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

Chapter 292 The Max-Level Boss Returns to the Beginner Village
Helsingborg Stadium, Sweden.

Even after the blizzard, a biting chill still lingered in the air.

The sky was as blue as velvet, without a single cloud.

Several white doves that flew in from the Church of St. Mary, along with seagulls that broke into the harbor, circled and cried softly atop the stadium.

Tomorrow, November 28th, the 2024 World Junior Table Tennis Championships will be held here.

Back in the day, the Swedish team was once the dominant force in the world of table tennis.

In particular, at the 40th World Table Tennis Championships in 1989, Waldner, Appelen, and Persson formed the strongest trio in Swedish team history, defeating the Chinese team and establishing the Swedish dynasty.

For the next five or six years, the Swedish team demonstrated an extremely formidable dominance in table tennis.

It wasn't until the mid-to-late 90s, with the return of Coach Cai to China to coach and the rise of players like Liu Guoliang, that Sweden's dominance came to an end.

At the Paris Olympics, Moregard won the silver medal in men's singles and led the Swedish team to a silver medal in men's team.

The Swedish table tennis team is showing signs of a resurgence.

The future is unpredictable.

However, thanks to its glorious heritage, Sweden has a relatively strong table tennis culture compared to other European countries.

Local time, 2 p.m.

The lottery ceremony has not yet begun.

Wu Juncheng and Kim Ga-on arrived at the lottery venue early, found seats, and sat down.

He sat down not long ago.

Kim Ga-on noticed that there were several blond-haired, blue-eyed European athletes to his right, whispering among themselves, while their eyes kept glancing at him and Oh Jun-sung.

"Damn it, what are these Europeans up to?"

Jin Jiawen felt a chill run down her spine.

"Perhaps he has ulterior motives because he thinks you are handsome and have delicate features."

Wu Juncheng smiled.

"Pooh!"

Jin Jiawen shrank back. "I don't have a habit of unclogging toilets."

Despite joking, Oh Jun-sung was also very curious about what these Europeans were up to.

He could sense a hint of fear in their eyes.

"Do they know I'm the number one seed in the singles competition at this World Junior Championships, so they're paying extra attention to me?"

Wu Juncheng pondered deeply.

Think of this.

His back straightened up a little.

As a second-generation player for the South Korean team, Oh Jun-sung is only eighteen years old this year, and his performance has been mediocre.

The most talked-about event was the Asian Championships that just ended last month.

In the men's singles quarterfinals, Wu Juncheng defeated Wang Chuqin, ranked number one in the world, with a score of 3-1.

In no time, he became famous.

In addition, Oh Jun-sung also holds the WTT Junior Star Challenge Tunisia 2024 U19 Men's Singles title and the WTT Regular Challenge Almaty 2024 Men's Singles runner-up title.

Therefore, he became the number one seed in the U19 men's singles at this World Youth Championships.

Undoubtedly, they have the strength.

It's quite normal for them to be discussed by other players.

Just then, Wu Juncheng flicked his long hair that covered his forehead.

A blond boy, encouraged by the crowd, suddenly stood up and walked towards Wu Juncheng.

"Excuse me……"

The blond boy asked in English, "Are you Chen Jin from the Chinese team?"

"what?"

Wu Juncheng was stunned.

Although his English is so-so, he can still understand simple words like "Chinese" and "Chen Jin".

Holy crap, do these Europeans think I'm Chen Jin?

Wu Juncheng looked exasperated.

In recent times, when it comes to the world of table tennis, Chen Jin is undoubtedly the only one with a high profile.

He even surpassed top players like Ma Long, Fan Zhendong, Wang Chuqin, Moregaard, and Felix.

At the age of fifteen or sixteen, he dominated the world of table tennis.

In just three months, he went from an unknown provincial team player to a top-ranked player, number two in the world.

So far, they have not lost a single game.

He became the fearsome boss of the world of table tennis.

Such a formidable competitor, instead of staying in the adult competitions, came to the World Junior Championships to join the fun.

What's the difference between this behavior and a max-level player parachuting into a newbie village?
No wonder these European players were afraid.

Who among those who can participate in the World Youth Championships isn't a young table tennis prodigy from their respective countries?
Every genius is bound to be proud and arrogant.

In addition, he was young and impetuous, and once he picked up his racket, he would go for it. He was never afraid of anyone.
However, Chen Jin is different.

That's a Cthulhu monster!

I understand the logic, but the problem is... are you guys blind? How do I look like Chen Jin?

"No!"

Oh Junsung shook his head, "I am Oh Junsung, Korean."

“OH Junsung?”

The blond boy frowned, thinking for a long time, but still couldn't remember who "OH Junsung" was.

He then looked at Kim Ga-eun beside him and sized her up.

Are you Chen Jin from the Chinese team?

"The blond boy asked."

"No."

Kim Ga-eun also shook his head.

With a slight shrug, the blond boy turned and walked towards his companion, muttering a few words in English.

After that, he stopped paying attention to Oh Jun-sung and Kim Ga-on.

Witnessing this, Wu Juncheng's face turned particularly ugly. "Damn it!"

Jin Jiawen muttered a curse under his breath, then paused slightly, "Did Chen Jin also sign up for this competition?"

"Correct."

Wu Juncheng nodded.

"U15 or U19?"

