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

Chapter 470 Pre-match Warm-up! The Penhold Grip Remains Invincible!
There is less than half an hour left until the men's singles final.

However, the world outside the arena has already been ignited by this duel.

Especially online.

Major platforms have already begun promoting the campaign.

The hashtag #Men'sSinglesFinalWangChuqinVSChenJin# immediately jumped to the top of the trending topics list.

We reached the summit at rocket speed.

The discussion forum is seeing hundreds of posts refreshed every second.

The number of views quickly exceeded 100 million.

"Go Wang Chuqin!"

"Big Head, charge! Go and create your own era in table tennis!"

"Merciful God, may I offer ten pounds of my flesh in exchange for Wang Chuqin Doha's victory, Arigato."

"Based on a rational analysis by casual fans, Wang Chuqin is stronger overall, and Chen Taisun will undoubtedly lose."

"Chen Taisun got into the finals by luck. Let's see how our Da Tou teaches him a lesson, just like Zhang Jike. Our Da Tou only wins in crucial competitions."

"Big head, big head, no worries about winning the championship!"

"I bet five cents that Wang Chuqin will win 4-0!"

……

"Chen Jin, keep it up!"

"If I can see a penhold player win the World Table Tennis Championships singles title again in my lifetime, then my career as an amateur penhold player will be complete without regrets! Go Chen Jin! Go penhold players!"

"Chen Jin just finished the men's doubles final at noon. Will that affect his stamina?"

"Chen Jin: My gold is the gold of gold medals! Support Chen Jin, win the championship in Doha!"

"If there's only one Chen Jin fan in the world, then that fan is definitely me! Go Chen Jin!"

"I bet Chen Jin will sweep the field 4-0 again."

……

"Big head, big head, no worries about hiding it, you have the championship, I have a big head."

"Hopefully Chen Jin can withstand Chu Sheng's first move."

“TZMs, raise your hands and lend your light to your pigeon so that he can last 5 more seconds in front of Chen Jin.”

"I heard that the Beijing team has specially arranged five coaching teams for Chu Sheng for this Doha World Table Tennis Championships... If Chu Sheng loses with such resources, it will really be a joke."

……

All of a sudden.

Fans, haters, trolls... all sorts of people, all moved at the first sign of trouble.

On the virtual battlefield, they charged ahead, fighting fiercely like a New Year's celebration.

Every comment and every emoji is a warm-up for the upcoming final.

Douyin.

xuperman's live stream.

Xu Xin was already sitting in front of the camera.

With a significantly higher number of online viewers, it broke the record for the live stream once again.

"Brother Xin, make a prediction: who will win the championship, Chen Jin or Wang Chuqin?"

A message featuring in-game purchases appeared, standing out prominently.

Instantly.

Countless bullet comments surged like a tidal wave.

All the comments were, "Brother Xin, predict who will win the championship, Chen Jin or Wang Chuqin?"

Even with 400 degrees of myopia and 150 degrees of astigmatism, this top-ranked blind monk in the Chinese national table tennis team could not ignore it.

Moreover, Xu Xin was wearing glasses at this time.

"Uh... that's hard to guess."

Xu Xin pushed up his glasses. "All I can say is that in a final of this level, while tactical preparation is important, on-the-spot performance, mentality on crucial points, and even a little bit of luck will determine who wins the championship."

"For the past ten years, Ma Long and Fan Zhendong have taken turns winning the World Table Tennis Championships. Now that it's finally happening again, right? For Wang Chuqin and Chen Jin, it's an opportunity to win their first World Table Tennis Championships singles gold medal. Everyone will give it their all."

After all that talking, the goal was to avoid offending either side.

The comments section was relentless: "Brother Xin, stop being biased! Chen Jin or Wang Chuqin, who do you support more? Speak up!"

"Brother Xin, stop holding back and start micning it out!"

The same barrage of comments flooded the live stream, instantly engulfing the entire room.

Looking at the comments, Xu Xin smiled helplessly.

He leaned back slightly, as if he was having an internal struggle.

After a few seconds of silence, as if making up his mind, he sat up straight and faced the camera.

"Okay, I'm going all out today and I'll speak up this time."

Xu Xin clapped his hands, "From my personal perspective, I support Chen Jin more."

The voice just fell.

The barrage exploded instantly.

"It's over."

Xu Xin turned to look at his assistant and gave a self-deprecating smile, "We're going to be trending again."

"However, even if I get criticized for trending on social media, I still have to say something."

"Because I am a penhold player myself, I know all too well how difficult it is for us penhold players to get to this point in this era of 40+ plastic balls."

Xu Xin's smile faded, and his expression became more serious. "Look, both of them are top-tier penhold players in the world, Felix and Qiu Dang, but they were eliminated early in this competition."

