47 Tokyo World Games-Women's Singles
◎【2nd update】The four great players of national table tennis...◎
A short break after the game.
Athletes from both sides changed out of their wet T-shirts and put on sports suits representing their respective national teams.
Zhu Qi and Song Linzhou shook hands with the players and coaches of the Russian team and prepared to go on stage to receive the award.
Belarus, the bronze medalist, wore pure white sportswear with only light gold stripes on the arms.
The Russian team's sportswear is more in line with their country's climate. The overall color tone is light blue, and the overall design has a crushed ice texture.
Zhu Qi felt it was a pity that he was unable to play against the mixed doubles team of the Belarusian team.
I heard they are on par with the Russian team.
The players of the Belarusian team and the Russian team are of the same ethnic group, children of the former Soviet Union.
From the outside, there was no difference. They all had blonde hair, blue eyes, and skin as cold and pale as plaster.
In these two cold colors, the Chinese team in their scarlet and gold uniforms looks particularly "climbing the spring mountain".
Zhu Qi and Song Linzhou became the most dazzling ones before they even stood on the podium.
The outsourced workers were a little scared when they saw the two red balls.
Didn’t they say that the Chinese team is no longer good?
How come this works again?
Will the Chinese team still take all the gold medals this year?
After the broadcast introduced the bronze and silver medalists one by one, it was finally Zhu Qi and Song Linzhou's turn.
The championship podium was knee-high. Zhu Qi and Song Linzhou stood beside the podium. Listening to the cheers of the drums, they took a big step forward at the same time, stepped firmly on the podium, and waved to the cameras around the world and the stands full of waving red flags.
Standing on the podium of the World Games is the dream that all athletes pursue throughout their lives.
They are the first mixed doubles combination of the Chinese team and the first group champions of the world mixed doubles group.
History will remember their names.
Song Linzhou stood by, watching her bow her head slightly, and said with a smile, "Congratulations."
Zhu Qi said, "Congratulations to you too."
The award presenter came on stage with a tray of medals and awarded medals to the athletes of the three teams in turn.
Japan's gold medal is in the shape of a Ukiyo-e clock, with the date of the World Games engraved on the back. In addition, there is a bouquet of gold-plated cherry blossoms as a souvenir.
Very strange.
Zhu Qi has won more or less thirty or forty medals, including gold, silver and bronze. I don’t know if it’s because the materials of the World Games medals are different, but although they are the same size, this gold medal feels heavier.
She held the gold medal and turned around to see Song Linzhou also studying it with his head down.
Song Linzhou held his gold medal and touched it against Zhu Qi's, making a crisp sound. He joked, "The sound of World Games medals is different from that of medals from other competitions."
Zhu Qi thought.
yes.
There are 6 grams of gold in it.
If I melt it down and sell it, it will make a lot of money.
The national anthem is played.
The five-star flag slowly rises above the tricolor flag and the patterned vertical striped flag.
The deafening March of the Volunteers echoed across Tokyo.
Zhu Qi suddenly remembered the question that Ren Xinhua and Master Fo asked her when they came to her house to find her two years ago.
What were you thinking when you won the World Cup?
Let me guess – you’re thinking, it would be nice if the national flag could be raised and the national anthem played at the Macau Palace, right?
Now—she did it.
On the highest podium, a man and a woman, their young and childish faces shone brightly under the light.
The song of history resounds through the sky.
In her previous life, she could only stand in the audience and watch others receive glory. Now, she is standing at the top of the podium. This feeling is really wonderful.
She thought she would cry, but she felt surprisingly calm inside.
This was not the pinnacle of her career.
What she needs to do is to keep occupying this hill.
A young Chinese girl with ambition on her face.
/
Finally, here is a group photo of the top three.
Three girls stood in the front and three male players stood in the back.
Two former Soviet girls held Zhu Qi and happily showed their bronze and silver medals to the camera.
One media outlet leaves, another comes...
At least twenty photos were taken, and Zhu Qi's face was almost frozen from smiling, before the photo session ended.
"Zhu, will you still participate in this year's World Cup?" Little Snow asked in English.
Zhu Qi wanted to say, "Of course," but the coach wouldn't let her answer that kind of question, so she could only vaguely say, "Our events all have to follow the coaching staff's arrangements."
"You are the best mixed doubles female player," the Belarusian female player praised sincerely. She was the runner-up to Maomao at last year's Asian Cup. She played against Zhu Qi in the final but lost 4-2.
I didn’t expect that we wouldn’t have the chance to compete against each other in the mixed doubles at the World Games. It’s a pity.
Two tall and beautiful Slavic sisters supported her on the left and right, and Zhu Qi stood in the middle like a cute little figurine.
hateful.
Finish shooting quickly!
From receiving the award to taking photos to the playing of the national anthem, Zhu Qi was subjected to all kinds of stares along the way.
Be curious, amazed, pondering, or observing carefully.
They all showed great interest in the young female player.
Including when accepting post-match interviews with foreign media, Zhu Qi was asked far more questions than Song Linzhou.
Q: "As the youngest player in Chinese table tennis history competing in the World Games, what do you think of your opponents in this match?"
Zhu Qi: "They are all world-class players."
Question: "Which team do you think is the most difficult to play against?"
Zhu Qi: "Everyone has their own style of play, and it's difficult to play against them all."
Question: "You played a full seven games against both the Japanese and Russian teams. Which of these two teams do you think is of higher quality?"
Zhu Qi: "We'll have to wait until they fight each other to find out."
In short, at least the Russian team stood on the podium.
