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

Chapter 374 Losing to the world's number one is nothing to be ashamed of.
For the next two days, the Universiade Center Gymnasium was like a giant furnace, continuously burning with the flames of the Asian Cup competition.

The drums of war for the group stage are beating rapidly.

On the court, a silent and fierce battle was taking place on every table.

Chen Jin's matches always exude a breathtaking dominance and kingly aura.

His opponents, whether it was Shinozuka Daito or Ali Al-Hadrawi, couldn't help but show an undisguised solemnity when they stood in front of him.

Even a hint of timidity was revealed.

No one dares to underestimate this current world number one who is only sixteen years old.

The night before the match against Chen Jin.

Seiya Kishikawa gathered his team members, including Hiroto Shinozuka, and in the room, they used the Omikami System to analyze Chen Jin's data.

The results showed that Chen Jin was a true "all-rounder".

Shinozuka Hiroto's chances of winning against Chen Jin are only one percent.

Moreover, it's only theoretical.

Just like the probability of qualifying for the next round when the scores are calculated for the Chinese men's football team next door.

Kishikawa Seiya felt quite helpless about this.

He could only pat Shinozuka Hiroto on the shoulder and comfort him, saying, "It's just the group stage, it's okay to lose."

"As long as we get second place in the group, we can still advance to the next round without any problems."

"In tomorrow's match, use your best techniques and tactics to challenge Chen Jin."

"Winning means making a huge profit, losing means not losing anything."

Now that things have come to this, Shinotsuka Hiroto has no choice but to take a gamble.

In his fight against Chen Jin, he attempted to break through Chen Jin's defenses using speed and fighting skills.

However, Chen Jin's defense was like the walls of an empire, impenetrable.

Several fierce battles were easily resolved by Chen Jinru with a calm and nonchalant attitude.

Immediately following this, Shinozuka Daito was met with an even more fierce and aggressive counterattack from Chen Jin.

Every attack, whether forehand or backhand, was like a heavy cannonball, almost blasting through Shinozuka Hiroto's blade.

While both are penhold backhand topspin, their skill level is incomparable to that of Shinozuka Hiroto's recent victory over Huang Zhenting.

Shinozuka Daito was drenched in sweat, and a hint of fear appeared in his eyes as he faced Chen Jin's sudden charge.

"so horrible!"

"I had only heard about Chen Jin before, but now I have finally experienced his strength firsthand."

"As expected... I heard it was all a lie!"

"Chen Jin is more terrifying than I imagined. No wonder he can become the world's number one at such a young age."

His desperate struggle seemed like a joke to Chen Jin.

Shinozuka Hiroto became increasingly impatient as the game progressed, making frequent mistakes.

11: 4.

11: 4.

11: 4.

Three straight sets, clean and decisive.

Chen Jin didn't even break a sweat; it seemed like he had just had a high-quality warm-up.

The gap in strength was even greater when facing Ali Alhadelawi.

This Saudi athlete gave it his all and showed great resilience.

However, under Chen Jin's surgically precise rhythm control and unpredictable rotational suppression, the resistance quickly crumbled.

11: 3.

11: 1.

11: 2.

The game ended even faster than the previous one.

Chen Jin put down his racket, calmly shook hands with his opponent, and showed no excitement on his face, as if he had just completed an ordinary task.

With three wins, they advanced to the main tournament as the undisputed group winner.

He was joined by Shinozuka Hiroto in the next round.

the other side.

Xie Mingyang's path to advancement was more fraught with difficulties.

The immense glory brought by defeating Tomokazu Harimoto is both a driving force and an invisible pressure.

He was like a taut string, playing each game with an almost ferocious focus, as if he wanted to pour all his energy onto the table.

Just as Wang Hao predicted before the match, Oh Jun-sung, as one of the best of the new generation of South Korean players, also caused Xie Mingyang a lot of trouble.

They might even win the first game.

The score remained close for a time, and the atmosphere at the stadium was tense.

Fortunately, Xie Mingyang maintained a stable mindset, like a sharp blade drawn from its sheath, charging forward relentlessly, focusing solely on offense and neglecting defense.

Faced with Xie Mingyang's relentless and overwhelming offensive, Wu Juncheng's defense, however strong, was forced into a passive position and found it difficult to defend.

Moreover, Oh Jun-sung is skilled with his forehand.

The backhand is relatively weak.

Xie Mingyang focused on this point, quickly attacking Wu Juncheng's backhand side from close to the table.

Even though Wu Juncheng could turn around quickly, he gradually showed signs of fatigue under Xie Mingyang's speed suppression.

In the fourth game, with the score at 5-5, Xie Mingyang engaged in a long rally and forced a sideways movement.

An extremely powerful forehand smash, the ball like a cannonball, whistling through the air, slammed into the sideline of Wu Juncheng's forehand at a wide angle.

Wu Juncheng was a little slow, and couldn't catch up.

This crucial point completely broke through Wu Juncheng's defenses.

Ultimately, the score of the fourth game was 11-6.

Xie Mingyang defeated a strong opponent with a score of 3:1, securing his second point in the group stage.

In the final match, he will face Iranian player Nima Al-Alamian.

Xie Mingyang played with even more freedom.

Instead of being overly fixated on a single decisive move, they now focus more on variations in the line and control of the rhythm.

Although Alamian was slightly weaker, he was tenacious and still managed to cause Xie Mingyang some unexpected trouble.

But ultimately, they were unable to change the overall situation.

11: 5.

11: 8.

11: 4.

The score is 3-0.

