22 Table Tennis League ②

◎【Two-in-One】Mixed Doubles: Zhu Qi/Song Linzhou vs. Jin Lili/Lyu Yaohan①◎

The competition is in full swing.

The audience at the scene was also left wanting more.

Odd days are for singles and team events, and even days are for doubles and mixed doubles events.

Various tricks, worth the price of admission.

Who doesn’t like the sight of young people in their prime sweating on the field?

Just looking at it makes you feel energetic, vigorous and refreshed!

Every time after the game, when the players are about to leave, there will be spectators running to the first row, waving and cheering at the athletes, which is very emotional.

The atmosphere among the players and fans at this time was really good. Zhu Qi was very emotional.

When she and A Shui reached the women's doubles semi-finals, Ren Xinhua and Xu Dong also came and sat in the audience watching their semi-final match.

In the team, A Shui has always been Zhu Qi's sparring partner.

The two of them know each other's playing style very well.

In a high-speed sport like table tennis, as soon as the ball starts flying, it all depends on the tacit understanding accumulated during daily training to make the first-hand judgment.

The moment your teammate hits the ball, you should anticipate what kind of ball the opponent will return, and then quickly prepare to receive the ball.

Two balls of fire ran back and forth in front of the pool table, sometimes you were on the left, sometimes I was on the right.

The rackets were swung back and forth, sending the ball flying everywhere.

Xu Dong didn't expect that the two girls would play so well in their first doubles match.

Ren Xinhua said: "Bao Bao is usually quite tense during matches, but now with A Shui by his side, he's a little more relaxed and it's actually quite pleasing to watch."

Xu Dong nodded in agreement.

Then I felt a secret anticipation in my heart.

Is it possible for Tokyo to let Bao Bao compete for the doubles position?

After watching for a while, Ren Xinhua was very pleased. "Not bad, Ah Shui's long rubber is showing its effect. They use Bao Bao as the main attacker, while Ah Shui is responsible for reducing the spin and hitting back the counterspin. I always thought Ah Shui was a mid-table player, but I didn't expect her to be so good at receiving from far table."

"The main thing is that Shui is also very serious and has been training with Baobao all the time. Both children are very hardworking and diligent. Originally, my main focus was on training Baobao's mixed doubles, and I didn't pay much attention to the women's doubles. Shui is doing well on his own, and with this pairing, I feel that they will definitely be in the top four." As soon as Xu Dong finished speaking, the audience cheered.

A Shui used the red long rubber to offset the opponent's spin, turning the backspin ball into a topspin ball and hitting it over, but the ball went into the net when the opponent received it.

In the third game, Zhu Qi and Fang Miao won.

[Game point, Zhu Qi/Fang Miao lead 2:1.]

"Yeah!" Ah Shui raised his arms and shouted.

It’s so easy to play women’s doubles with Bao Bao!

I just need to hit the ball, and the next ball will definitely be taken care of by Baobao.

It feels so good to hug someone’s thigh!

Leading the way, the podium is within reach!

Xu Dong was also very happy.

When I first chose A Shui, it was mainly because of his long rubber playing style.

When anti-glue is popular, fewer and fewer people are willing to play with special rubber.

Nowadays, almost all tactical systems are based on the use of anti-glue on both sides of the horizontal board.

Playing with horizontal rackets and anti-glue is easier to achieve results. And in the youth stage, it is also unrivaled.

People always want to take shortcuts.

Not everyone is like Song Linzhou, who wants to promote the Chinese straight board and would rather suffer a little more.

The reason why A Shui uses long rubber is simply because his first coach used long rubber. He was most familiar with this style of play when he was young, and he also achieved some small results, so he insisted on using it.

Later, I joined the national team. Because my long rubber wasn't very offensive, I played defensively, preferring to "mushroom" with my opponent and waste time. Jin Lili even mocked me for my "old lady" style.

