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

Chapter 227 Wang Hao: Missing Chen Jin for a Day...

10 month 27 day.

WTT Montpellier Championship, sixth day of competition.

Semi-final day.

It is also the finals day.

Local time, nine o'clock in the morning.

South France Arena.

training hall.

Chen Jin, Lin Shidong, Zhang Benzhihe and Felix Lebrun are all preparing for the semi-finals in a tense and orderly manner.

According to the schedule of this competition.

At 12:30 noon, Lin Shidong played against Felix.

Then came the showdown between Chen Jin and Zhang Benzhihe.

Two games, full of topics.

Especially the match between Chen Jin and Zhang Benzhihe is undoubtedly the most eye-catching.

The game hasn't even started yet, but it has already been on the hot search list.

In recent times, the hottest person in table tennis is undoubtedly Chen Jin.

At such a young age, just two months after his debut, he has already defeated world-class players including Ma Long, Wang Chuqin, Lin Shidong, and Felix.

Undefeated in a single match, winning three championship trophies in a row.

He is another straight-blade player, and is deliberately promoted within the national table tennis team.

Plus, I won against someone I shouldn't have won against.

Chen Jin's matches have been a hot topic online.

What's more, this time the opponent is Tomokazu Harimoto, who is regarded as the strongest foreign enemy of the Chinese national table tennis team.

Winning is awesome, but if you lose, the consequences will be disastrous.

In an instant, fans, supporters, haters, and scoundrels all came out.

The hot search square is extremely lively.

"Come on Chen Jin, get rid of the cardboard box!"

"Beat me! Beat me hard, beat me into a mute."

"After the Paris Olympics, Zhang Ben has transformed and improved. Chen Jin may not be his opponent."

"Come on, Ledger."

"Support Zhihe to kill Chen Jin and avenge our dear teacher Chu Qin."

……

Of course, Chen Jin himself knew nothing about all this.

At this time, he was far away at the Montpellier South France Arena, training with Lin Shidong.

The two national table tennis coaches, Wang Hao and Liu Zhiqiang, stood by with their arms folded over their chests, watching the two players' training and whispering to each other.

"Chen Jin's backhand and connection speed are not slower than Felix's at all."

Liu Zhiqiang looked at Chen Jin with admiration, his eyes full of the look of other people's children, "Coach Wang, you asked Chen Jin to imitate Felix's fighting style and serve as a sparring partner for Lin Shidong. This move is really amazing."

"Not my trick."

Wang Hao shook his head. "It was Chen Jin who brought it up last night."

"Oh?"

Hearing this, Liu Zhiqiang was a little surprised, "Chen Jin is so young and has only been in the national table tennis team for a short time, but he has such a strong team spirit?"

"It's over. I like this kid more and more."

To know.

Chen Jin himself will also have a competition later.

But he was able to take the initiative to sacrifice his training time, imitate Felix's playing style, and serve as a sparring partner for his teammate Lin Shidong.

How can one not be moved by such team spirit?
Liu Zhiqiang rubbed his palms, and there was a bit more admiration in his eyes when he looked at Chen Jin.

Glancing at Liu Zhiqiang, Wang Hao curled his lips in his heart: Are you trying to target my own son again?

"Cough cough."

Wang Hao immediately coughed twice and changed the subject, "Coach Liu, can you help me share the off-court coaching for the two games today?"

Two of his two great disciples both made it to the semi-finals.

Moreover, the game time is one behind and one in front.

To be on the safe side, the two of them shared the work so that they could focus more on the off-field work.

"Row."

Liu Zhiqiang agreed readily, "I will be Chen Jin's off-court coach."

"..."

Wang Hao glared and thought to himself, I guessed that you, old man, had such bad intentions.

Fortunately, he had already thought of the words.

He said earnestly: "Zhiqiang, Chen Jin's opponent this time is Zhang Benzhihe. It is very difficult to beat him. It is also very crucial for Chen Jin."

"Besides, Chen Jin hits with a straight-blade horizontal strike. Ask yourself, is there anyone in the world who knows how to hit with a straight-blade horizontal strike better than me?"

"So, I will be Chen Jin's off-court coach, and Lin Shidong will be left to you."

"To be honest, Lin Shidong is pretty good too."

The speech was well-reasoned and heartfelt.

however.

Liu Zhiqiang was not moved at all.

“Yes.”

Liu Zhiqiang said calmly, "Because no one knows how to hit the ball with a straight blade better than you, Coach Wang, you are the most suitable person to be Lin Shidong's off-court coach."

"Don't forget, Lin Shidong's opponent today is Felix."

With his way, he also gave his body.

Wang Hao was speechless for a moment and didn't know how to refute.

Seeing this, Liu Zhiqiang did not press on and took a step back: "Coach Wang, how about this, let's play rock-paper-scissors, and whoever wins will be Chen Jin's off-court coach. Do you think it's okay?"

