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

Chapter 396 Chongqing Championship! The more I fought, the more excited he became.
3 month 8 day.

The Chinese national table tennis team arrived in Chongqing.

Sitting on the bus heading to the Ronghui Peninsula Hotel, the unique three-dimensionality of the mountain city outside the window was magnified infinitely before my eyes.

The buildings are built against the mountain, in a staggered and layered manner.

The elevated light rail, like a dragon, passes through the buildings.

The bubbling hot pot, with its spicy and pungent aroma mingling with the rich fragrance of beef tallow, surges forth from the numerous hot pot restaurants lining the street, forcefully filling the nostrils of every passerby.

Unfortunately, Zhang Jiahao did not travel with the team.

Instead, they went to Zhengding to participate in training camp in preparation for the Incheon Championship.

The next day, ten o'clock in the morning.

A conference room at the Ronghui Peninsula Hotel.

The lottery ceremony.

The huge LED screen lit up, and familiar names appeared one by one.

When the final draw was completed, the dust settled.

The lottery results were clearly projected onto the screen.

A murmur of discussion immediately broke out in the conference room.

As the number one seed, Chen Jin is undoubtedly in the top half of the draw.

His first-round opponent was Gao Chengrui.

The upper half of the draw, besides Chen Jin, also features a host of top table tennis players such as Liang Jingkun, Lin Shidong, Felix, and Lin Yun-ju.

A powerful force stands tall, eyeing the scene with predatory intent.

As for the lower half of the bracket, it is led by Wang Chuqin.

Xie Mingyang, Lin Gaoyuan, Zhang Benzhihe, Moregard... all were shrouded in smoke and lurking with murderous intent.

"Anton Carlberg?"

Chen Jin sat down next to Xie Mingyang, glanced at the latter's match situation, and frowned slightly. "Your draw puts you under a lot of pressure."

Putting aside the first round, if Xie Mingyang successfully advances, his next opponent will most likely be Zhang Benzhihe.

Although Xie Mingyang defeated Zhang Ben in the group stage of the last Asian Cup.

However, there is no doubt that Tomokazu Harimoto remains a formidable rival.

"So what?"

Xie Mingyang was well aware of the immense pressure he was under due to his draw, but he became even more excited, thinking, "No matter how strong the opponents are, I'll just fight my way through."

Given his personality, he has always enjoyed challenges.

For the next two days, most of the time was spent on venue adaptation training.

3 month 11 day.

afternoon.

Huaxi LIVE·Yudong·Venue.

There is still half an hour before the match starts.

Inside the venue, it was already bustling with activity, with every seat filled.

On the electronic screen, highlights of past competitions and promotional videos of the athletes were played on a loop.

The air, which was originally somewhat murky, was filled with the enthusiasm and anticipation of the audience, creating a competitive atmosphere that sent adrenaline soaring.

Finally, the lights went out abruptly.

Only a single spotlight remained, shining on the T-stage at the entrance of the stadium.

The host's passionate voice resounded throughout the venue through the microphone.

Every word carried the power to ignite the entire audience.

"Now, let's welcome the contestants with the warmest applause and cheers."

"First of all... Chen Jin!"

The moment the name is called out.

Cheers erupted like a tidal wave, surging from all directions and crashing violently against every inch of the stadium walls and every floorboard.

It was as if the entire space was trembling and resonating with it.

"Chen Jin, rise up!"

"Chen Jin, rise up!"

……

Even Chen Jin himself didn't expect that there would be so many fans cheering him on at the scene.

Despite the deafening cheers, Chen Jin showed no deliberate excitement.

He simply raised his hand calmly and waved towards the audience.

He then quickly walked to the rest area on the sidelines.

Wang Hao had been waiting for a long time and had already prepared water bottles, which he placed on the ground.

the other side.

Gao Chengrui has also entered the venue.

The applause was polite and gentle, a stark contrast to the thunderous cheers Chen Jin had received.