But Zhu Qi told her, "There's no distinction between strong and weak tactical systems. Who can say which is more powerful, the forehand or the backhand? There's no definition for this. In sports, the real power lies in the athlete, whether he or she can maximize this unique style of play."

This rubber is a natural nemesis of spin flow.

In the future, China, Japan and South Korea will focus on rotation and auxiliary swing speed.

If you master the long rubber technique, won’t you be able to carve out a niche for yourself?

A Shui thinks Zhu Qi is a lucky star.

How can every word touch my heart?

He Qianlu listened to this and shed silent tears. You have never said such gentle words to me to comfort a child.

He Qianlu also offered some tactical advice to Ah Shui, saying, "The long rubber not only helps you hit with power, but also creates counterspin. Your backhand is made of inverted rubber, so you can defend with your forehand and attack with your backhand. If you practice your backhand technique well, you can catch your opponent off guard."

Ah Shui's eyes lit up and he nodded repeatedly.

He Qianlu's words actually reminded Zhu Qi. She hooked her arm around A Shui's shoulder and whispered something in his ear.

The two girls on the opposite side were already having a hard time, and they didn't let their guard down at the beginning. They knew that there was a 15-year-old gold throne on the opposite side, so they fought with all their might, but in the end they were still beaten by a score of [2:1].

People really can't see too many talented players.

You will be desperate!

At the beginning of the fourth game, Zhu Qi and A Shui's playing style became more aggressive!

The opponent serves.

A Shui ran towards where the ball landed, ready to catch it.

The girl on the opposite side finally adapted to A Shui's long rubber playing style. She knew that the ball she served was topspin, and after being rubbed by the long rubber particles, it would be a backspin ball when it was hit back. She immediately got ready to receive the ball.

But unexpectedly, A Shui turned the racket quickly. The red side was originally facing outward, but now the black side was facing outward, and the ball was still a topspin ball.

This is an offensive ball!

The girl on the other side quickly defended and sliced ​​a high ball over...

Zhu Qi immediately moved to the center line and scored with a smash!

The tactics worked.

A Shui made a feint.

Zhu Qi rushed forward with his sword.

[Score of the fourth game: Zhu Qi/Fang Miao 1:0]

The two girls on the opposing team said that the game was too painful.

Zhu Qi and A Shui stood behind the table, like two giants carrying a turret on their shoulders, firing at themselves with a "bang bang bang".

The two right-handed girls on the other side were overwhelmed by the attack. Sometimes they were pinned to the near table, and sometimes they were pinned to the far table and couldn't run back. They were also dizzy from the back and forth rotation and lost points again and again.

The white ball flew high, landed on the ground, rolled to the baffle, and then the referee announced.

[The fourth round ends with a score of 3:1. Zhu Qi of the Jianghuai team and Fang Miao of the Shanghai team win. They advance to the finals. Please report to the chief referee for signature...]

"Yeah!" Ah Shui jumped up and down.

Xu Dong stood on the stage and applauded the two girls in his group.

A man right below was also very excited and raised his arms and shouted.

One just happened to be looking down, and the other just happened to be looking up.

After the two looked at each other, the air seemed to collide.

He was a little tanned and thin. When he was an athlete, he had some fat-wrapped muscles that looked more solid, but now it seemed that there was only a thin layer of sebum left on his body outside the muscles.

In addition to his impressive achievements and fame, he was also a famous handsome guy in the national table tennis team.

It's not just because of his good-looking facial features, but because he has a kind of masculine dominance and strength that is unique to men, like a lion that looks down on the crowd.

They grew up together.

They have known each other since they were ten years old in the Black Sea Province.

She used to really hate this person and always felt that he was making things difficult for her.

Later, she really liked this man because he helped her wipe away her tears bit by bit and said softly, "I will let you win from now on."

A lion will lower his proud head in front of his lover.

He was the most metallic man of that era, with unbendable bones all over his body.

Later, he gave the hardest "bone" in his body to Zhu Qi.

Transform into the lightest wings of the young bird, allowing her to fly freely on the world stage.

