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

Chapter 18 [018] The Trials Begin

As early as when the draw took place, when Zhang Jiahao learned that Chen Jin and Ding Xiaowei were placed in the same group, he had already told Chen Jin the characteristics of Ding Xiaowei's playing style one by one.

After all, Zhang Jiahao once defeated Ding Xiaowei head-on in the semi-finals of the Youth Championship.

When talking about Ding Xiaowei's playing style, he has more experience and talks about it in more detail on the technical and tactical levels.

not to mention.

Chen Jin has played against those long rubber guys in the park and is very experienced.

When facing a player with this special playing style, I know what to do and don't panic at all.

but.

Chen Jin was very grateful for Ouyang Liangqin's reminder.

"Thanks, brother."

Chen Jin patted the other person's shoulder gently.

"You, Master Chen, and Ding Xiaowei were put in the same group in the first round. Qin Wenjie and I definitely have no hope. We can only look forward to fighting again next year."

Ouyang Liangqin sighed.

talking.

Looking around, there was a hint of loneliness and unwillingness in his eyes.

Everyone who can come to this training hall is a favored one in their respective places, like the moon surrounded by stars.

What is “Genius is just the threshold to meeting me”? To them, it was just a joke they saw on the Internet.

He even firmly believed that he was that "genius".

But now, after this trip, I finally understood what "being lost in the crowd" means.

This kind of huge gap in feeling is definitely not pleasant.

When his opponent changed to Zhang Jiahao, Qin Wenjie suddenly felt the pressure reduced.

Compared with Chen Jin, Zhang Jiahao's ball pulling is too slow and weak.

Finally met a normal person!
No, brother, just try a little harder, I’m fine!

Qin Wenjie was so relaxed that he even had time to join in the conversation: "Master, please carry the will of me and Ouyang Liangqin and continue forward until we reach the top."

Brother, what grade are you in?
Why does this sound so childish and yet so tragic?
"Well, I hope you guys do well next year."

Chen Jin nodded, "Better luck."

……

The next day.

The exciting national table tennis U16 trials have finally officially begun.

I arrived at the training hall early in the morning.

Warm up and stretch.

This selection competition was boldly reformed, so it attracted particular attention and attention.

Even the fat guy who knows nothing about playing tennis and the national table tennis head coach Li Suo were present at the scene, accompanied by Wang Hao, Ma Lin and others.

Before the game started, the fat guy who knew nothing about football gathered all the players in front of him and gave a cordial speech.

"The Paris Olympics just ended, and our national table tennis team won five gold medals."

Liu Guoliang tilted his neck, raised the corners of his mouth, and showed his signature smile. "Ah, this is not luck, right? It's real strength. Ah, it's the outstanding athletes including Fan Zhendong, Ma Long, Wang Chuqin, Chen Meng, Sun Yingsha, Wang Manyu, as well as all the sparring partners and coaches, who fought together with sweat and injuries. This is also the spirit that we have passed down from generation to generation."

"Without this spirit, there would be no Chinese table tennis team where even the caddies who pick up the balls and the cooks who buy groceries are world champions, right?"

Speaking of which.

There was a burst of laughter.

Then there was warm applause.

After the atmosphere became quieter, Liu Guoliang continued, "I sincerely hope that you can continue to pass on the spirit of the national table tennis team, and that you can also feel the glory of the national table tennis team, be proud of it, fight for it, defend it, and surpass it."

“Finally, I wish all the future stars of table tennis to achieve ideal results in this selection competition.”

Amidst applause.

Chinese national table tennis head coach Li Suo stood up and solemnly announced the official start of the competition.

Everyone dispersed and went to their respective groups.

It is quite a coincidence.

The referee for Group 16 was Li Qian.

Because there were a total of thirty-two groups of men's and women's teams in the first round of the round-robin competition, there were not enough referees.

Therefore, some coaches from the second team were brought in to fill in the gaps.

Anyway, the coach is very clear about the refereeing rules and it does not affect the penalty.

The four of them played rock-paper-scissors, and finally decided that Chen Jin would face Qin Wenjie in the first round.

With the experience of practicing together last night, Qin Wenjie thought the pressure would be much less.

At least there is not much psychological pressure.

But, the moment he shook hands with Chen Jin.

He knew he was wrong.

Chen Jin on the court is completely different from his usual self, serious and full of charisma.

It was as if the god of death had arrived.

"Gulu."

Before it was opened, Qin Wenjie's momentum had already weakened by three points, "Brother, be gentle."

"Do your best."

Chen Jindao.

"..."

