37 Arrival at the World Games Village
◎【Part 2】Only those who can adapt to the enemy's changes and win can be called gods.◎
In order to quickly gain the experience of playing against the Chinese team.
The head coach of the Japanese team visited the Yunwan and Zhugang autonomous regions many times and held various friendly matches with athletes from these two regions.
Because the playing styles of these two autonomous regions are similar to those of the mainland, it is perfect to use them as training for their athletes through competition.
This method is very effective.
After returning from the Munich World Games, the Chinese team was defeated repeatedly when facing them.
Fukuda Yuto proudly promised the Sports Department: "China must return home without any gold medals from the Tokyo World Games four years later."
But suddenly an unfamiliar face appeared in the Macau World Cup, throwing the Japanese team into chaos and even defeating their then highly favored player, Mie Hashiro.
Especially in the Asian Cup at the end of last year and the Asian Championships at the beginning of this year... this new Chinese girl shined brightly.
Originally, they paid the most attention to Chang Hongxia and Zu Tianjiao from the Chinese team, but now there is one more.
But I heard about the Chinese team's roster... this unfamiliar girl didn't participate in the singles. I wonder what their head coach is up to.
Knowing that the Chinese team's plane had arrived at the airport, in order to spy on the enemy, Fukuda Yuto went to pick it up.
After the two head coaches met, they exchanged a few pleasantries.
Flags of various countries stood on the open space on the right side of the airport. The Japanese team even deliberately placed their own national flag in the most conspicuous position in the middle, a little higher than those of all other countries, and even the size of the flag was much wider.
Below the national flag is the five-ring stone tablet representing the World Games, with a separate space next to it for the team leaders to sign as a souvenir.
Zhu Qi stood nearby, his face warmed by the Tokyo summer breeze, his mind full of thoughts like, "When will we get to the hotel? When will the training start?"
Ah Shui next to him had a simpler thought: when is the meal going to start? I'm starving...
Ren Xinhua looked at his old rival and smiled in a subtle way, "Mr. Futian, long time no see. Thank you for visiting me in the hospital three years ago. I brought you a small gift this time. Please accept it."
Fukuda Yuto took the gift box and said with the same smile, "You are so kind."
He can actually speak some Chinese.
The athletes standing at the back pretended to look down at their shoes, but in fact they were listening attentively to the two leaders.
But he only knew a little bit of Chinese, and then he spoke a lot of content in Chinese mixed with English.
To sum it up: "We sincerely invite the Chinese team to attend the China-Japan-Korea Tripartite Gathering tomorrow morning at 9:00 AM. We have reserved a reception hall in Nishijo-cho, Tokyo, and a special car will be provided to pick you up."
Yuto Fukuda handed over a card, which was beautifully wrapped and had the invitation written in both Japanese and Chinese.
Ren Xinhua smiled and said, "Thank you for your kindness. We will keep our appointment as promised."
Ah Shui whispered, "This little mustache guy is so polite, isn't this the Hongmen Banquet?"
Maomao poked her waist and said, "Keep your voice down. I can understand Chinese."
There are still three days until the opening ceremony of the Tokyo World Games. The first to start is the mixed doubles group, which lasts for five days from 32nd to the final.
After that is the doubles competition, men's doubles in the morning and women's doubles in the afternoon, and the schedule is also 5 days.
Next is the singles event, men's singles in the morning and women's singles in the afternoon, and the schedule is also 5 days.
The last event is the mixed team competition. The next day, the closing ceremony of the World Games will be held, and the 20-day August World Games cycle will end.
Athletes from other national teams would joke when they saw the national table tennis team, saying that the national table tennis team was the only one in the entire Chinese team where all its players were fully present and played for the full twenty days.
These twenty days have been like a year for the coaching staff of the national table tennis team.
While the kids were taking the college entrance exam next to the pool table, the coaching staff had to suffer in the audience.
Zhu Qi felt that the Buddha's attitude towards him had become much gentler, and he was afraid that something might go wrong with Zhu Qi during the competition.
The country responsible for hosting the World Games will select an address near the competition venue one year in advance to provide athletes from all over the world with all their needs, including accommodation, meals, chartered transportation, washing, medical care, etc.
The Chinese uniformly call this type of residence the World Games Village.
The events that were earlier in the schedule were weightlifting, shooting, skateboarding, and diving. Athletes from these sports had already checked in and acclimatized themselves. The Chinese table tennis team was among the second group to enter. When they arrived, they saw their teammates greeting them from inside a building draped with red flags.
They all wore the same national team uniform, featuring a standard red base, gold stripes, and a dragon-like pattern. The pattern also featured embroidered Chinese symbols, imbued with ancient charm and the majestic aura of a soaring dragon.
The dragon head of the men's uniform faces left, and the dragon head of the women's uniform faces right.
When the mixed doubles pair stand together, the dragon's tail is just connected with the other side, which looks like an infinite loop symbol, representing the endless reproduction of the two-headed dragon.
As soon as the Chinese team entered the field, it was like a ball of fire.