Kim Ga-on's eyes held a hint of anticipation.

But Wu Juncheng's answer shattered his illusions completely: "U19".

"Oh, damn it!"

Kim Ga-eun's mouth was full of bitterness as she scratched her head. "No way?"

"It shouldn't be wrong."

In contrast, Wu Juncheng remained calm, saying, "I saw his name on the U19 roster."

"He's already ranked second in the world, why is he even here at the World Junior Championships!"

Kim Ga-eun gave a bitter laugh.

Just yesterday, the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) released its latest world rankings.

With 1500 championship points from the WTT Fukuoka Finals, Chen Jin surpassed Lin Shidong with 6900 points, becoming the youngest and fastest person in history to reach world number two.

He is only a little over a thousand points behind Wang Chuqin, who is ranked number one in the world.

"Chen Jin is under fifteen years old, and according to the rules, he is eligible to participate in the World Junior Championships."

Wu Juncheng spread his hands.

"A max-level pro player returning to the newbie village... Did the Chinese team deliberately send Chen Jin to annoy us?"

Kim Ga-eun was completely numb.

Following the Paris Olympics, the issue of developing a talent pool for the Chinese national team has become a hot topic.

Even foreign associations have believed it; the Chinese team, which has dominated the world table tennis scene for decades, is finally showing signs of fatigue.

Whether it's Japan, South Korea, or Europe, they are all striving to catch up and want to personally end China's dominant position.

However, Chen Jin's sudden emergence completely shattered the doubts from the outside world.

As is well known, the World Junior Championships is a gathering place for table tennis prodigies from all over the world to exchange skills and techniques.

The fact that the Chinese team sent Chen Jin to participate in the competition was undoubtedly an attempt to crush these foreign talent teams.

At the same time, I would like to take this opportunity to announce to the world of table tennis: look, this is our talent development system!
The wickedness and viciousness of their intentions are evident.

"Stay calm, don't panic."

As a second-generation ping-pong player and someone who has seen the world, Wu Juncheng remained calm and composed, saying, "You have to understand that ping-pong competitions are not just about singles matches."

"No matter how strong a person is, they may not be able to win all the championships."

"Even if we give up the singles title, there are still team events, doubles, and mixed doubles."

"I don't believe that Chen Jin alone can win all the championships."

Upon hearing this.

Jin Jiawen thought about it carefully and realized it made sense: "Besides Chen Jin, who else is on the Chinese team for this competition?"

"I already checked."

Wu Juncheng said, "Besides Chen Jin, only Xie Mingyang seems alright."

"As for that guy named Zhang Jiahao, his only record so far is reaching the quarterfinals of the WTT Lima Regular Challenge."

"If Huang Youzheng and Chen Jin were paired together in men's doubles, I might be a little more wary. But the Chinese team paired this unknown player with Chen Jin. Isn't this tantamount to deliberately handing the men's doubles championship to us?"

In previous youth competitions, Wu Juncheng and Huang Youzheng had faced off several times.

The two have had their share of wins and losses, and they know each other quite well.

Wu Juncheng also quite acknowledged Huang Youzheng's abilities.

It was thought that Huang Youzheng would at least get a doubles spot in this World Junior Championships.

Unexpectedly, he only managed to become a substitute, and his spot was taken by an unknown person.

This boosted Wu Junxin's confidence: even if he couldn't win the singles championship, he could at least bring back the doubles championship and still have something to show for it.

After all, a doubles champion is still a champion.

"Zhang Jiahao?"

Kim Ga-on frowned slightly. "I've never heard of that before... But would the Chinese team really let a useless newcomer play in a match for no reason?"

His words revealed a hint of worry.

"correct."

Jin Jiawen looked up and around. "I heard the Chinese team left on the 25th, they should have arrived yesterday, why are they still nowhere to be seen today?"

"It seems they were caught in a blizzard and were stranded at Stockholm Arlanda Airport."

Wu Juncheng's information network is quite efficient; "He should arrive today."

"After finishing the Fukuoka finals, Chen Jingang immediately went to Sweden. The journey must be tiring, so his physical condition will probably be a problem."

Kim Ga-on laughed and said, "What if you can pull off another major upset like you did at the Asian Championships?"

Upon hearing this, Wu Juncheng's heart stirred slightly.

As Jin Jiawen said, Chen Jin's constant travel was a great test of his physical strength.

Moreover, the team competition is about to begin tomorrow.

There was simply no extra time for Chen Jin and the others to adjust to the venue and time difference.

Due to various factors, the Chinese team may not be in peak condition to cope with the tight schedule of matches.

This also includes Chen Jin.

"This World Youth Championship might be the opportunity that God has given me..."

Wu Juncheng was already lost in a beautiful fantasy.

If I can really defeat Chen Jin this time, even in the team competition or doubles, then Chen Jin's "undefeated record" will be completely broken.

By then, my name will surely be known throughout the world of table tennis once again!

It might even cause an even bigger sensation in the world of table tennis than his upset victory over Wang Chuqin at the last Asian Championships!

The more he thought about it, the more excited he became, and Wu Juncheng clenched his fists.

"If you don't take what God gives you, you will suffer the consequences!"

Wu Juncheng's eyes suddenly sharpened, flashing with the sharpness of swords, "Defeat Chen Jin, and I will amaze the world of table tennis!"

(End of this chapter)