Their eyes met and they separated immediately, but Xu Dong still felt his heart skip a beat, and then he could no longer find a normal rhythm.

There was deafening cheering from the audience, but Xu Dong could hardly hear it at all.

"Very good! This is what it looks like after the long rubber takes effect!" He Qianlu praised.

Ah Shui hugged Zhu Qi and cheered, "Great! We advanced!"

/

The semi-finals are over.

This means that Zhu Qi and A Shui have already secured the podium and can compete for the championship and runner-up.

Although it is happy table tennis.

But everyone still wants to get results.

After all, there is a prize for winning!

The women's doubles final was on the second day, but Zhu Qi couldn't leave for the time being because the mixed doubles semi-finals would follow in the afternoon.

Since there was no subsequent competition, A Shui changed into his sportswear and sat in the audience, watching the next game next to Xu Dong.

"Baobao has a hard time. He has to take care of three events, one after another." Ah Shui leaned forward, supporting himself on the backrest of the seat in front of him, humming while eating the snacks Xu Dong brought over.

Zhu Qi went to the locker room and changed into a blue jersey. When he came out, he found an empty bench and sat down, then began to wipe the sweat off his face with a towel.

Because playing women's doubles took some energy, her body temperature is slightly high.

He Qianlu brought her a bottle of ice water and placed it on her neck to cool her down. He was a little anxious: "Can you do it? The mixed doubles match will start in half an hour, and there are male players on the other side!"

"Women's doubles, just warm-up!" Zhu Qi threw away the towel and stood up.

He Qianlu curled his lips, thinking that he was really good at bragging. The sweat from the warm-up soaked his jersey.

This damn girl is so stubborn. He was not like this before.

Tsk.

The Jianghuai physical trainer brought Zhu Qi a glass of glucose water from somewhere and said, "Drink this. I stole it from the Donglu team. It will give you endless energy."

After the women's doubles and men's doubles, the next is mixed doubles.

The most chaotic period during the competition is when the two events switch.

Those who just finished the game are packing up to leave.

The players for the next stage of the game rushed to the court in a hurry.

The scene was in chaos. No one could tell which team's players and which team's staff members were. They were all piled together and shouting at the top of their lungs.

“I’m filming?!”

"Where's my towel?!"

"Where's my coat?!"

Zhu Qi didn't know how the Chaojing team found him.

Song Linzhou looked at her soaked hair and said caringly, "You've just finished the women's doubles match, you must be very tired. If there are any difficult spins later, let me take them. I'll take care of them for you."

Zhu Qi put down the glucose water and felt his strength recover by 10%. He shook his head and said, "It's okay. I have enough strength. Let's stick to the plan we made before. The right half is mine, and the left half is yours."

The mixed doubles semi-finals begin.

The host's voice was transmitted through the outdoor speakers to the ears of everyone in all directions.

[The mixed doubles semi-finals are now starting. Please enter the venue!]

With the referee leading the way, Zhu Qi and Song Linzhou followed one after another into the competition area.

The person coming over was an old acquaintance.

Jin Lili, and the World Cup men's singles champion Lu Yaohan, nicknamed Big Bear.

The media had been waiting nearby, snapping photos and even thinking of a headline for the game.

——[The clash of the "Golden Throne" of the men's and women's singles in the World Championship Cup! 】

Logically speaking.

The women's table tennis track is completely different from the men's table tennis track.

In the 1980s, although both belonged to the national table tennis team, their training was completely separate.

For a long time, the men's table tennis team trained in Chaoyang and the women's table tennis team trained in a training camp in Qinghai.

Later, in order to promote the masculine style of play of women's table tennis, the two teams were trained together, and the management center was expanded and renovated.

Now mixed doubles events have been added to international competitions.

This meant that the male and female teams' tracks were put together.

From the first day of the mixed doubles competition, the venue was packed with crowds, onlookers and curious reporters.

Song Linzhou said to her, "Daxiong is the absolute main force of the men's table tennis team. Like you, he has only won the World Championship Cup among the three major tournaments."

