159 Riyadh World Games
◎I also had a period of my own.◎
Regarding the story Zhu Qi told, Maomao thought that Zhu Qi was talking about his own experience in his previous home.
In fact, when Zhu Qi returned home to treat his ligament sprain after the Moscow World Games, many reports wrote about Zhu Qi's "past".
At the beginning, some media outlets deliberately wrote some untrue events to attract attention. However, after Zhu Qi dragged two hosts of the "Sit Down and Talk" program team to the police station to make a scene, they became much more honest and wrote more normal articles.
However, some newspapers still add a lot of "mystery" to Zhu Qi's life experience in order to attract attention.
For example, after Zhu Qi's mother passed away early, he lived under the care of his father and stepmother for two years, and before joining the provincial team, he had a very difficult and arduous training career.
Maomao has also read this information.
When I read it, it felt like I was reading a life biography. I felt that the content described in the text was too cold, but the Zhu Qi standing in front of me was a living person.
Maomao knows that many reporters may have good intentions and want to use some of Zhu Qi's stories to inspire many people who may have the same experience as Zhu Qi.
But Maomao felt that Zhu Qi didn't want to talk much about his original family. For Zhu Qi, what happened in the past could no longer be changed. The only thing everyone can change is the future.
Compared to the entire national team, Maomao's family is relatively harmonious. Although he had to live frugally due to many financial problems when he was young, things got much better after Maomao became famous in the Chongqing local competition.
Later, when he was injured, the Chongqing Yu team took it seriously and thought of many ways to help Maomao prolong his career.
In fact, cats have also felt sorry for themselves and wondered in their hearts, "Why am I the one who gets hurt?"
Zhu Qi and Ah Shui also overcame numerous difficulties before they reached the same competitive stage.
Everyone has his or her own eighty-one difficulties to overcome.
Sen Qiaobei had actually heard a little about some of the personnel changes in the national team, and knew that this World Games might be the last big gathering of the "Hexagram Era".
So I conducted a one-on-one interview with Maomao first.
They found a small, empty house, and even placed many baskets of flowers inside, which looked very Saudi.
Maomao assumed it was just a simple pre-match interview; after all, it was something they'd done often before, providing material for the sports section of Table Tennis World. Adhering to the principle of mutual assistance, Maomao usually included a little more information to help Sen Qiaobei add to his magazine.
But the first question in Sen Qiaobei's interview this time was about Maomao's plans for his future.
Maomao didn't expect Sen Qiaobei to be so direct, but still said frankly: "Actually, since I finished the Moscow game, I feel that my physical condition is sometimes good and sometimes bad. When I'm in good shape, I can persist in playing a whole game. When I'm not in good shape, I rely on injections almost every day. Many times my body tells me that I've reached the critical point, but I still want to hold on. But in fact, there are some very good young players on the team now. When the day they can beat me, it will be time for me to say goodbye to this arena."
Sen Qiaobei felt that Maomao was not confused about his upcoming retirement, but instead had a sense of longing and anticipation.
When Sen Qiaobei first entered the industry, he heard many senior journalists say that many athletes felt liberated when they retired.
Because for these athletes, retirement is equivalent to retirement. Many athletes who have made outstanding contributions to the country can rely on monthly subsidies to live out their retirement.
However, the level of "outstanding contribution" has its own limits, and many athletes who cannot meet this standard will also engage in some related careers.
For example, you can find a school to be a teacher, go abroad to be a consultant coach, or open your own special class to earn a good income.
Some players with a stronger sense of responsibility, knowing that their time has come, are afraid to retire for fear of having no successors. They will not submit their retirement application until a successor appears.
Cats are one of these athletes.
In response to this, Sen Qiaobei showed an expression of reluctance even more than Maomao himself, and said very sincerely: "Your contribution to the cause of table tennis is no less than Zhu Qi's. You are also a very great player."
After all, Maomao is not a young player anymore.
It is inevitable that you will be unwilling to accept it.
For athletes, as long as they can't even move, they want to fight to the last moment.