Toss a coin and guess who goes first.

Chen Jin has the right to serve.

first round.

0: 0.

Gao Chengrui had clearly made ample tactical preparations before the match.

He immediately tried to take advantage of his speed and backhand topspin to gain the upper hand and disrupt Chen Jin's rhythm.

Facing Chen Jin's serve, Gao Chengrui didn't hesitate, stepping forward to seize the landing point. His fingers and wrists exploded in an instant.

"laugh!"

A reverse twist pull is both fast and heavy.

It hurtled straight to Chen Jin's forehand corner.

This shot was of extremely high quality.

With a strong lateral rotation, it tore through the air like a silver lightning bolt.

However, Chen Jin seemed to have anticipated this.

The engine started moving. As fast as a ghost.

With a cross step to the side, he was already in position as if in a flash.

Facing the fierce silver lightning bolt, he lowered his center of gravity, gathered power in his waist and abdomen, and held the racket in his right hand, drawing a full and powerful arc from back to front.

"Snapped!"

The explosion was as loud as thunder.

A white shadow flashed by, heavy as a cannonball, slamming into Gao Chengrui's backhand sideline with a sharp whistling sound, carrying almost brute force and precise calculation.

The ping-pong ball bounced up on the table, leaving a clear mark.

Then, as if given a second life, it shot out in a strange C-shaped arc.

Gao Chengrui's body, still retaining the inertia of being twisted and pulled forward, had not yet returned to its original state.

Unexpectedly, the ball had already flown to his side.

His arm stretched out in vain, unable to even touch the shadow of the ball.

The wind pressure generated by Chen Jin's sudden burst of speed seemed to stir the damp, stray hairs on his forehead.

"Wow--"

"Chen Jin, rise up!"

The entire venue was instantly ignited.

The cheers from the crowd nearly lifted the roof off.

Wang Hao, who was sitting on the sidelines, was used to such scenes and was no longer moved.

With his legs crossed and his body leaning back, he became a merciless clapping robot.

1: 0.

Chen Jin remained expressionless.

He habitually touched the table tennis table, wiped the sweat from his hands, and then walked back to the left side of the table to prepare to serve.

"Whoo~"

Gao Chengrui's face turned slightly pale.

Subconsciously, I moved my wrist that was holding the racket.

Although the ball didn't even touch you, its impact still seems to linger.

"Don't panic, it's just the first ball."

Gao Chengrui told himself, "Chen Jin is very strong, and my chances of beating him are very low."

"So don't worry about every little detail, lest it affect your own rhythm in the game."

"Stick to the tactics and charge with all your might!" With that thought in mind.

Gao Chengrui's gaze immediately hardened.

Bending over and leaning forward, preparing to receive the hair extension.

Toss the ball and prepare to swing.

Chen Jin hooked a short hook.

"Side down!"

Gao Chengrui quickly stepped forward, thrusting his right leg forward, pressing his body down, and exerting force with his wrist.

It's worth noting that his teammate is Lin Yun-ju, who is known as the "King of Active Topspin".

He is naturally equally proficient in reverse twisting.

However, Chen Jinfa's ball spin far exceeded his expectations.

The instant the ball touches the ground.

Gao Chengrui then realized that the downspin was too heavy, and he couldn't get any leverage at all.

"Oops!"

Gao Chengrui thought to himself.

laugh!
It hit the net and fell.

0: 2.

Gao Chengrui frowned, looked down at his racket, and wiped it with his hand.

Then, the serve is taken by the other side.

Gao Chengrui was focused on fighting and directly stole the advantage.

A long, fast ball attacked Chen Jin's backhand baseline.

This goal came out of nowhere.

If it were any other player, they might already be being watched.

However, Chen Jin reacted extremely quickly.

Although he did not step off the table, he suddenly pulled in his waist and abdomen, and pulled his wrist inward to prepare for the shot.

"Snapped!"

Use their strength against them, and retaliate.

