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

Chapter 385 Semifinals, Xie Mingyang VS Wang Chuqin!
Half past one in the afternoon.

The stadium was packed with people.

The spotlight illuminated the central table tennis table in minute detail, making it the absolute focus of the event.

Wang Chuqin was the first to walk out of the players' tunnel.

He was met with a frenzied wave of enthusiasm.

"Wang Chuqin!"

"come on--"

……

"come on!"

"Wang Chuqin—"

……

"Big head, big head, invincible universe!"

"Wang Chuqin, you're the best!"

"Let's raise a glass, Big Head!"

Huge banners were waved in the stands.

The light boards displaying various photoshopped images of Wang Chuqin flashed intermittently.

Wang Chuqin waved in greeting, his steps steady and confident, like a monarch inspecting his kingdom.

He walked to the sidelines and methodically carried out the final pre-match preparations.

He took out a water bottle and a towel, and moved his wrists and ankles with ease.

In contrast.

When Xie Mingyang appeared, the noise level at the scene noticeably decreased.

Only a few scattered cheers could be heard.

It was quickly drowned out by the even louder cheers of Wang Chuqin's fans.

Xie Mingyang walked straight to his rest area without any expression.

He did not look around like Wang Chuqin did, nor did he wave.

His gaze was lowered, as if the deafening noise around him was shut out by an invisible barrier.

In his world, at this moment only the dark green pool table in front of him remained.
And, the person across the table who will soon become your opponent.

Toss a coin to guess who will go first.

Wang Chuqin was awarded the right to serve.

Then, the two walked to opposite ends of the table tennis table, looked at each other across the net.

Their eyes were calm and expressionless.

Yet it is like an undercurrent surging beneath a calm sea.

After warming up with a sparring session, the match begins.

0: 0.

Wang Chuqin served first.

A flick of the wrist.

The forehand is short.

Side down.

Xie Mingyang reacted with lightning speed, pushing off with his foot and taking a big step forward.

Relax your shoulders and raise your elbows, with your wrists slightly bent inward.

"laugh!"

It was accompanied by an extremely short, sharp friction sound.

The ping-pong ball, with its strong sidespin, traced an unpredictable arc, flying towards the opposite side of the table like a swallow skimming the ground.

"An attack right from the start?"

Wang Chuqin's heart skipped a beat. "Working this hard?"

With a quick glance, seeing Xie Mingyang's hand movements, I assumed he was about to twist my backhand.

They immediately adopted a fighting stance, using the momentum to tear back.

Unexpectedly, at the moment of contact with the ball, Xie Mingyang suddenly twisted his wrist and forced a straight line.

The white ball hurtled swiftly towards Wang Chuqin's forehand corner baseline.

Fight!

The very first goal was an all-out, relentless battle.

Wang Chuqin clearly hadn't expected Xie Mingyang to fight so fiercely.

Wait for him to react.

He leaped forward, trying to save the ball.

However, his feet moved a beat too late.

boom!
The ball hit the edge of the paddle and flew out at an angle.

0: 1.

Wang Chuqin remained expressionless, habitually sniffing, his gaze becoming more serious.

Serve again.

It's still short forehand.

However, the rotation has changed slightly.

Xie Mingyang stepped forward and swung his short leg.

Wang Chuqin swings back.

Knowing it was not advisable to entangle with his opponent too much on the table, Xie Mingyang quickly chopped Wang Chuqin's backhand baseline.

Wang Chuqin launched a backhand attack, charging towards the center line.

With a sliding step and a sideways movement, Xie Mingyang's backswing motion was exaggerated, resembling a full-on, powerful attack.

Facing the incoming ball, flick it diagonally.

"昘——"

The ping-pong ball traced a C-shaped arc in the air and struck Wang Chuqin's left side of the table again.

I thought the victory was already in my grasp.

Unexpectedly.

Wang Chuqin's footwork was so fast that he actually arrived first after starting later. With a cross step, he lunged forward with his forehand, pulled back diagonally, and threatened Xie Mingyang's left side of the table.

"!"

Xie Mingyang quickly countered with a defensive move.