Zhu Qi also had an impression of this person.

The one who beat Han Taiyang.

But the "Golden Throne" and the "Golden Throne" are still different.

Big Bear himself is aware of this.

He has been in the national team for so long and has always been trained as an absolute main reserve. The coaches have also taken good care of him.

All the coaching qualifications, technical improvements and sports equipment are of the best quality.

Just in this year's World Cup, they narrowly defeated Han Taiyang.

Even Chairman Ren said that he was lucky and won the men's singles championship by chance.

However, this girl was from the provincial team, and she won the "Golden Throne" simply by relying on her own strength and ability to respond on the spot.

A heartfelt emotion lingered in Big Bear's chest.

The young are really to be feared.

Both sides toss a coin to choose the venue and receive the serve.

Zhu Qi and Song Linzhou got the chance to serve.

Very good, we can seize the initiative.

The game started and both sides shook hands.

When Jin Lili came over to shake hands with Zhu Qi, she glanced at Zhu Qi and quickly pulled away, as if she would be annoyed if she looked at Zhu Qi any longer.

Zhu Qi could even hear the sound of her back teeth crunching.

Ever since the two of them had a match in the national team due to a "betting on football" incident a month ago, Jin Lili has been holding back her energy, ready to get back at them on the court.

Fines are minor matters.

The most important thing is that the captain actually forbade himself from participating in foreign competitions.

For athletes who want to compete in the World Games.

The ban was too much of a blow.

It is easy to lose world ranking points if you miss any world-class matches.

Not to mention Zhu Qi, the player who won the singles championship of the World Cup, and directly rushed from outside the top 300 to the top 20.

Seeing Jin Lili, Ah Shui felt a little unhappy. He tilted his head and asked Maomao, "Isn't she banned? How can she still play table tennis?"

"The ban is only for external parties. The Ping Pong Tournament is an internal competition and does not count towards the World Volleyball points. Her provincial team called Master Fo to plead for her, and Master Fo agreed to let her participate." Maomao said.

"Tsk." Ah Shui said disdainfully.

But for Jin Lili at this moment, whether or not to get the bonus is secondary.

She wants to use this table tennis tournament to take revenge on Zhu Qi!!!

But unfortunately, in the women's singles, Jin Lili lost to Chang Hongxia in her group and stopped in the quarterfinals.

Mixed doubles is the best opportunity for Jin Lili to redeem herself.

It was also to prove to the national team coaching staff that I had the absolute ability to represent the Chinese team in the three major tournaments and compete for the mixed doubles event at the Tokyo World Games!

Now Ding Shushu has been abandoned by the coaching staff, and this is something that everyone has accepted.

Then the ones who can be ranked in the entire women's team are Chang Hongxia, Maomao, myself and... hum, we can barely count the newcomer Zhu Qi.

Sister Hongxia is getting older, and in two years she may focus mainly on doubles and women's team.

It's impossible to let a team of athletes who just arrived not long ago participate in the Tokyo World Games, right?

From this perspective, the singles spots should go to Maomao and Jin Lili...

...But there is always a chance of something happening.

Coach Da Mi gave Jin Lili countless warnings, saying, "After all, the Tokyo World Games are still two years away, and there's a qualifying tournament in between. No one can predict what the future holds. Based on my observations of Chairman Ren, and even Coach Jiang's comments that Chairman Ren truly adores Zhu Qi, who knows what might happen if she actually lets her compete in the World Games as a 17-year-old minor. After all, the World Games have no age restrictions, and there are 13- and 14-year-olds competing on the diving platform next door. Regardless, you've been with the national team longer than Zhu Qi and have a more solid training foundation. Don't rush things now. Once your suspension is over, play more matches and work your way back up in the rankings. Then you'll have a chance to compete for a singles spot!"

Coach Dami encouraged Jin Lili with all her might.

And Jin Lili also sincerely believed that this was the case.