The eye-catching red color attracted everyone's attention from behind the windows.
After finding the Chinese area, start dividing the rooms.
Zhu Qi, Maomao and A Shui were automatically assigned to the same room.
The room is small but fully equipped.
The room is Japanese style with sliding doors and tatami.
There is a separate shower room, microwave, drinking fountain, half-height refrigerator and central air conditioning.
Even shower gel, shampoo, bathrobes and towels were provided. There was also an unlimited supply of snacks and fruits on the table, and a cherry blossom scented aromatherapy was placed in the corner.
The walls are carved with Ukiyo-e patterns, and there is a hidden closet on the right side, which opens to an area for storing suitcases and clothes.
After all, they would be staying here for more than 20 days, so the three girls cleaned up the room inside and out.
Because they lived together in the national team, they only brought one copy of many things that could be used together, such as soap, shampoo, laundry detergent, etc.
The first thing Ah Shui did was to stretch out on the couch, forming a "big" shape, and then make a comfortable "woohoo" sound.
The sleeping area is a whole tatami mat. When you lie on it, there is a faint smell of millet grains. There are three stacks of rolled-up futons next to it.
"Great, I can sleep next to you two!" Ah Shui lay on the couch, crossed his legs and swung them back and forth in the air.
The voices of the men's team drifted in from outside the window.
——"Ouch, don't step on my socks!" Qin Xiaoba yelled.
Ah Shui immediately pricked up his ears and crawled to the window to peek out: "Hey! Lao Qin! You guys live next door?"
"Hey, Lao Fang," Qin Xiaoba replied. "There's no gender distinction here. It's like a hotel, so everyone is close together. Where's my sister?"
Two years had eased the relationship between the former rivals a little. Although they would still quarrel occasionally over trivial matters, fortunately, they would not make things too ugly for Zhu Qi's sake.
Judging from the direction of the sound, the two rooms are separated by a wall.
It’s quite close indeed.
After a three-hour flight and a two-hour drive, it was already ten o'clock in the evening when we finished packing everything.
Zhu Qi sat on the edge of the bed and began to change the rubber on her racket. She first applied a layer of expanding oil on the surface of the rubber and let it dry until seven o'clock tomorrow. The rubber with oil was more elastic and could hold the ball better.
After finishing my own paint, I glanced at the space on the table. Since I was free anyway, I gave Maomao and A Shui a coat of paint as well.
As soon as A Shui arrived, he took out all the snacks from his suitcase and placed them in the corner of the closet.
Qin Xiaoba pushed the door open and went straight to A Shui's snacks. The two of them opened a bag of snacks each and squatted at the door, eating and talking.
"The North Korean team is not coming to the World Games this year, so the favorites to win gold medals are us, Japan, South Korea and Russia." A Shui grabbed a handful of potato chips and stuffed them into his mouth.
Qin Xiaoba continued, "Without reading books or newspapers, how could North Korea possibly participate in the World Games held in Japan? North Korean athletes rarely appear in international competitions, and we don't know much about them. I've heard they have many unique fighting styles, but there's very little information available about their matches. If they did participate, it wouldn't be a good thing for us."
"It's not easy to beat the Korean team this year. I heard they've been practicing mixed doubles for seven or eight years, but the ITTF only changed the format after the Munich World Games four years ago. It's probably Korea who proposed it."
"Why should we be afraid of them? We just need to fight them. Even if we can't win, we will make them bleed!" Qin Xiaoba wiped his greasy mouth and cursed.
Ah Shui kicked him and said, "Pfft, pfft, you crow's mouth! How could we possibly lose? We have six gold medals and two silver medals! We can't lose any of them! Even eating can't stop your mouth."
When the coach came to check on the room, Xu Dong was accompanied by the men's team coach. The two of them were marking the roster to make sure everyone was in the room. When they walked over to Zhu Qi, they saw the two squatting by the door eating. Xu Dong reached out and poked Ah Shui: "What time is it? Why don't you rest? Stop eating now, or you'll have indigestion tonight."
Ah Shui and Qin Xiaoba responded and packed up to go into the house.
Sister Xu Dong stood at the door and called out, "Baobao, Daling, both of you come out for a moment."
Zhu Qi put down the racket in his hand, and when he and Song Linzhou walked out, Sister Xu Dong called them to the corner.
"Tomorrow, the Japanese team has invited us and the Korean team to a dinner at Tangchi B&B. We'll probably be there all day. Chairman Ren thinks they might be targeting you two, since the roster has already been submitted. The Japanese team knows you're the mixed doubles team and that you're scheduled to compete first. If they ask you any questions, be sure to think them through before answering."
The two nodded.
Sister Xu Dong’s meaning was very clear, which was not to leak any tactical issues to the outside world.
This is a truth that everyone knows, but since this is Zhu Qi and Song Linzhou's first time participating in the World Games, they must be given additional instructions.
After checking the dormitory, Zhu Qi went back to put away the expansion oil, and then was dragged to the shower room by A Shui.