Unexpectedly, Wang Chuqin's counter-attack was extremely powerful, and the ball went into the net.

1: 1.

"Wow—"

Seeing Wang Chuqin score a counter-attack, the crowd erupted in a thunderous cheer.

"The landing point of the flick was slightly off."

Xie Mingyang frowned slightly to himself, "I should be bolder."

He had to admit that he had been a little careless in losing that last point.

Thinking that by striking unexpectedly, one could defeat the enemy in one move.

However, they underestimated Wang Chuqin's footwork speed.

In addition, the landing point was slightly conservative, which gave Wang Chuqin the opportunity to counterattack.

Switch sides and serve.

Xie Mingyang held the ping-pong ball in his hand and glanced coldly at Wang Chuqin's position.

"Break!"

A fast, long ball, a surprise attack on the opponent's backhand.

Wang Chuqin was caught off guard, his body was pushed, and his return shot went into the net.

2: 1.

Second serve.

Knowing that Wang Chuqin was prepared, Xie Mingyang served a short ball to the forehand.

However, his hand control was slightly lacking.

She was actually a semi-prostitute.

"Snapped!"

Wang Chuqin showed no mercy and charged forward fiercely.

2: 2.

Although it was their first encounter, both of them abandoned any probing or preparation and went straight for the kill.

Wang Chuqin's backhand flick is as fast as lightning.

Xie Mingyang's forehand smash was powerful and heavy.

On the table tennis table, the ping-pong ball transformed into a series of sharp, afterimage-like movements.

The sounds of impacts, friction, and the screeching of sneakers screeching as they stopped and spun on the floor were incessant.

As the fighting intensifies, mistakes increase.

However, each mistake does not prevent the next, even more aggressive, attack.

And so, the two engaged in a fierce battle, with the score fluctuating back and forth.

5: 5.

6: 6.

7: 7.

8: 8.

Wang Chuqin delivered a short ball to the side, which Xie Mingyang anticipated and scored with a feint.

The score came to 8:9.

Wang Chuqin fell behind.

At the crucial point, Wang Chuqin's expression became increasingly solemn and cold.

"Phew~" Wang Chuqin let out a long breath.

Holding a ping-pong ball, knees bent and body bent over.

Xie Mingyang, standing on the opposite side, immediately became extremely alert.

Even his stance shifted slightly to the right to prevent Wang Chuqin from serving with a hook shot.

Surprisingly, despite the crucial point, Wang Chuqin opted not to use his hook shot.

"You've reformed?"

"Or is it that... in his eyes, with my strength, I'm not worthy of him using his hook hand?"

My mind hasn't changed.

Xie Mingyang has already started.

Accurately predict the landing point and move swiftly and precisely.

With a flick of the wrist, the pull straightens.

"laugh!"

The small ping-pong ball, with its strong sidespin, shot straight at Wang Chuqin's left side of the table like a venomous snake.

Wang Chuqin took a big step to the side, seized the landing point, and quickly hit a cross-court shot with his forehand.

Xie Mingyang seemed to have anticipated this, his body moving in advance as if by premonition, sliding sideways with ghostly speed, arriving in place instantly.

The backhand backswing involves very little movement.

However, the explosive power of his wrist is extremely astonishing.

Facing the serve, counter-attack down the line.

"Snapped!"

Like a bolt of lightning piercing the void, it struck precisely at Wang Chuqin's backhand sideline.

Wang Chuqin was too far away to reach him.

10: 8.

Xie Mingyang took the lead and secured the first game point.

Seeing Wang Chuqin fall behind, the crowd erupted in cheers like a tsunami.

"Go Wang Chuqin!"

"Stay calm, don't panic!"

Believe in yourself, you are the best!

……

Xie Mingyang remained indifferent, catching the ping-pong ball thrown by the assistant referee, completely ignoring the surrounding noise and unaffected.

In his mind, he quickly considered the tactics and techniques for the next ball.

"Stealing growth?"

"No!"

“Wang Chuqin was definitely on guard.”

"Let's just send them away with the guns."

The decision has been made.

Xie Mingyang served a short ball to the side.

However, the landing point was tricky.

