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

Chapter 291 Heading to the World Youth Championship!
Finished taking photos.

Chen Jin carried the trophy and quickly left the arena to make room for the upcoming women's singles final.

Backstage.

But Liu Guoliang, Wang Hao, Zhang Ben, and others were standing together, chatting and laughing.

They were all old acquaintances, so it was normal for them to chat for a bit.

Seeing Chen Jin approach, Zhang Benzhihe smiled and nodded: "Coach Wang just gave me your WeChat. We'll contact each other later."

After saying goodbye, he left, his figure quickly disappearing at the end of the corridor.

Liu Guoliang looked at Chen Jin with a smile, the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes smoothing out.

"Played well."

Liu Guoliang reached out and patted Chen Jin on the shoulder, his face full of satisfaction, "You didn't let us down."

"but--"

He suddenly changed the subject, "I probably won't be able to celebrate your victory tonight."

"clear."

Chen Jin nodded.

The World Youth Championship starts on the 28th.

There are only three days left until the end.

Earlier, Zhang Jiahao had told him that the coaching staff had booked tickets to Sweden for 2 pm on the 25th.

Therefore, Chen Jin had long anticipated that he would have to rush back to China to rejoin the team as soon as the Fukuoka finals ended.

This is the life of a professional athlete.

The last competition has ended, and the next challenge is already on its way.

Chen Jin was already mentally prepared.

"Thanks for your hard work."

Liu Guoliang said, "I'll give you a proper celebration when you come back from the World Youth Championships."

Then, he offered Chen Jin a few words of encouragement.

With the women's singles final about to begin, he will be needed to oversee the proceedings.

He and Li Xun left in a hurry.

Only Wang Hao remained to arrange the follow-up matters.

"Coach Wang."

Chen Jin asked, "Do I need to leave immediately and head to the airport?"

"Need not."

Wang Hao took out his phone and checked the time. "The flight is at nine o'clock, it's still early."

"Let's go back to the hotel first, rest for a bit, and then have a meal."

"We'll set off at seven o'clock."

Upon hearing this.

Chen Jin was taken aback: "Us?"

"Yes, we."

Wang Hao laughed and said, "Anyway, the competition is over, so it doesn't matter whether it's a day earlier or later. I might as well go ahead with you."

Chen Jin responded with an "oh".

I thought I would be returning to China alone.

The journey is long and arduous, and I'll be all alone. Just thinking about it makes me feel lonely and isolated.

Now that he knew Wang Hao was with him, he felt much more relaxed.

Back to the hotel.

Chen Jin packed his luggage and checked it carefully one last time.

Racket, towel, water bottle, toiletries, change of clothes... and the broken main racket.

"Old boy……"

As Chen Jin gently traced the broken part of the racket with his fingertips, a sharp pain shot through his heart.

This racket was carefully selected by him and Coach Wu when he first joined the provincial team.

It had accompanied him through countless days and nights of training, and the handle of the racket was already soaked with sweat.

Especially the dent at the thumb.

But now, he has tragically perished in the WTT finals.

"Ah~"

Chen Jin sighed.

Carefully, I put the racket away and hid it among my softest clothes.

My flight back home has already been booked.

At 9:10 PM, we took off from Kitakyushu Airport, first bound for Tokyo.

After a four-hour layover at Haneda Airport, I transferred to a flight that flew directly to Beijing Capital International Airport.

During layover and waiting for your flight.

Chen Jin's phone kept vibrating.

One congratulatory message after another poured in.

Ma Long, Wang Liqin, Xu Xin, Chen Jin, the great god of war, the prisoner-of-war camp...

Coach Wu was among them.

"Chen Jin, I watched your performance at the Fukuoka Finals. Overall, it was a perfect performance. You used tactics flexibly and integrated the technical characteristics of traditional penhold grip and Evergrande penhold grip to the fullest extent. I am very pleased with that."

"Moreover, I noticed that your backhand, especially your close-to-the-table fast attack, has improved. It seems to have incorporated the backhand techniques of Lin Shidong and Lin Gaoyuan, which is very good."

"I hope that no matter what position you are in, you can always maintain the mindset of an apprentice, learn from your opponents, and make up for your weaknesses. Only in this way can you truly be invincible in the game."

Looking at Coach Wu's long text message, I could see his concern evident in every word.

Chen Jin sniffed, his heart filled with a thousand words, yet he didn't know where to begin.

Ultimately, it all boiled down to two short sentences: "Thank you, Coach Wu, I will."

soon.

I received another message from Coach Wu: "You should be attending the victory celebration banquet right now, right?"

"No."

Chen Jin replied truthfully, "Coach Wang and I are at Tokyo Haneda Airport, preparing to return to China."

Coach Wu: "So eager?"

Chen Jin: "The World Youth Championships are about to start, and I need to get back as soon as possible to rejoin my teammates."

Coach Wu: "With such a tight schedule, can your body handle it? I don't know how the coaching staff is making arrangements."

Chen Jin: "It's alright. Young people should seize every opportunity to participate in competitions."

……

Six o'clock in the morning.

The plane landed smoothly at Beijing Capital International Airport.

Stepping out of the cabin, the early winter wind, carrying a slightly dry scent, rushed towards me.

Chen Jin took a deep breath, dragged his suitcase, and got into a taxi with Wang Hao.

Training Bureau.

As soon as I arrived at the dormitory building, by sheer coincidence, I ran into Zhang Jiahao and Xie Mingyang, who were getting up for their morning run.

"Holy crap, Brother Jin!"

Zhang Jiahao, with his sharp eyes, spotted Chen Jin in the distance and immediately jumped up in excitement.