"Although Felix was known as the 'world's number one penhold player' before Chen Jin, was in the top ten in the world, and even won a bronze medal in singles at the Paris Olympics, to be honest, his bronze medal was due not only to his own strength but also to the home advantage."

"In addition, although the Olympics attracts a lot of attention, its competitive level cannot be compared with the World Table Tennis Championships."

"The World Table Tennis Championships are the true test of a table tennis player's skill level."

"For example, I participated in the World Table Tennis Championships six times, and won the round of 32 twice, the round of 16 twice, and a bronze medal twice. What does this show? It shows that my strength is limited to reaching the semi-finals of the World Table Tennis Championships."

At this point, Xu Xin smiled again.

Then, the tone suddenly changed.

"But Chen Jin is different. He made it to the men's singles final in his first World Table Tennis Championships."

Xu Xin continued, "Do you know when the last penhold grip player reached the men's singles final of the World Table Tennis Championships was?"

At this moment, many comments appeared on the screen.

"13."

"13."

"2013, Paris World Table Tennis Championships."

……

Many fans still remember it.

After all, most of those who come to xuperman's live stream have a special affection for penhold keyboards.

"Correct."

Xu Xin nodded. "Thirteen years ago. To tell you a scary story, that was twelve years ago, friends."

"Twelve years, a whole cycle."

"These twelve years were twelve years of horizontal rule."

"I am not very talented. Although I have made some progress in the past twelve years, I am still far behind Hengban."

"Now, Chen Jin's emergence, as a 'backward' penhold grip player, is definitely an encouragement and comfort to those of us who still stick to the old-school penhold grip."

"It was Chen Jin who told us that the penhold grip is not dead, and there is still hope for it!"

Xu Xin was somewhat moved. "If even we, the old-school straight-board supporters, don't support Chen Jin, then who will?"

This statement came out.

The live stream chat exploded with comments once again.

"Support Chen Jin! Support the penhold grip!" "Go Chen Jin! Go penhold grip!"... Countless bullet comments instantly filled most of the live stream room.

"In addition, the racket that Chen Jin used at the Doha World Table Tennis Championships was a special product of our xuperman."

Xu Xin turned around and called out, "Come on, post the link for the same product."

"No, no, I was just kidding."

Xu Xin laughed heartily, "Chen Jin's special edition is currently unavailable."

"But I believe it will happen soon."

"If Chen Jinzhen can sign a contract with our Xuperman, I will sell everything I own to start my own factory and never do contract manufacturing."

"In addition, Chen Jin is our teammate on the Shanghai team."

"Therefore, both for public and private reasons, I must give this support in full."

……

at the same time.

"Zhang Coach Ping Pong" live stream room.

Coach Zhang has also started broadcasting. He is sitting at a table with the training hall as the background.

On the table are rackets, glue, scissors, and a sponge.

Coach Zhang skillfully applied glue to his racket while watching the live chat.

"Coach Zhang, who do you think will win tonight?"

A comment on the screen asked.

"Ah."

With a snort, Instructor Zhang lowered his head and continued applying glue, not even lifting his eyelids. His tone was resolute: "What's there to say?"

"As long as Chen Jin plays to his usual standard, we're guaranteed to win!"

The voice just fell.

The comments section immediately went wild.

"Holy crap, are you really that bold to say that? Without even a moment's hesitation."

"As expected of someone so thirsty, he dares to speak his mind as always!"

"Coach Zhang, watch out for being blown up by TZM."

"I like your comments, but please remember to turn off your personal biases."

After applying the rubber and setting it aside to dry, Coach Zhang finally looked up and glanced at the live chat.

"hehe."

Coach Zhang chuckled again, "What's there to be afraid to say, right?"

"In competitive sports, strength and results speak for themselves."

"I'm not on the national team now, and I don't have to worry about what others think, so what's wrong with me speaking my mind?"

"Are we not allowed to speak the truth at all?"

"Chen Jin's current strength and form are stronger than Wang Chuqin's, that's a fact. If you can't even admit that, how can you compete with him?"

talking.

Coach Zhang picked up another piece of rubber. "Of course, performance on the day is also very important. What if Wang Chuqin has a breakout performance, or Chen Jin is not in good form?"

"But, as long as he plays normally, Chen Jin is guaranteed to win."

"Who do you think you are, knowing nothing about ping-pong? ... Heh."

Coach Zhang smiled and said, "I've watched Chen Jin's matches. His forehand and backhand single-stroke quality and continuous attacking ability are definitely no weaker than Wang Hao and I were back then."

"The key is that Chen Jin not only has two powerful shots, but also has very delicate short ball skills. He can use short shots, long shots, flicks, and deflections with ease and in a variety of ways. Just like Marin, he has skill and finesse."

"The first three shots were aggressive, the speed of the swings was frightening, and the footwork was agile and the running ability was very strong, covering the entire table in one second."

"He's practically an upgraded version of Wang Hao!"