"Look! There's a bathtub! I've never soaked in a bathtub before! It's so big! There's also soapy water for bubble bath in the room, it smells so good! I'm going to soak in it all night. Will I be a flower fairy tomorrow?"
Ah Shui was cheering and jumping like a little butterfly, flying around the bathtub and the tatami, and no one knew what she was busy with.
After the sound of water filled the entire bathtub, a refreshing scent of cherry blossom foam irrigated the entire room.
"This bathtub can accommodate three people. Let's take a bath together~"
Maomao was a little embarrassed and said with a look of refusal: "I won't go bathing. I don't want to infect you guys if I catch a cold. You guys go bathing."
"Me neither..." Zhu Qi also wanted to refuse A Shui's invitation, but the next second A Shui hooked his neck and dragged him into the shower room.
After being forced to take off her clothes, she was pressed into the bathtub by A Shui.
The hot water soaked up the area below his shoulders, and white soap bubbles wrapped around Zhu Qi like cotton balls.
Ah Shui stepped on the water and sat down from the other side. When the water level rose to Zhu Qi's chin, the girl also swam to Zhu Qi's side like a fish.
The two girls' shoulders were touching, their soft and warm skin sticking to each other.
Zhu Qi felt itchy and hot when she tickled his waist.
"Don't make trouble." Zhu Qi said with a smile.
"Let me tell you, when I got off the bus today, I saw Jin Lili chatting with the Korean team."
The Korean team. These words made Zhu Qi's eyebrows raise slightly: "What are you talking about?"
"I didn't understand. They were speaking Korean," Ah Shui said, a look of mystery on his face. "When I first joined the national team, I heard gossip about how Jin Lili was almost poached by the Korean team when she was on the provincial team. Her first provincial team coach was translating for the Korean team and wanted to recommend her to them. Later, after she joined the national team, people from Korea came over as well."
It’s really not that simple.
In her previous life, Jin Lili went to South Korea to compete after the Tokyo World Games.
Because they failed to win a single medal at the Tokyo World Games, the entire national table tennis team was condemned for the next three or four years. Due to health issues and the Tokyo World Games defeat, Ren Xinhua was demoted and left the national team.
The coaching staff also underwent a major overhaul at that time.
Needless to say, the athletes under his command retired, went back to school, and returned to the provincial team, resulting in a lack of young players in the entire national table tennis team, both men's and women's.
There are also some who changed their nationality to play basketball abroad, and Jin Lili is one of them.
Seeing Zhu Qi's flat reaction, Ah Shui muttered to himself, "The captain and Sister Shushu are going to retire after the Tokyo tournament. That means there will only be you, Sister Maomao, and her left on the team. She shouldn't be going to the Korean team, right?"
Since I was reborn, many things have gone differently from my previous life.
For example, the mixed doubles in the previous life was Chang Hongxia and Gao Xiaofeng, and now it is her and Song Linzhou.
If the Tokyo World Games had not been as bad as in her previous life, Jin Lili might not have changed her nationality to the South Korean team.
"Who knows?" Zhu Qi teased, splashing some water. "Why? Are you reluctant to part with her?"
"Of course not. I just feel that even though her relationship with us has been lukewarm over the past two years, we're still neighbors on the same floor. She's been competing with you, both openly and covertly, for so long. If she goes to the Korean team, it won't be a good thing for the national team. You'll definitely be targeted..."
"If I'm afraid of being targeted, I won't play." Zhu Qi scooped up some water and wiped his face. "Sports competition is about fighting against others, against nature, and against yourself."
The heat made her cheeks flush and her head felt a little sleepy.
She suddenly remembered what Ren Xinhua said to her when she went to ask her why she couldn't play singles.
I hope she can tear off the shadows of others and find her own most perfect skills and tactics.
Perhaps Ren Xinhua also felt that He Qianlu's playing style was from ten years ago after all, and could no longer fully adapt to the current game.
Speaking of this, Ah Shui's high spirits a little bit dropped: "It's all my fault. If I could handle it, we would have gone to play women's doubles."
Zhu Qi pinched her nose and consoled her, "There's still the next World Games. We'll compete in women's doubles at the Moscow World Games."
Ah Shui was very happy, but also worried: "But women's singles and women's doubles will be held at the same time. Moscow will definitely let you play women's singles. If that happens, you will have to play two games in one day! It will be so tiring!"
"It's okay, I'm tough."
Ah Shui reached out and hugged her, saying in a sweet voice, "Bao Bao, you're a god! But—Jin Lili's behavior has given me a good inspiration. That box of snacks I brought will come in handy!"
Zhu Qi was curious: "What's the use?"
"The mountain man has his own clever plan!" She winked cunningly.
The girl's laughter filled the bathroom, and as mist filled the frosted door, the cat outside sat on the tatami, gently shaking its right shoulder.
Before coming here, Coach Cun brought an acupuncture and electrotherapy device from home. He used it to relax his muscles after training every day, and it did have some effect.
It's just this one month, I hope I can get through it safely.
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