"alright."

Wang Hao smiled bitterly.

He knew that if he didn't do this, Liu Zhiqiang would not give up easily today.

Then, the two turned around, with their backs to Chen Jin and Lin Shidong, and played the rock-paper-scissors game quietly and furtively.

"Rock, Paper, Scissors!"

The words have been spoken.

Liu Zhiqiang raised his scissors hand, made a "yeah" gesture to Wang Hao, and said with a smile: "Coach Wang, I will be disrespectful to refuse."

"Wait a moment."

Wang Hao's face darkened, "Best of three."

"..."

Liu Zhiqiang thought about it and said, "Okay."

"Rock, Paper, Scissors!"

Seeing Wang Hao's fists gradually tightening, Liu Zhiqiang smiled even more happily, "Coach Wang, thank you for letting me."

He looked very proud, as if he had won the golden legendary SSS card.

"God's will."

Wang Hao sighed and said, "I will accept the defeat and be Lin Shidong's off-court coach."

Hearing this, Liu Zhiqiang was almost moved to tears.

Can I finally enjoy the joy of getting off work at the speed of light?

Training gap.

Lin Shidong took a break from his busy schedule and took a glance.

Seeing Wang Hao and Liu Zhiqiang suddenly turned their backs, I didn't know what they were doing.

"Chen Jin."

Lin Shidong wiped the sweat off his face and cast a grateful look towards Chen Jin, "Thank you."

The implication couldn't be more obvious.

Chen Jin sacrificed his own time, imitated Felix's playing style, and trained with him.

This approach is admirable.

"We're all teammates, why be so polite?"

Chen Jin smiled slightly, "I hope to meet you in the finals and fight you again."

The two had fought twice before.

All ended with Lin Shidong's defeat.

Lin Shidong naturally also wanted to defeat Chen Jin once to prove his strength.

"it is good!"

Lin Shidong nodded seriously, "We'll meet in the finals and fight again!"

With his current world ranking, he is above Felix Lebrun.

However, the two have faced each other four times.

Two wins and two losses, evenly matched.

Therefore, the outcome of this game is also unpredictable.

Lin Shidong was not completely sure that he could defeat Felix and advance to the finals.

After all, when the strength is equal, Felix has the home advantage.

What's more, although Felix is ​​one year younger than Lin Shidong.

But he had just participated in the Paris Olympics and had more experience in major competitions.

On the other hand, Chen Jin had only fought with Felix once, but anyone with a discerning eye could see that both his strength and experience were enough to suppress Felix.

"Chen Jin."

Lin Shidong hesitated for a moment, "If you were in my place, how would you beat Felix?"

"Felix's playing style is mid-to-close speed. If it were me, I would either play fast or turn fast."

Chen Jin did not hold back at all. "Fight fast with speed? Switch to fast?"

Lin Shidong muttered.

As a new generation player being trained by the national table tennis team, he is well aware of these two ways to win.

However, it is by no means an easy task to achieve.

"If I stay in the middle or near the table, I shouldn't be slower than Felix in terms of speed."

Lin Shidong thought to himself, "Maybe, I can try to fight fast with fast."

If the transformation is fast, then it will be necessary to withdraw from the stage.

Although his ability to sustain in the mid- and long-range games is quite outstanding, his opponent is a mid- and near-range speed player like Felix. Once he retreats from the table, he will easily fall into a passive situation.

The mind has not changed.

I heard Chen Jin continue: "In addition, there is the problem of rhythm."

"You must control the rhythm of the game in your own hands and never let yourself be dragged into Felix's rhythm."

"Also, pay attention to the placement and table rate of your forehand stalemate."

These are Chen Jin’s experiences.

As for the content of the competition, it still depends on Lin Shidong himself to fine-tune and control it.

"clear."

Lin Shidong nodded, "Thank you."

A conversation with Chen Jin also made him more determined in his tactical approach.

……

Nearly.

The match between Lin Shidong and Felix has just officially started.

I discussed tactics with Wang Hao before the game, and Wang Hao's opinion was similar to Chen Jin's.

Either compete with Felix in speed or in rotation.

"In the first round, let's go up and give it a try. If it doesn't work, we'll change our tactics."

Wang Hao said, "Try not to use short moves, but use long moves more often, and then fight him to a stalemate."

"Be bolder, more confident, more decisive, and more varied in your shots."

"Pay attention to the forehand, pay attention to the continuity, pay attention to the connection."

"Go."

"come on! Come on!"

Wang Hao kept clapping and cheering.

Looking at Lin Shidong's back as he walked onto the field, with the cheers of the audience ringing in his ears, he felt a little worried.

The more excited Felix's playing rhythm is, the more he can bring out his "speed" to the fullest.

The home advantage and the cheers from the audience undoubtedly gave Felix a boost.

I’m afraid that Felix’s pace and speed are not something Lin Shidong can handle.

As it turned out, Wang Hao's worries were not unfounded.