"Wang Chuqin's first three strokes were good, and his swing speed in the mid-to-close range was also very fast, but his lower body strength was not good, which made his footwork a bit loose. Once he stepped back from the table, he immediately fell into a passive position."

"The problem is, Chen Jin's first three shots and mid-to-close range speed are no worse than yours, and he also has the ability to continuously hit mid-to-long range shots. How can you compete with him?"

His bold remarks immediately sparked heated discussions in the live stream.

Shortly after.

The hashtag #ZhangJikePredictsChenJinWinsTheChampionship# has already topped the trending search list.

It caused quite a stir online.

……

The whole world is exploding in the live broadcast room.

It was also incredibly lively.

The three giants of the global explosion, Fang Bo, Fang Yinchi, and Chen Hao, were already in place.

"Some viewers in the live chat asked, if Fang Bo and Chen Jin were to fight, who would be stronger?"

Fang Bo sat in the middle of the three and chuckled, "I'm not bragging, but Chen Jin and I are about the same."

"I can prove it."

Chen Hao raised his hand, "Brother Bo did drink half a catty and eight liang today."

"And it was half a jin of fake liquor."

Fang Yinchi laughed and said, "Otherwise, I wouldn't be able to say such big words."

"Haha, they're really evenly matched, I'm not lying to you."

Fang Bo himself was starting to lose his composure. "However, Chen Jin is half a pound of gold, while I am eight ounces of scrap iron."

"You can pull him down."

Fang Yinchi retorted, "Scrap iron? Brother Bo, you're more like eight ounces of waste paper."

"Whether it's scrap iron or waste paper, it's all weighed eight ounces once it's on the scale."

Fang Bo wasn't angry and smiled.

The three of them burst into laughter.

The live stream room was filled with a cheerful atmosphere.

"If we're talking about the three of us, I'm the man who's closest to Chen Jin."

Chen Hao said in a serious tone.

"You? Give me a break!"

Fang Yinchi glanced at him and said, "Watching you play, your backhand is wrong, your forehand is crippled, your footwork is drunk, and your mentality is broken. You still dare to bark like a dog. You're not even worthy to carry Chen Jin's shoes."

The last word, "match," was spoken with spittle flying, spraying all over Chen Hao's face.

"Yes."

Fang Bo immediately chimed in, "Besides both having the surname Chen, how are you similar to Chen Jin?"

"I'm just wondering, we both have the surname Chen, so why is there such a big difference in how we play basketball?"

Fang Yinchi immediately burst into laughter, bending over with mirth.

"Not only do they share the same surname."

Chen Hao solemnly defended himself, "If the fortune teller hadn't said that I lacked the element of water in my five elements, I would have been named Chen Jin, handsome and rich, and lived to be ninety-seven."

"Wow, so this is how you ride the wave of popularity?"

Fang Bo pouted and said, "Then I must say, my maternal grandfather's surname is also Chen."

"report!"

Fang Yinchi raised his hand, "My maternal grandfather's surname was also Chen."

The live stream chat erupted in laughter once again.

Jokes are jokes.

Fang Bo immediately steered the conversation back on track: "Some viewers asked in the live chat, 'Brother Bo, who do you think will win the championship?'"

"Well... I'm more optimistic about whoever can lift the St. Bride's Cup."

Fang Yinchi also said, "In competitive sports, especially top-level matches like this, there are too many uncertainties regarding strength, experience, performance on the day, mentality, etc., so it's really hard to say."

"Based on recent performances, Chen Jin has a higher chance of winning."

Chen Hao said.

"Chen Jin's performance was indeed outstanding, but it's not like Da Tou has no chance at all."

Fang Bo immediately added.

They are all masters of balancing things, their main goal being to avoid offending anyone.

……

Compared to the noise online.

Inside the training hall of Lusail Stadium, however, there was a calm that seemed to foreshadow an impending storm.

The huge venue was completely empty.

On a maroon ping-pong table, a five-star red flag is laid out flat.

Chen Jin and Wang Chuqin stood silently on either side of the table, their eyes fixed on Wang Liqin.

Wang Liqin was tall and had a calm face. His gaze swept over the two people in front of him.

"The final is about to begin. I hope you will give it your all on the court and play to your own style and level."

Wang Liqin said calmly, "When disputes arise, listen to the referee and remain calm and composed."

"You must understand that you represent the Chinese table tennis team. Our goal is not only to win gold medals, but also to win clean gold medals."

Chen Jin and Wang Chuqin nodded solemnly.

"All right."

Wang Liqin waved his hand, "Go and prepare."

"come on!"

Subsequently.

After watching the two of them, each carrying a heavy backpack, they walked silently towards the backstage waiting area of ​​the final venue, guided by the staff.

At the end of the passage lies the arena, but also the battlefield.

It is a decisive battle between kings.

Only the truly strong can have their names engraved on the supreme St. Bride's Cup!

(End of this chapter)