153 Debt of Favor
◎ Money is easy to repay, but a favor... is hard to repay.◎
The team will organize a mixed doubles practice match, and it will involve more than just the two groups of Zhu Qi and Song Linzhou, and Qin Xiaoba and A Shui.
Including other players, they also need to be randomly matched.
While the roster from this mixed doubles practice match isn't guaranteed to qualify for the World Games, it will serve as a reference. Coaches will need to consider the results of each mixed doubles group's pairings, as well as the individual characteristics of each player and their teamwork.
All aspects must be considered comprehensively.
From the moment it was decided to organize the mixed doubles practice match, Ren Xinhua sat alone in the head coach's position, with a pile of materials full of notes spread out next to him. He did not communicate with other coaches and just looked through all the previous records by himself.
Zhu Qi looked at Ren Xinhua's furrowed brows. Many young players were afraid when they saw Ren Xinhua's tense face. They always felt that Ren Xinhua's qualifications and position were there, so many times they didn't dare to look Ren Xinhua in the eye when they met.
But Zhu Qi knew that this was because Ren Xinhua's stomach disease had recurred.
The mixed doubles practice match was supposed to take place yesterday, but Ren Xinhua went to the hospital for a bottle of anti-inflammatory medication and now has antibacterial tape on the back of her hand. Due to age, the blue veins on the back of her hand are almost threatening to break through the loose skin.
Also, as a head coach, he has to participate in athlete-related training all year round, so his fingers are much thicker than those of normal people, and appear very rough against his thin skin.
Zhu Qi watched from the side and realized with real sense that people will eventually grow old.
I had only lived to my thirties before, but I had also experienced a rapid decline in all aspects of my body functions and the feeling of my vital signs being on the verge of death.
During his time with the national team, Ren Xinhua exemplified the qualities of a true parent, meticulously caring for every player. Whether it was training issues or the players' family matters, he meticulously took care of them.
Zhu Qi felt that this was the quality a national-level coach should possess.
Although I am also a coach by profession, compared with Ren Xinhua, I still have some things to learn in the coaching field.
As if noticing Zhu Qi's gaze, Ren Xinhua glanced towards Zhu Qi's position and then waved at him, "Bao Bao, come here."
Zhu Qi walked over, and Ren Xinhua moved a stool from the side and let Zhu Qi sit next to him.
The head coach's position has a very wide field of view, facing the entire table, and he can see almost every detail of the set-up of the playing field.
The other tables, chairs and benches around are some distance away from the head coach's position, so there seems to be a lot of space available. Sitting here, you inexplicably have a feeling of overlooking the world.
Zhu Qi thought to himself that the position of the head coach is different from that of an ordinary player.
"How is it? Have you regained the touch you had when playing mixed doubles?" Ren Xinhua asked with a smile.
Her tone was exactly the same as when she first met Zhu Qi in Zhu Qi's home in Jianghuai Province.
Zhu Qi also answered frankly: "After a few days of practice, I feel that there is no difference from before, so it should be fine. However, there are also several good mixed doubles pairs in the team recently, and I may not be able to beat them."
Ren Xinhua saw that Zhu Qi was still so steady and well-spoken, and many of his behaviors were not much different from when he was fifteen years old.
If it weren't for the fact that Zhu Qi had grown taller and looked much stronger over the years, Ren Xinhua would always feel that time had stopped ten years ago.
I have been teaching for so long. Although the four great table tennis players of the 1980s were all excellent and withstood the entire transition from the 1980s to the 1990s, none of them were better than the little girl in front of me.
People who have achieved the same success as her are not younger than her, and those who are younger than her cannot reach the heights she has achieved today.
Although many foreign media always like to criticize the Chinese team and always want to cultivate some athletes who can topple the Great Wall of Table Tennis, they still express praise for Zhu Qi every time they mention him.
Ren Xinhua discussed the development of some young players with Zhu Qi and wanted to hear Zhu Qi's opinions. "Xiao Lingdang has been on the national team for four or five years. I watched her play a while ago and felt that many of her techniques and tactics were very similar to yours. You taught her all of this, right?"
Zhu Qi said, "Xiao Lingdang has been practicing tongzi kung fu since she was young, following Coach Da He. The set of techniques I studied with the national team is actually quite suitable for her. However, Xiao Lingdang still has some problems with her forehand. She always likes to pull it outward instead of pulling it inward, and her forehand lacks power."