Xie Mingyang secured the win, also finishing first in his group.

He advanced to the main tournament along with Tomokazu Harimoto.

As for the other groups, the competition was uneventful.

Yet it fully demonstrates the dominance of the Chinese national table tennis team.

Wang Chuqin, Lin Shidong, Liang Jingkun, and Lin Gaoyuan, all key members of the men's team who had already proven themselves on the international stage, swept aside their opponents with overwhelming force, securing first place in their groups and advancing to the next round.

Thus, all six members of the Chinese men's table tennis team, like six unsheathed swords, have emerged from the group stage and advanced to the second round of the Asian Cup knockout stage.

February 21st. 9:30 PM.

After the last group stage match was played.

The press conference hall of the Universiade Center Gymnasium was temporarily set up as the venue for the knockout stage draw ceremony.

The names of the sixteen men's team members who have advanced to the next round are already listed on the huge electronic screen.

Under the bright lights, the atmosphere was solemn and tense.

The players took their seats in order of their group rankings.

The coaching staff, event officials, and a large number of media reporters filled the already small space to the brim.

A silent smell of gunpowder permeated the air.

After a brief opening speech by the host, the transparent lottery box was solemnly brought out.

All eyes were focused on the opening of the box.

One name after another was read out, accompanied by the rapid jumping and freezing of the battle table on the electronic screen.

Each announcement of the draw results elicited a murmur of discussion or a brief gasp from the audience.

"In the upper bracket, Group 1, Chen Jin's opponent..."

The host glanced at the lot in his hand, then looked around and deliberately paused.

In an instant, all the contestants who had not yet been drawn felt a pang of anxiety.

"Matsushima Teruaki".

This statement came out.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

At the same time, he turned his gaze to Matsushima Teru, who was sitting in the front row.

The moment the host announced his name, Matsushima Teru's lips pressed into a straight line.

His eyes were fixed on Chen Jin's name on the screen, and his hands on his knees unconsciously clenched.

"So, it's finally time to face Chen Jin?"

Matsushima Teruaki exhaled a long, turbid breath.

He had a very high opinion of Chen Jin when he was in Lima.

However, the two never had the chance to fight.

At that time, Matsushima Teruyuki never imagined that Chen Jin would overcome all obstacles and become the youngest world number one in history in just half a year.

"Matsushima-kun, congratulations!"

Yukiya Uda sat down next to Teruaki Matsushima and chuckled gleefully, “They’re going to face Chen Jin in the first round of the knockout stage. Their luck is just too good to be true.”

"So what if he's Chen Jin? Just wait and see if I take him on or not."

Matsushima Teruichi raised an eyebrow.

Who are you?

He himself is a rising star in Japanese table tennis, known as "Young Master"!
Once he goes crazy, even he's afraid of himself!
"Uda-kun, don't laugh too soon."

Matsushima Teruya glanced at Uda Yukiya, "You might run into Chen Jin in the second round."

"How could..."

Before Yukiya Uda could finish speaking...

At this moment.

Suddenly, the host called out his name.

"Nani?"

Yukiya Uda looked at the screen, and the smile on his face instantly froze.

Because he clearly saw that his name appeared in the second group of the upper bracket.

His opponent is Ahn Jae-hyun.

If I advance smoothly, my opponent in the second round will most likely be... Chen Jin.

"F**k!"

Yukiya Uda cursed under his breath.

"Hey!"

Matsushima Teru said smugly, "I was right."

"Crow's Mouth."

Yukiya Uda glared at him fiercely, "If I meet Chen Jin in the second round, you'll be eliminated in the first round. What's there to be proud of?"

"Losing to the world's number one is nothing to be ashamed of."

Matsushima Teruhiko.

"I'm the same way."

Uda Yukiya snorted coldly.

"no the same!"

Matsushima Teruichi raised an eyebrow. "I will definitely beat Chen Jin by two points."

"We'll see."

Yukiya Uda was clearly unconvinced.

Shortly after.

The results of the draw have all been released.

In the upper half of the draw, three mainstays of the Chinese national table tennis team—Chen Jin, Liang Jingkun, and Lin Gaoyuan—are all present.

Tomokazu Harimoto was also there.

The lower half of the draw features Wang Chuqin, Lin Shidong, and Xie Mingyang.

Xie Mingyang's gaze quickly swept across the entire match list, finally locking onto the top name in the upper bracket.

—Chen Jin!
An invisible river, the Chu-Han border, clearly divides the upper and lower halves of the game.

The path to the ultimate peak has been drawn, and he and Chen Jin are like generals placed at opposite ends of a chessboard by the hand of fate.

If they want to meet in the finals, both of them must crush all the opponents in their path and fight their way through.

"I hope that this time, I can meet Chen Jin in the final."

Xie Mingyang slowly leaned back in his chair, his gaze calming down.

Deep within his pupils, two dark and stubborn flames ignited.

Of course, according to the match schedule, breaking through the encirclement will be no easy task.

The biggest obstacle was none other than Wang Chuqin.

Moreover, Lin Shidong and Lin Yunru, two strong players in the table tennis world, are also in the lower half of the draw.

Moreover, if Xie Mingyang advances to the second round, his opponent will be the winner between the two.

"It's going to be another fierce battle!"

Xie Mingyang took a deep breath.

He turned his head and looked at Chen Jin sitting next to him.

Seeing his calm expression, a smile playing on his lips, and no ripples on his face.

opponent?

No matter who it is, regardless of strength or weakness, just crush them!

(End of this chapter)