The quality isn't very high.

A glint flashed in Gao Chengrui's eyes. He decisively turned to the side and unleashed a powerful forehand attack, continuing to pressure Chen Jin's backhand.

Chen Jin stood firm, leaned forward, hooked his index finger around the handle of the racket, and flicked his wrist.

"Snapped!"

Accompanied by a loud bang.

Chen Jin casually pressed down on a straight line.

"By North!"

Cursing under his breath, Gao Chengrui leaped and lunged at the right side of the platform.

Unfortunately, the pace was a little slow.

He could only watch helplessly as the small white ball grazed past his open forehand side.

0: 3.

They lost three points in just two minutes.

Gao Chengrui let out a long breath, feeling a sense of pressure rising in his heart.

I eventually calmed down.

Serve again.

The forehand is short.

Do not forward.

Chen Jin stepped forward and swung his short sword.

Gao Chengrui swings back.

Chen Jin lifted his wrist and continued to control the short distance.

Gao Chengrui still swings the ball back.

However, the control was slightly poor, and the return ball bounced high and halfway off the table.

Such a mistake is like easy prey for a top assassin like Chen Jin.

The body's center of gravity shifts forward, and the backswing is not significant.

However, it has explosive power.

Facing the half-high ball in front of him, he swung his racket out like a whip.

"Snapped!"

Like a thunderclap.

A powerful forehand smash down the line.

It instantly broke through Gao Chengrui's hasty defenses.

4: 0.

Gao Chengrui's confidence began to waver slightly under Chen Jin's overwhelming opening performance.

The speed and backhand topspin that made them famous seemed somewhat pale and powerless in the face of Chen Jin's absolute power, spin control and line prediction.

Whether it's forehand or backhand, they were completely dominated by Chen Jin.

Chen Jin firmly controlled the rhythm of the game.

The forehand smash is like a heavy artillery bombardment, a perfect combination of power and speed, covering the entire table with rapid and devastating firepower.

His backhand rip was like a Gatling gun emitting blue light, smooth and fast, tearing at wide and tricky angles, leaving Gao Chengrui running around frantically and his footwork becoming increasingly chaotic.

soon.

The score of the first game was 11-3.

Gao Chengrui, covered in sweat, put down his racket, picked up a towel, and walked towards the rest area while wiping his sweat, his eyes showing a hint of confusion and frustration.

The strategy of fighting hard from the start was a tactic that had been planned before the match.

However, the first game did not seem to work.

In the second game...

Gao Chengrui continued his frantic fighting.

Just like the coach said during the break: "A conservative approach will definitely not work against Chen Jin. We must go all out and fight for every point to have a chance."

If you think about it carefully, it is indeed true.

He had already prepared himself mentally when he learned during the draw that his opponent in the first round would be Chen Jin.

Anyway, it's just a loss, so there's no psychological burden.

It's better to take a gamble.

Therefore, Gao Chengrui's fighting spirit was blazing, and he fought even more fiercely.

However, there is ultimately a gap in strength between the two.

Moreover, the more Gao Chengrui fought, the more excited Chen Jin became.

11: 2.

Chen Jin scores another goal.

The score is 2-0.

"Or not."

Gao Chengrui was panting heavily. "I fight, but Chen Jin fights even more fiercely than I do."

"His shots are just too aggressive."

"It seems... the more I fight, the more excited he gets, and the more miserably I lose."

The third round.

Gao Chengrui had lost the sharpness he had at the start of the game; his moves were hesitant and his steps were heavy.

Chen Jin did not relax his efforts in the slightest.

A powerful forehand smash, decisive and ruthless.

A quick backhand rip, landing at the absolute limit.

They defeated Gao Chengrui repeatedly, leaving him with no chance to fight back.

11: 3.

The score is 3-0.

The entire match lasted less than twenty minutes.

It was another crushing defeat with no suspense whatsoever.

Chen Jinjin advanced to the round of 16.

(End of this chapter)