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

Chapter 40 [040] Trial Finals

"Coach Zhang?"

Zhang Jiahao looked back and saw Coach Zhang with his hands in his trouser pockets, as if he didn't know who his opponent was. He couldn't help but stick out his tongue and said, "You're really a nagging old man. Speak of the devil and he'll appear."

"Stop talking nonsense and focus on practicing."

Although he was scolding Zhang Jiahao, Coach Zhang's eyes turned towards Chen Jin with some guilt.

Chen Jin pretended not to see it.

In my heart, I had already guessed something.

One fifty.

A sharp whistle sounded in the training hall.

The male and female teams, eight people in total, all gathered at the front.

In front of the camera of Channel C, the fat guy who knows nothing about football looked serious.

"This selection competition is an innovative and bold attempt, as well as an unprecedented opportunity."

Liu Guoliang glanced at everyone and spoke word by word, "I hope that you young players can perform at your best and show your style. I also wish you all good results."

The voice just fell.

The audience burst into applause.

Then, head coach Li Suo announced in public: "Referees are in place, players are entering, the finals of the selection competition officially begins."

The camera turned and scanned the figures of Chen Jin and others.

Zhang Jiahao, who was standing in line behind Chen Jin, rubbed his fingers, and was visibly nervous. He whispered, "Brother Jin, I'm so nervous. I really want to pee."

"If you want to boo, go ahead. You don't have to report to me."

"Forget it, we're filming now."

While talking.

Arrived at the competition venue.

Outside the venue, Liu Guoliang, Li Suo, Wang Hao, Wang Liqin and others had already taken their seats, looking forward to watching the game.

The only person missing was Coach Wu.

Logically speaking, in such an occasion, with Coach Wu's qualifications, he can still appear at the game even if he is just a team leader.

But Chen Jin just glanced at it and didn't think much about it.

Put your bag down and wait for the show.

The final round of the round-robin tournament will be a best-of-seven format, with no tiebreaker.

Compared with the previous best-of-three matches, it poses greater challenges in terms of physical strength, mentality, and tactical adjustments and reserves.

First round.

Xie Mingyang versus Ding Xiaowei.

Before the game started, the coaches of both teams were nervously but methodically analyzing and arranging playing tactics for their players.

"Although Xie Mingyang won the Youth Championship and played very well in this trial, you have a very obvious advantage when playing against him."

Teacher Liu spoke a little quickly, but every word was clear to hear. "From the Youth Championship to this selection, you have only played against each other once. Although you lost last time, you lost because of luck, not strength."

“This time, your playing style is more flexible than last time. In addition, you have made it all the way to the semi-finals and have an expert to practice with you, so we are not panicking at all when facing Xie Mingyang.”

Ding Xiaowei smiled bitterly and said, "Master Liu, I wasn't panicking at all, but when you suddenly mentioned 'there is a master', I suddenly shuddered in my heart."

"It's okay. It's still too early for us to meet Chen...that person. Let's get past Xie Mingyang first."

Teacher Liu smiled.

Then, his smile faded and he became serious again, continuing, "Because it's a best-of-seven format, it requires more physical strength from the chopper, you know that."

"In the first game, especially the first six balls, we mainly used slice shots to get our own feel and also to test Xie Mingyang's feel."

"If you're losing the first six balls, change your play immediately."

"After you get on the court, you must move and shout. You must not lose your momentum."

“Come on, come on! Come on, come on!”

……

the other side.

Xie Mingyang's coach also did not slack off at all.

"You played against Ding Xiaowei in the last Youth Championship, so you should know how difficult it is to slice the ball with long rubber."

"But don't worry, let's play it steady this time. You have to know that no matter how much the backspin ball spins or floats, it is still a backspin ball, so you must spin it when you need to, and you must charge hard when you need to. But don't be too tense with your hands and feet, play it steady and relaxed."

"In addition, Ding Xiaowei's playing style in this trial has changed. He has made his long rubber more aggressive, but it is not stable. He may not dare to use it in the final."

"Once we find that he shows signs of changing his style of play, it means that he is beginning to feel guilty. We will increase our offensive power and completely suppress his momentum." ...

Li Qian, one of the referees, glanced at the timer on the table.

It was exactly two o'clock.

Li Qian stood up and reminded, "Please invite the athletes from both sides to enter the venue."

After encouraging each other with their respective coaches, Xie Mingyang and Ding Xiaowei walked quickly to the referee's table with towels and rackets.

toss a coin.

Guess first.

Xie Mingyang got the serve.

They casually placed the towel under the table, stretched out their arms for a while, and then began their pre-match practice.

at the same time.

off the field.

Liu Guoliang was chatting happily with the female reporter from Channel C: "This young player of ours is called Xie Mingyang. He is the favorite disciple of Director Wang Liqin of our Magic City team. He just won the Youth Championship. He is a very talented and capable young player..."

"The other one is Ding Xiaowei, a young player from our Qilu team. He plays with long rubber and slices the ball, which is rare in professional competitions."

The female reporter from Channel C in front of me had obviously done her homework before coming to interview.

Therefore, a point was keenly grasped from these words.

"Long rubber?"

The female reporter asked, "Is this the same style of play that the White Elephant women's team used to play?"

“No, no, no, although they are both long rubber, there are still big differences in playing styles.”

Liu Guoliang was stunned at first, then he said calmly, "The White Elephant women's team's playing style is mainly long rubber hitting the ball, while Ding Xiaowei's playing style is long rubber slicing."

"Which one do you prefer?"

The female reporter asked again.

"Being able to reach the semi-finals shows that the two young players are very strong and the competition is very close. Who will win or lose depends mainly on their on-the-spot performance, which is difficult for me to judge."

Liu Guoliang smiled and said, "Why don't we go to the women's team and take a look? Our women's team has also discovered a few good talents this time..."

Having said that, he led the female reporter and cameraman towards the women's team's competition venue.

Watched Liu Guoliang and others walk away.

Wang Hao and Wang Liqin seemed to be relieved. They immediately relaxed a lot and smiled at each other.

"Brother Li, I heard that you personally took action these past two days to give Xie Mingyang some special training, and even practiced with him at twelve o'clock in the evening."

Wang Hao smiled and said, "Before you leave, shouldn't you reimburse us for the electricity bill?"

"Haozi, look at how stingy you are."

Wang Liqin smiled and said, "You can reimburse me, but remember to issue me an invoice."

The two laughed again.

There was a pause.

Wang Hao leaned forward and looked at Xie Mingyang who was practicing: "I heard from Li Qian and the others that Xie Mingyang is indeed a good prospect. I am very optimistic about him."

"Then when he joins the national team, will you recruit him?"

Wang Liqin said half-jokingly.

"Brother Li, you are trying to tire me to death."

Wang Hao pinched his face and said, "After all, I used to be known as the 'Wang Zuxian of National Table Tennis'. Look at the wrinkles on my face now. They are all caused by being too busy."

"I see."

Wang Liqin smiled and turned his eyes, "It's Coach Wu again, and it's straight-blade horizontal hitting again. If I were you, I would be tempted too."

"Brother Li, let's put aside all factors, what do you think?"

Wang Hao looked at Wang Liqin.

"At such a young age, he has such strength. In all these years, I have only seen one person like him."

Wang Liqin said.

"Yes."

Without needing to explain, Wang Hao already understood. The corners of his mouth curled up slightly, revealing a fatherly doting expression on his wrinkled face. "I have only seen one like that."

"But, I hope there will be a second one."

(End of this chapter)