Although Jin Lili and Daxiong have just formed a mixed doubles team, they have previously teamed up with others in men's and women's doubles, and have won some places in international competitions, so they have a foundation in doubles.

Anyway, no matter what, it's better than Zhu Qi and Song Linzhou who just trained at home for a month!

The game begins.

The smell of gunpowder was so thick that it was choking.

He Qianlu also felt that Zhu Qi's condition in the mixed doubles was completely different from when she played women's doubles in the morning!

The brows are furrowed, the arms are stretched back and tensed, the waist is slightly bent, and the back is arched.

Right from the start, he started serving with a rapid, running serve beyond the baseline.

It’s basically treated as the World Cup!

What happened?

Baobao, does she have a grudge against the people on the other side?

Everyone knew that Zhu Qi's "super-baseline rapid running serve" was taught to her by He Qianlu himself. When they saw Zhu Qi posing in this classic serve posture, all the reporters began to hold their breath and show expressions of appreciation and anticipation.

Jin Lili had a shadow on this serve.

It’s not that I haven’t seen serves beyond the baseline before, but Zhu Qi’s talent in table tennis is truly amazing. He can hit this serve low and with great spin.

I don't know how she practiced it.

Pick it up.

The ball went out of bounds.

Swing it down.

The ball hits the net.

Very difficult to bear.

But Big Bear made a move to prepare to catch the ball, and Jin Lili moved slightly to the side to give Big Bear space to play.

Daxiong's wrist steered the racket horizontally in front of him, anticipating the impact of Zhu Qi's serve. He then twisted it clockwise, causing the cue ball to spin against the racket. This weakened the ball's natural spin, allowing him to counterattack with even more powerful spin!

As the ball turned, it formed an extremely amazing "C"-shaped arc in the air, passed the net, and landed steadily on Song Linzhou's right hand side.

Song Linzhou hit the ball with his forehand, but it went out of bounds.

Jin Lili and Big Bear scored.

[First game, small score, Zhu Qi/Song Linzhou 0 VS 1 Jin Lili/Lyu Yaohan]

Zhu Qi was stunned for a moment, without much reaction, waiting for Song Linzhou to serve.

This technique of Daxiong is called backhand twist and pull, and is placed in the backhand system.

The so-called twisting and pulling means “twisting” the bottle cap and “pulling” the ball with your hand, twisting and then pulling.

It can remove the spin from the ball and create a strange arc of the ball.

Zhu Qi remained silent, thinking: Han Taiyang ate a lot of this twisted noodles in the World Cup final, and it really doesn’t taste good.

Many young men's table tennis players like to call Lu Yaohan "Big Bear".

It’s not because there is a fat tiger in the team, but because he is tall, strong and muscular.

The man standing opposite was about 1.88 meters tall with a muscular body, looking very burly.

Zhu Qi received several balls from Big Bear and felt the heaviness of this highly muscular physique, which made his fingers sore.

In a short while, the score began to rise in favor of Lu Yaohan and Jin Lili.

The first game ended quickly.

The small score is 7:11.

[First game, Zhu Qi/Song Linzhou 0:1 Lv Yaohan/Jin Lili]

Song Linzhou held the racket and said apologetically, "I'm sorry, the points were lost with me..."

"Big Bear's first three shots are very delicate. After he pulls back, he creates forehand opportunities for his teammates." Zhu Qi waved his hand, reassuring him. "But they're both right-handed. Try to pull after the fourth shot and mobilize them. When I find an opportunity, I'll attack their left half. Watch my positioning."

"Okay, I'll feed you the ball." Song Linzhou nodded.

The two of them returned to the table, carrying their rackets.

When playing backhand, the shortcomings of Song Linzhou's straight racket were revealed.

Because the backhand of a straight racket can only use push-top to receive the ball, the ball's trajectory is relatively simple.

The backhand of the horizontal racket can also create various different rotations, which means that whenever it is Song Linzhou's turn to receive the ball, no matter who the two opponents are, they will attack the backhand area together.