Qin Wenjie was about to cry. Brother, what do you mean by “do your best”?

There is ambiguity!
Just when Chen Jin and Qin Wenjie were warming up.

A glance.

But Liu Guoliang, accompanied by Wang Hao, Coach Wu and others, walked towards Group 16. "Which one is Chen Jin?"

Standing outside the fence, Liu Guoliang asked.

"it's him."

Coach Wu pointed, "The one with the straight board."

"I heard that he played a friendly match with the Youth Championship champion Xie Mingyang last night. It was a best-of-five match. Not only did he only let Xie Mingyang score three points, but he also shaved his head in the first game."

Liu Guoliang laughed and said, "This doesn't give Director Wang any face at all."

"Young people are all arrogant and proud."

Wang Hao smiled and said, "I understand if you're a little ruthless."

"Since this kid was able to beat Xie Mingyang so badly, why didn't he achieve any results in the Youth Championship?"

Liu Guoliang crossed his arms and watched Chen Jin and Qin Wenjie warm up before the game. "Didn't you sign him up?"

"I signed up, but three days before the competition, I tested positive, so I didn't participate."

Coach Wu also felt a little regretful about this matter.

If Chen Jin participated in the Youth Championship, the championship would be his.

In competitive sports, only results matter.

With the Youth Championship title, you will naturally get more attention.

Why should I work so hard?

"No wonder, my luck was a bit bad."

Liu Guoliang smiled and said, "However, this selection competition is prepared for talents like him."

"As long as he really has the ability and can make it through all the challenges, he can still make a splash even if he doesn't win the Youth Championship title."

At this moment.

When Qin Wenjie was picking up the ball, he also found Liu Guoliang and others, and he was completely numb.

The chairman of the Table Tennis Association, the head coach of the men's table tennis team...all of them are big names in the current table tennis world, and they actually watched me play a game?
The pressure suddenly surged.

Sweat poured down his forehead and cheeks like a waterfall.

My calves are starting to tremble a little.

Qin Wenjie’s inner thoughts at this moment: Don’t come over here [picture].

Not only Qin Wenjie.

Ding Xiaowei and Ouyang Liangqin, who were standing behind Li Qian waiting to go on stage, also stood straight and looked straight ahead.

In contrast, Chen Jin was calm and composed, as if no one was around and he was not affected at all.

Soon, the warm-up was over.

Qin Wenjie got the first round serve.

"Whoo~"

Taking a deep breath, Qin Wenjie lowered his center of gravity, tossed the ball, drew the racket, and served it sideways.

however,
Maybe because of nervousness, the ball hit the edge of the board and went out of bounds.

There was a mistake in the first serve, and Qin Wenjie's mentality collapsed. He was shaking slightly and his face was pale.

Seeing this, Chen Jin whispered, "Don't be nervous, take a deep breath."

"Ah."

Qin Wenjie jumped a few times on the spot, slightly relieved the tension, and then started to serve.

Still choose to go sideways.

Landing point, half way through the middle.

Chen Jin took a step back at an extremely fast speed, bent sideways, and gathered strength to swing the racket.

"Snapped!"

The ping-pong ball flew towards Qin Wenjie's backhand baseline at a large angle like lightning with strong rotation force.

Although Qin Wenjie had already made preparations for the connection, the quality of Chen Jin's sudden attack was beyond his imagination.

Before he could react.

A white shadow stuck to the left side of his body, and with a whoosh, it flew out.

at the same time.

A cheer rang out from the side: "Good shot!"

Following the sound, I saw the fat guy who knew nothing about football, smiling and clapping.

"This board is very aggressive."

Liu Guoliang praised, "At such a young age, he has such quality, comparable to the main players of a team... Coach Wu, you really have a good way of coaching."

"This kid is very talented."

Coach Wu showed a relieved smile on his face.

"I heard from Li Qian that the night before yesterday, he led the men's team to test the ball speed. Chen Jin's forehand backspin reached a maximum of 91."

Wang Hao said.

"Forehand underspin? 91?"

Liu Guoliang was startled, his pupils trembling, "Really?"

Looking at the main players of the first team, almost no one can reach a forehand downspin speed of 90 except Fan Zhendong.

It is hard to imagine that a boy of fifteen or sixteen years old can hit the ball at a speed of 91!
How could Liu Guoliang not be shocked?

"real."

Wang Hao nodded.

"Only 91?"

Coach Wu frowned, "It seems that he didn't perform well."

"When he was in the provincial team, Chen Jin's highest forehand backspin was 95."

(End of this chapter)