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

Chapter 440 A New Cycle, A New Team! Three Core Tasks!

The atmosphere inside the training hall was tense.

The air was filled with the mixed smell of sweat and Yunnan Baiyao (a traditional Chinese medicine).

Courtside.

Coaches Wang Liqin, Qin Zhijian, and Li Xun sometimes watched the game, and sometimes whispered among themselves.

Table 3.

With a powerful, straight-line shot after falling to the ground, Chen Jin broke through Liang Jingkun's backhand defense.

"Ten to seven!"

The referee raised his hand, indicating a point.

"Choo-hoo!"

"Zhu--"

Zhang Jiahao was covered in sweat and roared with clenched fists.

He then gave Chen Jin a high five.

His face was devoid of its usual nonchalant attitude, replaced only by focus on the game and a desire for victory.

"Just one point short."

Zhang Jiahao could hardly contain his excitement, "We're just one point away from qualifying for the men's doubles at the Doha World Table Tennis Championships..."

For professional athletes, the World Table Tennis Championships is the highest level of competition in table tennis, and the dream of all players.

Now, it's within reach.

From being sent back to the provincial team, almost ending his professional career, to now being just one step away from securing a ticket to the World Table Tennis Championships.

You can imagine how excited Zhang Jiahao was.

"Hold on!"

Chen Jin whispered a reminder, "Don't let it get turned upside down."

These words were like ice water applied to his face, instantly sobering Zhang Jiahao up considerably.

"clear."

Zhang Jiahao took a deep breath.

He forcefully suppressed the turmoil in his heart.

"Brother Jin, we still have one more serve."

Zhang Jiahao lowered his voice, "How should we play the next ball?"

On the opposite side of the table.

Liang Jingkun and Huang Youzheng were also discussing tactics for the next goal.

soon.

Both sides have reached an agreement.

everything's ready.

Zhang Jiahao serves.

Huang Youzheng receives the serve.

Chen Jin and Liang Jingkun took their positions, got into position, and prepared to fill in for the next move.

"Ok?"

But seeing that Zhang Jiahao's serving position was not on the right side of the opponent's table, but on the left side, Huang Youzheng immediately realized, "Is he going to serve to my backhand?"

"If you dare to send it, I dare to twist it!"

Thinking of this, a ruthless glint flashed in Huang Youzheng's eyes.

However, he immediately rejected the idea as soon as it came to mind.

"wrong!"

"There's definitely a trap!"

If the opponent were someone else, he would not hesitate for a moment.

But their opponent is Chen Jin.

At this crucial match point, the sudden change in the serve's landing point must have been Chen Jin's idea.

This means that there must be a pattern to this ball.

"Maybe Chen Jin just wants me to use a backhand topspin to counter and finish the game in one shot."

"We can't let him succeed."

Mind this.

Zhang Jiahao had already tossed the ball and prepared to paddle.

"laugh!"

A short backhand stroke, no spin.

Huang Youzheng stepped forward and gently swayed his hips.

The pressure of match point, coupled with the need to immediately move into position after receiving the serve to create space for teammates to hit the ball.

My hand control is a little lacking.

The return shot bounces high.

As if anticipated, Chen Jinhuang chose the left half of the table.

Liang Jingkun is a true veteran; he has an exceptional ability to provide crucial support in critical moments.

I thought Chen Jin was going to flick the ball to my forehand side.

Seeing that his prediction was wrong, Liang Jingkun forced a turn, flicking the ball back with his backhand to return it diagonally.

"Well done!"

Zhang Jiahao swung his forehand and pulled back diagonally.

It doesn't have much power, but it spins intensely.

Huang Yu-cheng quickly filled in, holding off the mid-range players, using their strength to his advantage, and quickly leading the charge down the middle.

The ball flew like lightning, chasing after Zhang Jiahao.

Zhang Jiahao tried to make a move, but it was too late.

Immediately, as if by reflex, he squatted down and lay face down on the ground.

at the same time.

Chen Jin unleashed a powerful shot.

Swing the racket, slice through the air, and stir up a gust of wind and thunder.

"Snapped!"

The small white ball instantly transformed into a fireball falling from the sky, carrying unparalleled power as it drew a C-shaped arc in mid-air before slamming into the opponent's right half of the table.

Although Liang Jingkun had already secured the landing point and was in position in advance, he underestimated the side curve of the shot.

He swung the racket with great force, but failed to hit the target.

The ping-pong ball grazed his racket, narrowly missing him.

next second.

It crashed heavily into the barrier behind it, spinning endlessly and kicking up dust and scraps of paper from the ground.

11: 7.

The score is 3-0.

"Blanching—!!!"

The moment the ball hit the ground, Zhang Jiahao leaped up, clenched his fists, and roared to the sky.

It was as if they were about to unleash all the passion, pressure, and desire that had been building up for so long.

The roar was not finished.

He suddenly turned around and rushed towards Chen Jin.

They celebrated with a hearty chest bump with Chen Jin.

Even after it was over, Zhang Jiahao's excitement had not yet been fully released.