To use a phrase Gao Xiaofeng said when he was about to retire to describe it, "Although Lian Po is old, he still has courage."
Maomao is of similar age to Sen Qiaobei, only two years younger than Sen Qiaobei. It was Sen Qiaobei who watched her grow from a seventeen or eighteen-year-old girl to a capable captain of the women's team.
I got involved in table tennis because my cousin Mori Yunan was also practicing table tennis.
When he was young, his family once considered letting Sen Qiaobei practice with them, but Sen Qiaobei was not really interested in table tennis, and he was smart and good at studying, so his family did not force him.
At the beginning, Sen Qiaobei was actually more focused on the football sector and wanted to become a broadcaster and host related to the football league, but because of his younger brother, he first came into contact with table tennis and planned to use table tennis competitions to practice.
Later, after seeing the Chinese team's dominance in table tennis, Sen Qiaobei gradually fell in love with the sport.
At that time, Maomao was just a first-generation player, making his debut in an Asian competition.
The entire women's team is still mainly composed of Chang Hongxia and Ding Shushu, and even the currently popular Zhu Qi is nowhere to be seen.
However, in Maomao's debut, he defeated the then-popular Russian player Adedoniya. The atmosphere in the stadium suddenly changed, and the fans who were singing cheering songs for the Russian team suddenly fell silent.
The cat is more like a football player, who can catch up with every ball at an extremely fast speed. The ball he hits is like a bullet, attacking the opponent's defensive blind spot and forcing the opponent to the front of the goal.
Cats also had their own era.
Facing Sen Qiaobei's praise, Maomao smiled faintly: "Actually, Baobao and I rarely compare ourselves with each other, because we both have the same goal, which is to keep the championship in China."
And...Maomao has also received some letters sent to the General Administration of Sports by fans.
The above expresses various expectations for Maomao's career. It is hoped that Maomao can be like Jin Lili who has already arrived in South Korea, and enjoy the competition without having to bear so much competition pressure.
In fact, the cat thought so at the beginning.
But when Ren Xinhua talked to Maomao before, he saw that Ren Xinhua's energy was fading day by day, the gray hair on his head was increasing day by day, and even when he walked, he could hear the "clang bang" sound of plastic medicine bottles colliding with each other.
Maomao felt that the baton he had taken over from Chang Hongxia and Ding Shushu should be passed on to another person, and now he should take over the baton belonging to another track from Ren Xinhua.
Sen Qiaobei looked at the captain of the women's team, whose speech and temperament were extremely calm, and asked the final question of the interview: "So, in your career, is there anything that you feel very regretful about and want to try again?"
Sen Qiaobei felt that Maomao only lacked one last "Miriam" cup, which would be a pity for any athlete.
But Maomao didn't even think about it and told him very clearly: "My regret is that I couldn't defend my half of the women's singles event at the Moscow World Games, which put huge pressure on my teammates."
Sen Qiaobei understood.
These guys playing table tennis are a bunch of lovable, hot-blooded idiots.
I will always choose the collective over the individual.
/
The first match was still a mixed doubles match, so Zhu Qi and Song Linzhou had very little training time.
Early in the morning, before the coach even woke up, Zhu Qi dragged Ah Shui, Qin Xiaoba, and Song Linzhou, and the four of them headed to the training hall.
When the Saudi organizers saw the Chinese team enter the venue an hour early, they thought they had misheard the time and ran over to explain that the doors would open in an hour.
Ah Shui made full use of his ability as a communication expert. Although he could not speak a word of English or Arabic, he talked to the other party for a long time with gestures and shouts. As a result, the other party actually understood and opened the door for the four of them in advance.
Because many players' families were far away in the Middle East, they were unable to obtain visas for the World Games. Even He Qianlu was unsuccessful in his application and could only watch the games at home.
This is good, Zhu Qi feels that he can play more relaxed.
After Zhu Qi injured his eyes at the Moscow World Games, his uncles and others asked about his health for a long time, but Zhu Qi himself didn't think much of it.