Forehand small triangle.

Wang Chuqin took a step to the side and executed a high overhead loop.

All of this fell right into Xie Mingyang's trap.

Xie Mingyang moved with incredible speed, gliding to the side and unleashing a powerful forehand smash.

"Snapped!"

Like a groundbreaking blow.

It instantly blasted through Wang Chuqin's backhand side.

11: 8.

Xie Mingyang won the first game.

"..."

The scene became slightly quieter.

No one expected that a relatively unknown newcomer would be able to win the first game against Wang Chuqin.

But soon, the fans realized what was happening.

"Wang Chuqin!"

"come on--"

……

"come on!"

"Wang Chuqin—"

……

The unified shouts, like a tidal wave, instantly engulfed the entire venue.

Break between games.

Wang Chuqin returned to the sidelines, picked up a towel, and vigorously wiped the sweat from his face, his eyes gloomy as he stared at the floor.

the other side.

Xie Mingyang drank his water, his chest rising and falling slightly, his eyes remaining calm.

It seemed that the fierce battle just now had not consumed much of his mind and energy.

He knew perfectly well that the real contest was only just beginning.

Second round.

Wang Chuqin seems to have become a different person.

The fighting became increasingly fierce, and the control became more precise.

The serve should primarily consist of spin or no spin, combined with variations in landing point, to limit Xie Mingyang's ability to take the initiative.

As soon as Xie Mingyang's return shot is slightly off, Wang Chuqin immediately reacts like a shark smelling blood, quickly adjusting his footwork and his body springing out like a compressed spring.

The first three attacks were extremely rapid.

Xie Mingyang was caught off guard.

"Snapped!"

"Snapped!"

"Snapped!"

The three consecutive shots were almost all the same, seizing the slight gap when Xie Mingyang's backhand topspin was a little slow in connecting the ball, and attacking the first three shots with lightning speed, catching Xie Mingyang off guard.

The score was quickly widened to 3-0.

Xie Mingyang frowned.

He tried to change the game, proactively chopping the ball long to Wang Chuqin's backhand side, attempting to move his opponent around.

However, Wang Chuqin was prepared.

The reaction speed is astonishingly fast.

As soon as Xie Mingyang's long ball went out of bounds, Wang Chuqin, who had already prepared his backhand, suddenly unleashed a powerful shot.

"Snapped!"

Backhand smash with underspin.

The ball flew like a cannonball, bombarding Xie Mingyang's open forehand side.

Xie Mingyang made a desperate save.

The racket could barely reach the ball, but it flew high into the air.

Wang Chuqin was already waiting in front of the net, his eyes cold, poised to strike with a fierce yet fearful look.

He lured Xie Mingyang back off the table, then immediately switched his attack and hit a short ball.

0: 4.

"Big Head's first three plays were still impressive."

From the stands, witnessing Xie Mingyang already trapped in Wang Chuqin's carefully crafted first three moves, Qin Zhijian smiled and said.

"It all depends on whether Xie Mingyang has any way to break this deadlock."

Li Xun said, "However, he is a newcomer after all, and lacks experience on the field. He is definitely not as good as Da Tou."

Next game.

Wang Chuqin defended the mid-to-close range, his attacks were fluid and decisive, and his shots were ruthless.

With a fast, fierce, and precise combination of the first three punches, Xie Mingyang's rhythm was completely disrupted.

Xie Mingyang attempted to fight back.

However, Wang Chuqin's defense was impregnable.

Several attempts to break through defenses were successfully countered by Wang Chuqin, who then seized the opportunity to score on the counterattack.

soon.

The match was over.

11: 5.

Wang Chuqin won a game back.

"Choo-hoo!"

Wang Chuqin clenched his fist and roared, his momentum unstoppable.

The fans at the scene cheered thunderously, creating a deafening roar.

Xie Mingyang put down his racket, picked up a towel, and silently walked towards the sidelines.

The second game ended in a crushing defeat.

However, there was no sign of discouragement on his face.

Deep within his eyes, an even more intense flame ignited.

"The first three boards..."

"We must find a way to break his first three moves..."

(End of this chapter)