167 Riyadh World Games-Women's Singles
◎They are undergoing the final transition of generations.◎
Both players in the women's singles successfully entered the finals. What was very dramatic was that the top three were still the Moscow configuration.
Two players from the Chinese team, plus Xi Lingen from the North Korean team.
After the results came out, the host of the sports channel was happy for Zhu Qi and Maomao, and also politely praised the neighbor's child.
This is also the second World Games for North Korea's Xilingen. She actually participated in some youth competitions in North Korea as a young girl. After turning 15, she returned to North Korea and hasn't played much outside since. So, you could say she's a player we've watched grow up.
Yes, her character and personality are well-known. Although she's an international player, she has many fans in China, and I understand that many players on the national team have a good relationship with her. After all, they're rivals on the court and friends off it.
Xi Ling'en and Maomao were placed in the same half of the draw again. Before the quarterfinals, many people felt a sense of déjà vu.
[Yes, because I find it interesting that at the last World Games, it was the two of them competing for the finals spot, and this time it was the two of them again, and the scores were similar. Both were 4:3...]
In this game, Maomao played very hard.
Anyone with a discerning eye could see that they wanted to defend the half of the zone that they hadn't defended in the last World Games.
After the semi-finals, Maomao did not accept any post-match interviews but went back to rest immediately.
Information travels back home incredibly quickly these days. Every household has a television, and many news stories are frequently replayed. Back then, the film and television industry hadn't yet taken off, and even many televisions could only receive a few channels. The only things people could focus on were the Xinwen Lianbo (News Broadcast) and the recent, much-hyped World Games.
Many domestic fans are speculating whether Maomao felt unwell again after the game, and some are worried about Maomao's performance in tomorrow's final.
But in fact, Maomao went back to rest early and prepare for the final the next day.
Anyway, there are two Chinese players who have made it to the finals, so the coaching staff is very confident about the women's singles.
But there was an accident in the men's singles.
The accident was Mori Yunan.
Mori Yunan's ability to reach the semi-finals was unexpected for many national team coaches.
Although Mori Yunan works very hard, table tennis is actually a sport that also values talent very much.
In the eyes of many people, Mori Yu Nan is mediocre. After playing several Asian games during this period, Mori Yu Nan's winning rate against Da Xiong is relatively low.
Because Big Bear's fighting style is a violent rotation style, with strength as the main factor and rotation as the auxiliary factor.
Mori Yunan also has a high error rate every time he receives the ball because it is difficult to handle the details.
So when the coaches saw that Okuma and Mori Yunan were placed in the same half of the men's singles competition, they were actually quite happy and felt that they had a sure win.
No one expected the result.
Mori Yunan actually performed beyond expectations.
Afterwards, when Zhu Qi reviewed the semi-final match between Daxiong and Mori Yunan, the first thought that came to his mind was that Mori Yunan was not affected by the loss in the mixed doubles.
"Oh, Brother Daxiong was too soft in the last two rounds." Qin Xiaoba sighed beside Zhu Qi as they watched the video together.
The leniency mentioned here does not refer to leniency in the mentality, but leniency in the physical sense.
In fact, in the first three games, Daxiong played very well and expanded his advantage with his many years of competition experience.
Zhu Qi disagreed with Qin Xiaoba's words. He rewound the tape another ten minutes, stopping at the third game, and said to Qin Xiaoba, "It seems that the biggest problems were in the sixth and seventh games, but in fact, starting from the third game, Daxiong had some minor problems. Because the third game was Sen Yunan's serve, it was also his strong round. Daxiong should have taken the initiative to attack. Because Sen Yunan's serve is good, but he usually doesn't use power on the second ball. The balls he hit later are more solid."
Qin Xiaoba nodded repeatedly after hearing this.
That’s true. I have fought with Mori Yunan many times.
Every time I fight, the more I feel like the more I fight, the more I feel that this kid has endless energy.
Tomorrow Song Linzhou will compete with Sen Yunan for the gold medal. Qin Xiaoba held Zhu Qi's hand and kept asking, "Sister, how do you think Da Ling can win against Sen Yunan?"
"At this point and at this age, are you still asking me how to play the game?" Zhu Qi glanced at Qin Xiaoba, stood up and walked out the door.
Qin Xiaoba was inexplicably rebuked by his sister and was completely confused. He could only go to Song Linzhou in a dejected manner and repeat Zhu Qi's words.
"My sister is becoming increasingly moody. Is this a belated rebellious phase at 25?"
Song Linzhou looked at his stupid brother, feeling somewhat helpless: "Didn't your sister say that?"
"What did you say?" Qin Xiaoba was bewildered, his mouth pouting. "Hey, don't you think my sister is smart? She's so good at speaking, and she's so effective. Maybe she can give me some tips in advance, so we can handle it easily when we encounter her during the competition."
But just as he finished speaking, Qin Xiaoba suddenly remembered.
That’s right, Song Linzhou just finished playing mixed doubles with Mori Yunan.