After all, they are athletes, with thick skin and strong muscles, and can withstand a lot.
Instead, I spent a long time comforting a few adults.
Although his uncle and others didn't say it, Zhu Qi could feel that they were also waiting for him to retire.
Especially after the injury at the Moscow World Games, and Qin Xiaoba's carelessness in keeping his mouth shut, his aunt found out that his foot injury had recurred during training last year, and she called him three times a day to express her condolences.
On the phone, the four adults were asking Zhu Qi about his plans after the battle in Riyadh. However, when they heard Zhu Qi say that he still had to prepare for the battle in Los Angeles, the four adults seemed a little disappointed.
Zhu Qi felt that he was still very young, only 25 years old.
If his physical condition is right, he might be able to participate in two more World Games and play until he is 33 years old.
Hearing Zhu Qi's ambitious statement, Ah Shui, who was packing up his racket across from him, was dumbfounded. "Oh my God, you're going to play until you're 33? You really want to dedicate your life to table tennis. Don't you plan to find something else after retirement? Honestly, there was a time when you trained so hard every day that even the sight of table tennis balls made me sick. Didn't you feel bad?"
"Just thinking about it, we'll talk about it later. Who knows what will happen next?" Zhu Qi wiped the thin dust off the racket, then reached out and grabbed his shorts to wipe off the dust and sweat from his hands.
Ah Shui also had some regrets: "When I was younger, I always wondered when I could retire. But as I got older, thinking about retirement approaching, I felt like I had nothing to do after retirement. I didn't know what to do. I can't retire at the age of 28 and end up on the street as a vagrant, can I?"
Qin Xiaoba zipped up his golf bag with one hand and put on his headband with the other. "Didn't you arrange your position in Shanghai? You'll be going back to Shanghai straight after you retire, right?"
"That's just an empty title. I don't have any individual championships in the three major competitions yet, so I can't reach the threshold of 'outstanding contribution to the country', and I'm not a member of the Bayi team. If possible, there will definitely be room for development in Chaojing..."
Zhu Qi thought...that was true.
After all, it is the capital, and there are greater opportunities for development. Otherwise, why do so many people move north every year?
After all, they have lived in Beijing for so long and have a foundation for development. If they can stay in the capital and develop at this stage, they will save a lot of trouble in the future.
So A Shui couldn't understand why Zhu Qi always wanted to go back to Jianghuai Province.
"Hey Baobao, if Maomao retires, you will definitely be the next captain." A Shui joked beside the table.
Zhu Qi wiped the rubber and said without looking up: "I won't do it."
"Why? If you don't do it, who will? You're the only one on the team who's top in all aspects. You don't want to choose one from Sasa or Yuyu, do you?"
Zhu Qi looked at Ah Shui and said, "I think you are a good fit."
"I won't do it either." Ah Shui shook his head quickly. "Maomao has been the captain for the past two years. He's been so worried that he looks 'old'. I can't do that."
"I can't do it either." Zhu Qi lowered his head again.
Zhu Qi wasn't afraid of being distracted, but rather felt that the captaincy felt a bit like a coaching reserve. Xu Dong had been captain before, but was later recruited by the coaching staff. Chang Hongxia was captain, but Ren Xinhua also wanted her to leave, and naturally, the same thing happened to Maomao...
But when it comes to retirement, there have been quite a few personnel changes on the men's team side.
Daxiong also has plans in this regard, and Song Linzhou...
Qin Xiaoba hooked his arm around Song Linzhou's shoulder and said with a brotherly air, "Brother Ling can still fight. Brother Ling can still accompany me to Los Angeles, right?"
Song Linzhou was about to speak when he looked up and saw Zhu Qi across the table also looking at him.
Although the racket in his hand was heavy, he felt that the current development of the men's team actually still had problems. Among the next batch of players, except for Qin Xiaoba who stood out, the others were unable to play well.
In order to give the men's team some buffer time, if Daxiong retires, he can't leave no matter what.
Song Linzhou felt that he would have to wait at least another four years.
So he nodded.
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