Zhu Qi's words hit the nail on the head.
Judging from the current active table tennis players, the majority of them are forehand players.
Because the forehand is more lethal than the backhand and it is easier to hit a loop ball, the current members of the national team have practiced with Zhu Qi for a long time, but none of them have been able to hit a perfect backhand loop ball like Zhu Qi.
Moreover, the forehand is easier to practice than the backhand. Many people put down their rackets for a while and can still play on the table with their forehand, but the same cannot be said for their backhand.
As more and more players practice forehand, many training camps also focus more on the forehand system.
Zhu Qi feels that this is also a drawback of Chinese-style education, that is, no matter what educational program it is, this kind of rote learning is preferred.
Regardless of whether they are suitable or not, all players are educated according to the same mold.
The reason why Mori Yunan was abandoned by the Chaojing team was that the coach of the Chaojing team at that time failed to discover the training plan that truly suited this player.
"Ever since Maomao became captain, you and her have been taking on a lot of coaching duties. You've been working really hard." Ren Xinhua's eyes were sharp. She knew everything that went on within the team, and naturally knew the current state of the women's team and who was working the hardest. "Maomao has exhausted herself with a back injury, and you're still watching practice at the gym with a recurring foot injury."
Ren Xinhua was just chatting casually with Zhu Qi, but suddenly he remembered some scenes in the national team before Zhu Qi joined the team.
At that time, the coaches in the team each had their own factions, and the players in the group competed secretly. Sometimes they would fight openly or secretly for a spot. There were even many cases where the coaches tacitly allowed the players to have private fights.
At that time, Chang Hongxia was on the verge of retirement, and she was overwhelmed by a bunch of competitions and injuries.
Needless to say, Jin Lili was a good person in the team, and Ding Shushu was recognized as a good guy. Seeing that the coaches didn't care about him, he was too lazy to get involved.
Maomao was just a reserve player who had just joined the main team and had little say in the team. Because she played well, other players would not bother her, so Maomao did not care about other people's disputes.
That period was a chaotic time for the national team.
Everyone is only focused on internal competition, trying to pull down the people around them, but they don’t notice that the external enemies are becoming stronger day by day.
But since Zhu Qi came to the national team, this atmosphere has obviously improved a lot.
This is even more true now.
To the young players, the coaches seem to be less important than Zhu Qi and Maomao.
They are no longer divided into certain groups by head coaches, but are uniformly planned as players of the women's team and then randomly assigned to training and sparring.
"How about it? Are you interested in this position?" Ren Xinhua suddenly looked at Zhu Qi and said with a smile.
Zhu Qi was startled, and suddenly there was an unusual turmoil in her heart, as if something was ignited in her chest, and then crackling with sparks.
This location...
The head coach of the national team?
Zhu Qi had never thought about this question, or to be more precise, he didn't think he had the ability to do so.
Zhu Qi also answered honestly: "I haven't thought about it..."
Ren Xinhua smiled and said nothing more.
Although everyone now knows that Ren Xinhua is on the verge of retirement, Zhu Qi feels that the next successor will most likely be chosen between the two head coaches of the men's and women's teams, Fo Ye and Shi Ge.
No matter what, it can't be the turn of Zhu Qi or Maomao, who haven't retired as athletes, or two girls who have no coaching experience at all from their perspective, right?
Of course.
The coaches thought so too.
Ren Xinhua has always insisted on not retiring from the position of head coach. Many foreign media and domestic reporters have been speculating that Ren Xinhua is unwilling to give up power and leave this "hot" position.
But those who know Ren Xinhua better know that Ren Xinhua may feel that neither Fo Ye nor Shi Ge are suitable to take over her current job, so she is not retiring and is actually still waiting...
Mr. Foye is too rigid. Many times, after forming a first impression of a player, he is easily disturbed by this idea.
Shi Ge is too emotional and impatient. He doesn't know how to adapt to many things and only sticks to one path.
Ren Xinhua felt that he had worked for the national team for so long, and even if he resigned and retired, he had to fulfill his final obligations. He could not just throw this burden to an unsuitable person just to enjoy his retirement.
/
The mixed doubles training match lasted for two days.
As expected, the final winners were the Qilin and Fangqin groups.
Although Ren Xinhua really hopes to see a more suitable mixed doubles player, the others still play the role of supporting players in this training match.