He clenched his fists again and roared.

Doha—

"I am coming!"

At this moment.

Liang Jingkun and Huang Youzheng walked over.

"Congratulations."

"Thank you."

After nearly three hours of fierce competition, the men's doubles pair of Chen Jin and Zhang Jiahao won all three matches.

With the highest points, they unsurprisingly secured the first men's doubles ticket to the Doha World Table Tennis Championships.

"After watching the three matches, Chen Jin and Zhang Jiahao's teamwork is excellent."

Qin Zhijian's expression and tone couldn't hide his admiration: "Although Zhang Jiahao's individual strength is not as good as Chen Jin's, his footwork and ability to engage in topspin grappling are in no way inferior to Chen Jin's."

"Their doubles matches feature both grappling and finishing moves, which complement each other perfectly, resulting in an effect greater than the sum of its parts."

"I believe that Chen Jin and Zhang Jiahao will not disappoint in their performance at the Doha World Table Tennis Championships."

Wang Liqin also looked pleased.

In fact, he had been following Chen Jin and Zhang Jiahao's doubles performance at the World Junior Championships.

They knew that the two worked together like a dragon and a python.

If he were still just the director of the Shanghai Table Tennis and Badminton Center, he would naturally support Chen Jin and Zhang Jiahao 100%.

But now that he is the president of the Table Tennis Association, he has many more concerns.

Fortunately, Chen Jin and Zhang Jiahao dispelled his worries with their genuine abilities. "Indeed impressive, but..."

Wang Liqin changed the subject, looking at Chen Jin and Zhang Jiahao with a calm scrutiny in his eyes, "In terms of competition experience, especially international competition experience, they are practically blank slates."

"The intensity and pressure of the domestic selection trials are completely different from those of the World Table Tennis Championships."

As one of the three driving forces of the "Two Wangs and One Ma" era, Wang Liqin is known as the "King of World Table Tennis Championships Singles".

In addition, he has also won the men's doubles titles at the Olympics and the World Table Tennis Championships.

He was well aware of the pressure of the World Table Tennis Championships.

Moreover, the Doha World Table Tennis Championships is the first major tournament of the Los Angeles Olympic cycle.

This was also his first major test after taking office.

The pressure has increased dramatically.

"Chairman Wang, you can rest assured about this."

Sitting next to him, Li Xun smiled and suddenly said, "With Chen Jin here, competition experience is not a problem at all."

As the head coach of the Chinese national table tennis team, he was present at almost every match.

They were very familiar with Chen Jin's performance in the competition.

Moreover, Chen Jin's achievements today are something that would be difficult to attain solely through personal ability.

"That being said, we still can't be too careless."

Wang Liqin crossed his arms and pondered for a moment, "When the closed training begins, I'll call Xu Xin back to the team and give Chen Jin and Zhang Jiahao a lesson."

"We need to refine the details of doubles and our ability to handle complex situations."

Qin Zhijian laughed and said, "With Xu Xin protecting us, the men's doubles title at this World Table Tennis Championships should be a sure thing."

As we all know, Xu Xin's singles results may not be ideal.

However, his doubles skills are beyond question.

Following Chen Qi, there was a saying that "whoever has Xu Xin in doubles will win the world".

Back then, whether it was the dragon python or the mastiff python, their doubles partnership was enough to dominate their opponents.

With Xu Xin's guidance and sparring, people felt even more at ease.

……

Chen Jin and Zhang Jiahao secured the first Doha men's doubles ticket with a perfect record of three wins.

The second ticket will require an overtime round to determine who gets it.

In the end, Lin Shidong and Lin Gaoyuan won the tiebreaker, defeating Liang Jingkun and Huang Youzheng to secure the last men's doubles ticket to Doha.

No one was more excited than Zhang Jiahao to have secured the coveted World Table Tennis Championships qualification.

He flaunts his wealth to everyone he meets.

Even at one in the morning, Chen Jin and Xie Mingyang, lying in bed, could still hear Zhang Jiahao's excited but off-key singing coming from the next room.

"Little sister, sit boldly at the bow of the boat, sit at the bow of the boat, and don't look back..."

The next day.

nine in the morning.

All coaches and players of the Chinese national table tennis team gathered together for the first team meeting of the new leadership team.

Wang Liqin, Liu Guoliang, Ma Long, and others were all present.

Looking at Ma Long sitting on the stage in a suit, Zhang Jiahao whispered, "Team Leader Long has transformed into Vice Chairman Ma... When the National Games come around, 'What? Vice Chairman Ma is actually warming up,' who the hell would dare to win?"

Chen Jin glared at him: "You talk too much."

The meeting begins.

After Qin Zhijian's opening remarks, Liu Guoliang gave his concluding report.

A few days ago, during the World Cup in Macau, this fat guy who knew nothing about football was acting all high and mighty.

Now, his temples are graying, and he looks a bit haggard.

He choked up several times during his speech.

"...In order to ensure the integrity of the new leadership team during the Los Angeles Olympic cycle, I have decided to step down early."

