, Chen Jin immediately became fully alert and focused on the details of his serve.

Anticipate in advance and take a short step forward.

however.

After all, Chen Jin underestimated the deceptiveness of Chuang Chih-Yuan's hook serve.

According to his judgment, this was clearly a sideways ball.

Unexpectedly, it didn’t turn.

The return ball went high.

"Oops!"

Chen Jin hurriedly retreated off the stage.

But, it's too late.

Although Chuang Chih-Yuan is a veteran, his ball-serving speed is still as good as before.

not to mention.

His serve is a scoring strategy.

I'm already prepared to move on to the next board.

"Snapped!"

Forehand rush.

5: 1.

Chuang Chih-Yuan finally pulled one point back.

"Just like Coach Li said, Lao Zhuang's hook serve is indeed quite something."

After making a mistake in receiving the serve, Chen Jin took the opportunity to wipe his sweat and secretly summed up his experience in his heart, "Maybe it's because I didn't pay enough attention. Maybe I paid too much attention and overlooked some details."

"It's normal to make mistakes when you're in the first fight. You'll get used to it after a few more fights."

Among the three small balls, table tennis has more variations in the serving and receiving stages than badminton and tennis due to its rotation.

If you are not good at receiving the serve, no matter how strong your forehand and backhand are, it will be of no use.

Therefore, many people work hard to practice their serving techniques so that they can make their opponents uncomfortable during the serving and receiving stages.

Today's serve, due to changes in rules, is no longer as complicated as it used to be.

Back then, Liu Guoliang used one hand to block the serve, which was so varied that it made many opponents feel nervous.

The ITTF amended the rules for this purpose, and blocking the serve is still prohibited today.

He wiped the sweat off his face and returned to the table.

Chen Jin caught the ping-pong ball thrown by the assistant referee.

He looked at Chuang Chih-Yuan and saw that he was ready to receive the serve, so he served the ball.

However, since I am leading in the score, there is no need for me to make changes like Chuang Chih-Yuan did.

It's still a hook serve.

Below the midline.

Chuang Chih-Yuan seized the opportunity and twisted the ball with his backhand.

However, he knew very well that he had no chance of winning in a stalemate with Chen Jin.

This ball is twisted and pulled in a straight line.

He tried to hold Chen Jin in place so that he couldn't take the initiative to exert force.

I have to say that the veteran's ability to adjust on the field is still very effective.

The quality of Chen Jin's return ball was indeed not as explosive as before.

Chuang Chih-Yuan seized this rare opportunity and rushed sideways to Chen Jin's right half of the table.

Fast speed and great power.

however.

In terms of speed, Chen Jin is faster than him.

In terms of strength, Chen Jin is stronger than him.

He took a cross step to grab the landing point and used his forehand to hit Chuang Chih-Yuan in the middle.

"Well come."

Chuang Chih-Yuan adjusted his steps, gathered all his strength, and swung his racket to hit the ball back.

Unexpectedly, the result was empty.

When Chen Jin was hitting the ball with his forehand just now, he slightly changed the shape of the board.

While ensuring power and speed, the side spin is enhanced.

The ping-pong ball landed on Chuang Chih-Yuan's side of the table, spinning strongly and making a sharp turn.

Chuang Chih-Yuan misjudged the shot and missed the target.

Missing the ball means losing points.

6: 1.

Zhuang Zhiyuan couldn't help but frowned, feeling a little guilty: "Has it been a long time since I played with a straight-blade? I forgot that a straight-blade forehand pull has its own side spin?"

After watching Chen Jin's matches with Francesca and Darko Jockeyak on the Internet, Chuang Chih-Yuan knew very well that he might not be Chen Jin's opponent.

After all, I am now far inferior to Francesca and Darko Jockey in terms of ranking or strength.

not to mention.

Chen Jin is so old, while I am already a veteran in my forties.

Even if he could really fight with Chen Jin to the end, he would not be as strong as the other party in terms of physical strength.

He participated in this competition with the mentality of giving it a try.

Although he was far behind, Zhuang Zhiyuan was still quite calm inside.

However, now that you are on the field, you must not lose the desire to win.

Chuang Chih-Yuan still longs for victory.

Even if the chance is slim.

Therefore, he would regret his unnecessary mistakes, while constantly thinking about ways to break the deadlock in his mind.