Qin Xiaoba and A Shui have been a mixed doubles team for nearly four years. They have participated in many competitions, big and small, and often train together.
In terms of the level of tacit understanding, it is naturally no worse than the Qilin combination.
But for some reason, when the four of them were fighting, I always felt that Qin Xiaoba and A Shui were suppressed by the Qilin combination.
As soon as the ball flies to the Qilin combination, it will become a more powerful ball and fly back.
Although Ah Shui passed several lobs to Qin Xiaoba, they were always picked up by Zhu Qi's powerful pick-up, and then Qin Xiaoba started to lose the ball.
Qin Xiaoba felt that his sister's ball was still so tricky, and he always secretly added spin to the ball.
As soon as the ball was lost, Qin Xiaoba started to worry, but A Shui next to him was not in a hurry and kept encouraging him not to worry.
But Qin Xiaoba really wanted to fight for it.
Ever since winning the "Pembroke" Cup, Qin Xiaoba suddenly experienced the feeling of standing on top of thousands of people. He hoped that he could always stand on that high place and watch the eyes of the whole world focused on him.
At that moment, Qin Xiaoba could understand why his elder sister was so obsessed with the championship.
Zhu Qi: I told you, you will enjoy this feeling.
But the more he wanted to score, the more he was caught and beaten by Zhu Qi.
Song Linzhou defended so well at the far table that he could hit back any ball.
Although I haven't played mixed doubles for a long time, after practicing together for a week, it feels no different from before.
And most importantly, Qin Xiaoba felt that Song Linzhou was determined to win this mixed doubles match, and from the ball, it seemed that he also wanted to compete.
In the end, Zhu Qi and Song Linzhou won the first place in this training match.
This result was within everyone's expectations, but everyone was relatively satisfied with the performance of the Fangqin group. There were basically no obvious mistakes. It was just that the older brothers and sisters group had more experience and were more cunning, so they were fooled by the older brothers and sisters group.
Doubles has always been Ah Shui's forte. Although he has generally lost more than he has won against Zhu Qi in recent years, he feels that he and Lao Qin are one step further away from the mixed doubles spot in the World Games now that they have failed to win the training match.
A Shui felt a little lost, and when he talked to his mother on the phone at night, his mother keenly noticed his emotional problems.
A Shui's mother thought it was a family matter, but when she heard her daughter say that she didn't win the game, although the mother didn't understand, she still tried to comfort her first.
"In a competition, it's normal to win and lose. It's just like my business; it's all an investment, and it's impossible to always make money. When you lose money, treat it as a valuable learning process. If you didn't do well enough, you can improve next time. Even your favorite athlete has lost before, right? But after each loss, just reflect on yourself."
Since her parents divorced, her mother has often cared about A Shui's competitions, and the relationship between mother and daughter has become even stronger.
Before, A Shui always thought that playing table tennis was his own business, but with the comfort of his family, he would recover his mood faster.
After being comforted by his mother, A Shui no longer felt sad.
The two chatted for a few more sentences. The mother deliberately avoided the issue of the lawsuit between herself and her ex-husband. She didn't want this matter to affect her daughter's mood for training, so she asked more about A Shui's performance in the national team.
When they talked about playing mixed doubles, Ah Shui's mother suddenly asked, "Is that the guy who lent you money?"
"Yes, his name is Qin Shang."
"It just so happens that your mom has some cash on hand. I'll transfer it to your passbook tomorrow. You can withdraw it and give it to them. You're all young, and it's not easy for you to make money. It's not right to keep using other people's money."
Ah Shui was about to say "Okay", but after thinking it over, he refused: "You must need money now. I will have money after I finish the World Games. I will give it to him then."
"Alas, in this day and age, it's not easy to find a friend who stands by you in times of trouble. After you finish the World Games, when I go to Beijing, call him out and tell him that his aunt wants to treat him to a meal to thank him in person."
"Alas, we don't care about your businessmen's dinner table culture. How can he understand your business advice when we have a meal? We athletes don't care about these twists and turns. At most, we just want to accompany each other to practice for a while. Besides, he is from the Bayi team. He talks about the suffering of the people and listens to communism. He has no chance of chatting with a capitalist female boss like you."
"You silly girl, you don't understand."
"What don't you understand? I'm already so old." Ah Shui muttered softly. She had obviously been an adult for so long, why did everyone still think she was a grown-up girl?
"Money is easy to repay, but a favor... is hard to repay."
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