Liu Guoliang paused for a moment, then said, "Over the years, I've been traveling around a lot and neglected my family. This opportunity will allow me to spend more time with them."

"Of course, once a member of the Chinese national table tennis team, always a member of the Chinese national table tennis team. The moment I embarked on my professional career, it was destined that I would dedicate my life to the cause of table tennis."

"I am ready to dedicate myself whenever the team needs me."

"My focus going forward will shift more towards the ITTF, to fight for more say for our Chinese table tennis team and our players on the international stage."

"Finally, I sincerely wish that under the leadership of the new team with Chairman Wang Liqin at its core, our national table tennis team can defend the glory of the national table tennis team and continue to write a glorious chapter for the national table tennis team."

"thank you all."

"Thank you."

The voice just fell.

The huge conference room was immediately filled with enthusiastic and loud applause.

Wang Chuqin, Sun Yingsha, and others had reddened eyes and were almost in tears.

Followed by.

Wang Liqin, the newly appointed president of the Chinese Table Tennis Association, delivered a speech.

First, the outstanding achievements of the Liu Guoliang era were highly praised and commended.

Secondly, the recent problems encountered by the Chinese national table tennis team were mentioned.

"...The fan culture is rampant and seriously interferes with and affects the training and competition environment of coaches and players. We must find ways to curb it."

"We are athletes, not celebrities. Things like Weibo supertopics and fan groups should not exist."

Speaking of which.

Wang Liqin paused, then glanced around at the audience.

He then continued, "A new cycle, a new look, we face three core tasks together."

"First, the battle to defend the gold medal at the Los Angeles Olympics."

"As you can all see, foreign players are catching up with us relentlessly, especially in the men's competition, where they pose a significant threat."

"But no matter how the outside world changes, the glory of our national sport must be defended; this is our foundation and mission."

"Second, the technology system is being upgraded to be more intelligent."

"Modern sports competition is no longer just a contest of strength and skill, but also a battle of technology and data."

"I had previously approached the Chinese Academy of Sciences to discuss cooperation, and they built an AI-based technical and tactical analysis platform for us."

"Didn't the Japanese team create a 'Great God'? Our AI platform is called 'Hou Yi', and we can use it during closed training."

"Third, reform of the youth selection mechanism."

"We need to build a more scientific and broader talent pool to ensure our continued success."

"certainly--"

Wang Liqin abruptly changed the subject, saying, "All long-term plans must be based on the first tough battle right now—the Doha World Table Tennis Championships."

"At the Macau World Cup, although our men's singles team ultimately won the championship, the process was thrilling and exposed problems such as fluctuations in mentality at crucial moments and a lack of methods to deal with special playing styles."

"These problems must not be taken to Doha!"

"These issues must be corrected and resolved thoroughly during the upcoming closed training sessions."

"Finally, I sincerely hope that our national table tennis team can inherit the fine traditions of the Liu era and work together with everyone to continue the glory of the national table tennis team."

Having finished speaking.

There was thunderous applause.

Head coach Li Xun immediately stood up, holding a list in his hand.

"Based on the players' recent performance and form, and after careful consideration by the coaching team and the competition in the qualifying rounds, all the qualifications for the Doha World Table Tennis Championships have been finalized."

Li Xun, head held high and chest out, declared with a booming voice, "Now I will announce this publicly—"

Men's Singles: Chen Jin, Wang Chuqin, Liang Jingkun, Lin Shidong, Xie Mingyang.

Women's Singles: Sun Yingsha, Wang Manyu, Wang Yidi, Chen Xingtong, Ye Sijia.

Men's Doubles: Chen Jin/Zhang Jiahao, Lin Gaoyuan/Lin Shidong.

Women's Doubles: Chen Xingtong/Qian Tianyi, Wang Manyu/Kuai Man.

Mixed Doubles: Sun Yingsha/Wang Chuqin, Kuai Man/Lin Shidong.

After reading the list aloud, Li Xun carefully folded it in half, looked down at the audience, and continued, "We will depart for Chengdu at four o'clock tomorrow afternoon."

"Starting the day after tomorrow, April 25th, we will begin a 4-day closed training session."

"As Chairman Wang just said, this closed training is different from the past, as we will be using an AI-based tactical analysis platform."

"This platform can not only deeply analyze the opponent's technical characteristics, tactical habits, and weaknesses, but also meticulously capture our own technical details, find areas for improvement, and achieve precision strikes."

This statement came out.

The contestants and coaches in the audience whispered among themselves, their eyes sparkling with curiosity and anticipation.

AI analysis has already been applied during training.

However, this is the first time that the Chinese national table tennis team has used such a systematic approach to closed-door training.

"Deepseek must have played a major role in this."

Zhang Jiahao said in a low voice.

"I don't know."

Chen Jin shook his head.

At this moment.

Li Xun continued, "In addition to high-tech methods, we will also recall a group of experienced veterans, such as Xu Xin, Fang Bo, Zhou Yu, Yan An, and Matt."

"During the closed training period, they will serve as sparring partners and advisors, using their experience to 'protect' you..."

(End of this chapter)