Chen Jin serves again.

It was exactly the same as the previous ball.

There were some changes in the landing point of Zhuang Zhiyuan's serve.

The center line is long.

Unfortunately, there was a mistake in hand control and the ball flew out of bounds.

Just when Zhuang Zhiyuan was feeling frustrated.

Sudden.

Chen Jin raised his hand to indicate that it was a borderline case.

"Did the ball just now touch the edge?"

Zhuang Zhiyuan was stunned for a moment.

Turning his head, he looked at the referee.

The referee shook his head slightly, indicating that Chen Jin scored the goal.

"Referee, one body for one day..."

How do you say "edge" in English?

Chen Jin originally wanted to argue with the referee on behalf of Chuang Chih-Yuan.

however.

However, the referee repeatedly indicated that the ball did not touch the edge.

Perhaps because of the angle, the referee did not notice the touch.

Chen Jin was helpless and had to give up.

However, when Chuang Chih-Yuan served, he deliberately sent the ball into the net.

Return one point to Chuang Chih-Yuan.

2: 7.

With the current score difference between the two, one point more or one point less is actually not a big deal.

What's more, neither Chuang Chih-Yuan nor the referee noticed the edge touch.

Chen Jin could just pretend he knew nothing.

But, he finally decided to return the favor.

Zhuang Zhiyuan was slightly startled and looked up at Chen Jin.

Then, she smiled at him.

Serve cleanly, play cleanly... your character is reflected in your playing style.

"Good boy!"

Wang Hao, who was sitting in the audience, saw this scene from afar, and the smile on his lips could no longer be suppressed.

It's like picking up some great treasure.

On the playing field.

Zhuang Zhiyuan had no intention of showing any mercy to Chen Jin just because he returned the points.

After playing for so many years, he knows it very well.

The greatest respect for your opponent is to give it your all.

more importantly.

Zhuang Zhiyuan knew that even if he tried his best, he would not be a match for Chen Jin.

Through the first few balls in the first game, he had already understood that the difference in strength between the two was as huge as the difference between heaven and earth.

I can’t penetrate with my forehand, and I can’t win with my backhand.

He could only rely on a few hook serves to barely win one or two points.

soon.

The first game is over.

11: 5.

Chen Jin took it.

In the second game.

Chuang Chih-Yuan still couldn't withstand Chen Jin's fierce forehand and backhand attacks.

Even his hook serve, because he served it so often, Chen Jin gradually got used to it.

No more serving advantage.

Fail faster.

11: 1.

11: 3.

Chen Jin defeated Chuang Chih-Yuan with overwhelming force and advanced to the next round.

"Brother Jin, awesome!"

Seeing Chen Jin win and advance to the top 16, Zhang Jiahao was overjoyed and extremely excited.

"Played well."

Wang Hao nodded with satisfaction. "The forehand burst and backhand burst, the power, speed, rotation and arc are all very good. It is definitely the level of a top player, and the awareness of the landing point is also quite good."

"Especially in the second game, his handling of Chuang Chih-Yuan's hook serve was delicate and bold."

"Although the opponent was not too strong, we won the match cleanly."

It was the first time that Wang Hao watched Chen Jin compete with these masters live and he was very satisfied with his performance.

After a few words of praise, Wang Hao turned to look at Zhang Jiahao.

"By the way, who will be Chen Jin's opponent in the next round?"

"..."

Zhang Jiahao had a strange expression on his face. "It seems to be... Wang Chuqin."

"Wang Chuqin?"

Hearing this, Wang Hao obviously didn't expect it. He was slightly startled and frowned, "Have you met Wang Chuqin so early?"

"Coach Wang."

Zhang Jiahao hesitated for a moment, gritted his teeth, and asked boldly, "Do you think Jin... Chen Jin can beat Wang Chuqin?"

Can Chen Jin beat Wang Chuqin?

You are playing a pun with me here!

Wang Hao smiled and said, "The game isn't over yet, so everyone has a chance to win."

"You mean, Jin... Chen Jin can beat Wang Chuqin?"

Zhang Jiahao grinned.

"Have the opportunity."

Wang Hao stood up, smiling, and looked at Chen Jin who was waving to the audience in the stadium. "To be honest, I am personally looking forward to the match between Wang Chuqin and Chen Jin tomorrow."

　+3K tomorrow.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)