At the beginning of the first game, Lin Shidong was beaten by Felix 10:2.

Lin Shidong originally wanted to compete in speed.

However, his backhand, single-board quality and mid-table stalemate are certainly outstanding.

The speed of continuous connection is not as fast as Felix.

I was completely stunned.

Wang Hao was so anxious that he shouted behind him: "Don't compete in speed, spin!"

Knowing that he was no match for Felix in terms of speed, Lin Shidong finally changed his tactics.

Fast conversion!

Forced the rhythm of the game back to his comfort zone.

We chased points all the way until the score was 10:10.

Seeing that the situation was about to turn around, Lin Shidong was obviously a little impatient.

Felix made a mistake and returned a high ball, which was exactly the opportunity for Lin Shidong to defeat him in one fell swoop.

Unexpectedly, Lin Shidong got so excited that he hit the ball out of bounds with his forehand.

A match point wasted in vain.

more importantly.

Felix took the opportunity to regain his rhythm and eventually won the first game with a score of 14:12.

The score started at 2:10, then caught up to 10:10, and it seemed like a stunning reversal was about to happen, but in the end, he ruined the situation because of his own mistakes.

Wang Hao's mood was like a roller coaster.

By the end, everyone was numb.

"At this moment, I miss Chen Jin."

Wang Hao sighed secretly, forced a smile, took the water bottle, stood up and greeted Lin Shidong.

"I played well in the middle, but the last two balls, I was a little anxious."

"But it doesn't matter, you played very well, we can just catch up in the second game."

Analyze the situation and plan tactics.

Second round.

Lin Shidong took the lead 6:3 at the start.

"This round should be stable...right?"

Just as Wang Hao was thinking this.

In less than two minutes, Felix once again reversed the score.

11: 9.

Felix scored again.

The overall score is 0:2.

Fortunately, the semi-final format is seven games and four wins, which allows for a much higher margin of error.

Otherwise, Lin Shidong would have been standing on the edge of the cliff at this moment.

"Can this be turned over?"

Wang Hao took a deep breath and his face turned a little ugly.

If it was Chen Jin who took the lead at the start, how could Felix have forced a reversal?

"Another day of missing Chen Jin."

With a heavy sigh, Wang Hao pulled himself together, slowly stood up, and forced a smile.

"We played well at the beginning of this round, but we lost our balance later on... It doesn't matter, we still have a chance."

Wang Hao said, "Try to serve short to the forehand, without spin, or flat, to limit the opponent's chance of getting the ball."

"When receiving the serve, don't just play short balls against him. Just hit him with long balls and fight with him. Don't be afraid of him."

"Of course, in a stalemate, the opponent must change his line first. After you give him a backhand, immediately give him a middle position. Once his backhand is blocked and he can't keep up with the speed, that's your chance..."

soon.

The third game begins.

Wang Hao folded his arms across his chest, sitting outside the court, his face gloomy, as if he had lost everything: "We were leading at the start, but we got overturned again, what the hell..."

Just like that, destroy it!
Wang Hao slumped down on the sofa, and for a moment, he felt like giving up.

9: 11.

Lin Shidong lost another game.

One foot is already on the edge of the cliff.

Wang Hao cheered up and comforted Lin Shidong, "It's okay, it's just a match point. We still have a chance to turn the situation around."

"Now it's not a question of strength, but a question of mentality."

"Don't be afraid. When it's time to act, act decisively. Be confident and believe in yourself. You can do it."

This encouragement helped Lin Shidong regain his confidence.

Lin Shidong nodded and said in a deep voice: "Zero to three, I can do it."

It's a pity that he is not that man.

3: 11.

In the last round, the collapse was so fast that it was completely beyond Wang Hao's expectations.

Wang Hao's face was dark, and he felt hopeless: "I miss Chen Jin madly..."

To know.

He is recognized as the king of straight-blade horizontal hitting in table tennis!

The backhand system he created not only revolutionized the traditional single-sided straight-blade playing style, but also influenced the subsequent table tennis world.

Now, his own disciple lost to a straight-blade horizontal hitting player from an external association.

What the hell...

It's such a shame!
Wang Hao sat on the sofa in the rest area, looking up at the ceiling with a distracted look in his eyes: How about I pick up my racket and go on the court myself?

competition is over.

Felix defeated Lin Shidong with a score of 4:0 and advanced to the finals.

There was thunderous cheering at the scene.

But all of this belongs to Felix.

Lin Shidong hung his head, looking dejected, and walked towards the sidelines with his racket and towel.

He even didn't dare to look directly at Wang Hao.

"It's ok."

Wang Hao patted Lin Shidong on the shoulder and said, "Go back and summarize more."

Now, the upper half has been lost.

The hope of winning the championship fell on Chen Jin in the lower half.

Next.

The highlight is about to begin.

"Chen Jin, don't let me down."

(End of this chapter)