Song Linzhou felt very uncomfortable under the pressure.

Zhu Qi started thinking about how to get more points.

After all, the person on the other side is her mortal enemy.

It doesn’t matter who she loses to, as long as she loses to Jin Lili—she hasn’t been able to sleep well this year!

The ball flew back and forth across the table. One second he'd caught a topspin shot, and the next, a white light flashed straight toward Zhu Qi. It was a low, backhanded shot! This was Zhu Qi's chance!

Zhu Qi subconsciously flipped the racket over and immediately used his backhand to tear the ball apart when it was coming towards him.

Swish——

Boom——

Whoosh——

After the white ball landed on the opposite table, it bounced up in an arc.

There were bursts of laughter from the audience.

Zhu Qi was stunned for a moment and wanted to slap himself in the face.

Damn it, I forgot this is doubles.

You can't catch the ball twice!

Damn, what a pity!

Big Bear was shocked when he saw the white ball spinning at his feet.

Although this point was given to his side, Big Bear still praised it.

Is this a spin that a fifteen-year-old girl can perform?

Her twisting and pulling blocked Zhu Qi's serve, and combined with Jin Lili's "non-spinning" ball, she also won a lot of points.

It seems like they are slightly ahead, but the situation is not optimistic.

Song Linzhou and Daxiong are roommates.

Moreover, from the second national team to now, the two can be considered each other's childhood sweethearts.

They have a very good understanding of each other's tactical systems.

I don't know why, but I always feel like there's something wrong with Song Linzhou's straight-edge board today...but I can't put my finger on it.

He Qianlu called a timeout for the two to adjust the status of Zhu Qi and Song Linzhou.

"Your biggest problem right now is that you rely too much on three-ball kills. The two opponents have good coordination. Although they are both right-handed, their movement and switching are very well connected. Only by letting them run can we have a chance..." The coach of the Chaojing team stood behind the backboard and spoke quickly.

"The noise interference outside the court is very serious now. It is very difficult for you to hear the friction sound of 'the ball is spinning'. If this is the case, you might as well just hit it directly. Also, don't catch the ball that is not yours..." He Qianlu wanted to stand in front of the table and play for Zhu Qi.

Zhu Qi glared at him. "I know, I know. I'm used to it! I've played singles all my life, and it's not like I can just change this habit!"

"I was just afraid that you'd forget and you'd get carried away again..." He Qianlu cursed.

"It's my fault. I didn't lay the groundwork for a few of the balls, making it difficult for Baobao to receive them," Song Linzhou said quickly. "Otherwise, I'll be responsible for receiving Daxiong in the next round..."

He wanted to share some of the pressure with himself and not put it all on Zhu Qi.

"Are you kidding?" Zhu Qi interrupted him. "We agreed that I'd be the main attacker and you'd feed the ball. If we keep playing like this in the next game, we can't lose."

Song Linzhou nodded obediently: "Oh, okay."

He Qianlu had never seen this young man before. When he left the team, Song Linzhou was only 13 years old and still on the Chaojing team. But now, seeing this boy so well, he praised him approvingly: "Just hit more topspin. Baobao is good at it."

"Okay." Song Linzhou said quickly.

He Qianlu muttered a few more words to Zhu Qi, and the break time was up.

Zhu Qi walked back to the table in anger.

Before, the training ground was relatively empty, and the friction sound of "spinning or not spinning the ball" was very clear, and even had some echoes brought by the open environment, so Zhu Qi could hear the difference between spinning and not spinning the ball.

But now the whole venue is full of spectators, and there is a lot of noise from outside the venue.

Zhu Qi tried very hard to catch the difference in Jin Lili's serve, but it was still easy to make mistakes in judgment.

That’s right…

She couldn’t hear clearly…and the person on the other end couldn’t hear clearly either!

Thinking of this, Zhu Qi came up with an idea and patted Song Linzhou on the shoulder.

Song Linzhou understood and leaned forward slightly, extending his ear...