Amidst laughter, he pounced forward.

He hugged Chen Jin tightly.

They were so enthusiastic, like an elderly couple who had been apart for a while and were now reunited, that Chen Jin could hardly breathe.

Xie Mingyang walked over, a rare smile also appearing on his face.

"Brother Jin, you've won the championship again!"

Zhang Jiahao grinned and said, "With 40,000 dollars in hand, a meal is definitely on the table, right?"

"All you do is eat all day long. Were you a glutton in your past life?"

Chen Jin couldn't help but complain, "Life is all about eating and drinking."

Zhang Jiahao chuckled, "Anyway, it's settled then. I'll set the time and pick the location. When the time comes, Brother Jin, you just need to pay me."

Before Chen Jin could answer.

At this moment.

Standing in the shadow of a streetlamp, Wang Hao suddenly coughed twice and smiled, "Is this meal for everyone who hears it?"

He was fine when he didn't say anything, but when he did, he startled Zhang Jiahao.

Zhang Jiahao then realized and blurted out, "Oh, Coach Wang, you're here too! You..."

The sentence that followed abruptly ended.

It felt as if his throat had been slit by a sharp knife, and he swallowed it back down.

Wang Hao: "..."

So you're called Ma Dongmei, huh?

"Chen Jin".

Wang Hao ignored Zhang Jiahao, who was half a head shorter, and said to Chen Jin, "I just got off the plane, you rest first, I have something to do."

After saying that, he turned around and left.

The sound of suitcase wheels being pulled echoed in the quiet yet busy headquarters.

At this point, Zhang Jiahao and Xie Mingyang had no interest in running at all.

They surrounded Chen Jin and returned to their dormitory.

"At this World Youth Championship, our Lima Three Musketeers will finally be able to fight side by side again!"

Zhang Jiahao couldn't hide his excitement, with half a sausage he hadn't finished eating the night before dangling from his mouth. "I've been unlucky for three months, I've waited for three months, all for this opportunity."

"I want to prove myself, not to show off, but to tell the whole world that I will get back what I have lost."

His words and expressions seemed pretentious and nonchalant, just like a drama queen.

But in fact, there seemed to be a flame burning in his eyes.

Chen Jin and Xie Mingyang looked at each other without saying a word.

There was a pause.

Xie Mingyang asked, "I heard your racket broke?"

"Ah."

Chen Jin nodded.

"Isn't there a spare racket?"

Xie Mingyang frowned.

"The pre-match test was not passed."

Chen Jinwei shrugged.

"How can this be?"

Xie Mingyang's brows furrowed even deeper. "Then what racket are you using?"

"Xuperman's test racket."

The voice just fell.

Zhang Jiahao's eyes widened: "Holy crap, so what's circulating online is all true."

"Brother Jin, you used this test racket to beat Wang Chuqin and Zhang Benzhihe and win the championship?"

Chen Jin smiled slightly: "Is there a problem?"

"No."

Zhang Jiahao said seriously, "However, Brother Jin, you have proven one thing."

"what?"

"Some people are just novices, it has nothing to do with the racket."

"..."

At this point, Xie Mingyang asked again, "So which racket do you plan to use for the World Junior Championships?"

"Let's use this racket for testing."

Chen Jindao.

Time is already tight, and if we change the camera, we will need to go through a selection process and adapt to it.

Instead of doing that, it's better to just use a test racket.

Anyway, I'm used to it.

I am quite familiar with the performance of this test racket.

Moreover, it's just a World Youth Championship; with his current skill level, he can handle it with ease even without changing his racket.

I rested in the dormitory for a while.

We went to the cafeteria at 7 o'clock.

After breakfast, gather at the training hall.

Li Qian was equally delighted to see Chen Jin, and the two of them chatted for a while.

The lineup for this World Junior Championships in Sweden is similar to that for the Lima leg of the regular Challenger tournament.

However, the men's team has an extra substitute, Huang Youzheng.

For the women's team, Li Linghan was replaced by Zong Geman.

At the same time, there is an additional substitute player.

As the U19 team leader, Li Qian gave a brief introduction to the schedule and rules of the World Youth Championship.

The competition will last for 8 days, starting on November 28th, and includes team, doubles, mixed doubles, and singles events.

The specific results of the draw will be revealed on the 27th.

We finished lunch early.

A large bus was already waiting at the gate.

The team is preparing to depart for the airport.

Wang Hao rushed over and handed a delicate rectangular box to Chen Jin.

"This is?"

Chen Jin was stunned for a moment.

"racket."

Wang Hao said, "I personally tested it out and carefully selected it; it should suit you very well."

"!"

Chen Jin opened the box.

Sure enough, a brand new racket lay quietly inside.

The base plate is still N301.

Forehand rubber: DHS 40-degree Chinese Hurricane rubber.

Backhand rubber: Butterfly D09C.

The weight of the entire racket is almost exactly the same as his previous main racket.

Even the shoulder of the handle was meticulously polished.

Reaching out and gently grasping his hand, that familiar feeling instantly returned.

"Coach Wang, this..."

Chen Jin's throat tightened slightly. He took a deep breath and said, "Thank you, Coach Wang."

"Play well."

Wang Hao patted Chen Jin on the shoulder.

"correct."

Chen Jin suddenly remembered something, took out the broken racket from his bag, and said, "Coach Wang, could you please find someone to take a look and see if it can be repaired?"

"it is good."

Wang Hao took it, "However, even if it can be repaired, it will affect performance."

"fine."

Chen Jin said softly, "This is my first real racket, so I'll keep it as a memento."

(End of this chapter)