It is basically impossible to research any new tactics after a certain period of time.
In fact, Song Linzhou could understand what Zhu Qi meant. This game could be said to be the most important one in Song Linzhou's life.
It is a competition that requires you to devote all your energy to complete it.
Just like Zhu Qi said, after all, he has been competing for so many years and has won many awards.
If he doesn't even have this little analytical ability, he can only blame himself if he loses.
Seeing Qin Xiaoba still sighing, Song Linzhou found a random table, placed his racket on it, and then tore off the original rubber and replaced it with a new one that had been dried with expansion oil. "Why do you act like I might lose? Do you have so little confidence in me?"
Having confidence is having confidence.
But Qin Xiaoba thought of one thing, which was the conversation between the two of them when they were sitting in the pavilion when Sen Yunan was training with the national team.
Although Zhugang has returned, Qin Xiaoba naturally hopes that Song Linzhou will win. Putting aside the fact that they have known each other for so many years, he always feels that the Zhugang team is the Zhugang team and the national team is the national team.
Maybe the Hong Kong team can also feel this. Now that the British have left, their families will be separated from them when they return home.
Thinking of this, Qin Xiaoba sighed again.
Song Linzhou ignored him and started to align the rubber with the racket, carefully smoothing out the rubber texture on the racket to ensure that every place was a perfect fit.
Use a pair of scissors to trim off any excess rubber.
When cutting the rubber, he remembered that Mori Yunan had added a sealing layer to his racket. Then Song Linzhou deliberately left an extra 3 mm gap when cutting the rubber, and used the remaining rubber to stick the edge of the racket on under Qin Xiaoba's gaze.
Qin Xiaoba was stunned. "What are you doing? You want to edging too? Now? Brother, you have the finals tomorrow. What if the edging feels different now? Is it too late for you to adapt?"
Song Linzhou did not answer, but continued to carefully stick the edging. Then, after checking back and forth in front of him to make sure it was correct, he reached out and knocked on the racket.
"Bang, bang." The sound of the racket was very crisp.
The eyes looking at the bat are like the vast ocean, shimmering with luster, and have a kind of ambition to sail into the distance.
"At this stage and at this age, do you still need to adapt to how to play the game?"
Song Linzhou said the same thing as Zhu Qi, then carried his bag to the training hall.
“…” Qin Xiaoba.
/
When the women's singles final started, the venue was almost packed.
Although there are two Chinese players, all table tennis fans don't want to miss this game.
Because this is the final battle between the two greatest female players of the 90s.
At the last Florida Table Tennis Championships, when competing for the "Miriam" Cup, Zhu Qi and Maomao broke the ball in the match.
They contributed to several famous scenes, and now everyone firmly believes that they will play a very exciting game, which may not be seen in the next ten years.
Moreover, this game is very important to both Zhu Qi and Maomao.
Maomao’s last game, the last piece of the puzzle for Zhu Qi’s double-circle Grand Slam.
The CCTV host excitedly said: […If Zhu Qi can win this time, she will become the first person in the entire history of table tennis to achieve a double Grand Slam!]
He Qianlu added: [And he is likely to be the youngest person to achieve a double Grand Slam.]
This statement caught the host's attention, and he turned around and asked, "Will it be difficult to create another double-circle Grand Slam in the future?"
He Qianlu nodded: "It's very difficult. It's difficult to train someone to become a Grand Slam champion, let alone win two laps of the National Table Tennis Championships, the World Championships, and the World Games."
This is...
Everyone looked at the gate where the athletes entered with excitement, waiting for the competition to officially begin.
Perhaps, everyone sitting here at this moment has the opportunity to witness history.
But what no one expected was that when the athletes entered the stadium, two of them were wearing the same Chinese red jersey.
Accompanied by cheers from the audience, music, and the commentators' impassioned speeches.
Zhu Qi and Maomao entered the arena along two different paths, one on the left and one on the right, and then stood side by side facing everyone.
Logically speaking, players from both opposing teams should wear jerseys of different colors when competing, so that it is easier for on-site staff to distinguish who is who.
But Zhu Qi and Maomao's jerseys are the same, only the names on the back are different.
When the two of them stood together, people who didn't know would think they were playing women's doubles.
Zhu Qi and Maomao specially discussed this with the organizers before participating in the competition, and that's why they wore it this way.
Looking back, in the ten years since Zhu Qi joined the national team, he has participated in no less than seventy or eighty competitions of all sizes with Maomao.
Sometimes they are teammates, sometimes they are opponents.
They know each other too well.
This game is of great significance to Zhu Qi, because it may be the last time that Zhu Qi competes against Maomao as an athlete.
These were the only two strongest opponents Zhu Qi had ever encountered in his career.
Pull the ball before the game.
From close-table forehand, close-table backhand, mid-table forehand, mid-table backhand...
Two girls who look almost identical from behind, they are undergoing the final transition of generations.
"Both sides shake hands and the game begins." The referee gave the order and the whole audience fell silent.
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