Zhu·Master of Keeping Balance·Nonsense Literature·Violent·Qi feels that giving interviews is more tiring than playing basketball.
/
All the way back to the World Games Village, there were media everywhere holding cameras and taking pictures.
There are faces of all skin colors and from all over Asia, Europe and Africa.
There is a very popular sushi restaurant in the World Games Village. The national badminton team enthusiastically recommended it to them after eating there. As soon as Ah Shui arrived at the restaurant, she dragged Zhu Qi to order all the dishes on the flyer, showing off her wealth as the eldest lady of Shanghai.
As soon as the small plates of sushi were served, the door was surrounded by a group of curious people, most of whom were staff members of the World Games Village and contestants from other countries.
Qin Xiaoba said: "I feel like a monkey in a zoo."
After World War II, Sino-Japanese relations were at a low point for a long time. It was only in recent years that relations have been slightly eased due to various factors, and exchanges between the two countries have increased.
They had not seen many Chinese people, and they only knew that this year was the World Games year in Japan and many foreigners came.
Ah Shui also expressed confusion: "If you say that it's just staring at a white or black person endlessly, then it's fine. They all have Asian faces, one skin color and one hair color, what's so good about that?"
Maomao sat opposite, glanced at a newspaper rack at the doorway, and said with a smile, "They're not here to see us, they're here to see Baobao."
Zhu Qi, who was slurping noodles, raised his head. At the same time, the crowd watching outside the store screamed, followed by the clicking of several camera flashes.
“…” Zhu Qi.
Qin Xiaoba said happily: "Oh, so my sister is the Monkey King."
"Shut up." Zhu Qi.
Maomao took a newspaper from the newspaper rack at the door and read it carefully. Although he could not understand Japanese, he saw that Zhu Qi's photo was posted in the most conspicuous place.
It was a candid shot of a smash that defeated the Russian team in the final.
Zhu Qi leaped forward, all the joints of his body opened wide, his neat and fresh hair flew in the air, the red clothes on his body were like a battle robe, his eyebrows were strong and his face was beautiful.
There is also a paragraph below.
——【China's No. 1, Queen Player】
“…” Zhu Qi.
She doesn't think it's a good thing for the Japanese media to praise her.
Since entering this country, Zhu Qi has been highly vigilant against all kinds of people and things.
Therefore, we were mentally prepared for the flashing lights and power outages we encountered when playing against the Japanese team.
It's just that her mixed doubles match is over, but there's still Maomao's women's singles, Daxiong and Xiaofeng's men's singles, and mixed team...
Who knows what else Japan has in store.
Zhu Qi suddenly felt that the pork bone noodles in his hand were not fragrant anymore.
In the previous life, people only knew that the national table tennis team suddenly became weak and could not beat anyone after going abroad.
But no one knows what kind of pressure and external resistance their athletes are facing. While the International Table Tennis Federation is making various changes to the specifications of the Chinese team and suppressing the development of the Chinese team's players, it is also interfering and obstructing in many ways.
It seems so now.
The “dark twelve years” of Chinese national table tennis are truly regrettable.
never mind.
She completed her mission this time, and now it was the responsibility of the rest of the team.
Zhu Qi thought about his "early leave" and the bonus he would receive in the future, and began to wonder whether he should ask a fortune teller to calculate where he would be best to buy a house...
Maomao laughed and said, "Don't relax too early, or your p card might be activated when you join the group."
The Chinese table tennis team has never used substitutes in its history. Zhu Qi knew that Maomao was teasing her. She knew that Zhu Qi had always wanted to prove himself by winning a singles match in the World Games.
"Blind, let me join the mixed group,"
I am very happy to win the mixed doubles championship.
But this is far from enough.
"I'm in great shape right now. If only I could join the mixed group..." Zhu Qi muttered to himself...
Japan did not win a medal in the mixed doubles group and will definitely spend more energy in subsequent competitions.
A few people finished their meal quickly, pushed through the crowd, and quickly ran back to their table tennis group.
After returning to the World Games Village, Zhu Qi took the initiative to request to serve as a sparring partner for Maomao and Chang Hongxia every day. After all, the biggest threats to the women's singles in this World Games are from Japan, South Korea and Russia.
Zhu Qi had just finished playing mixed doubles and had experience playing against them.
Listen to the news that A Shui found out.
Reiko Komatsu and Amber Kohara are of average level among the main players of the Japanese team.
The Japanese team has similar ideas to other countries.
Let's use the mixed doubles group as an experiment first, and take a look at how other national teams have developed over the years, so we didn't use our absolute main players.
If the Japanese team loses the mixed doubles, they will definitely make up for it in subsequent matches.
The number one women's singles player this time is the bronze medalist of the last World Games.
The number one men's singles athlete is the silver medalist from the previous Games.
And most importantly, these two only participated in the singles events and had enough energy to prepare for the competition. Unlike Maomao and Chang Hongxia, who also took care of the mixed team events.
The women's doubles and singles are actively preparing, and the men's doubles and singles are also in full swing.
The national team brought a lot of sparring partners this time, who worked around the clock to accompany the two players who were about to participate in the women's singles training.
Zhu Qi and Song Linzhou won the mixed doubles championship, which was a gold medal for the Chinese team and prevented the continuation of the "dark twelve years" for the national table tennis team.
She also thought that the future direction could be reversed in this way and everything could develop in a better direction.
But it turned out that Zhu Qi was too optimistic.
When the men's doubles team was in the quarterfinals of the 32-man team, they were almost overturned by the Athens team. They thought they could breathe a sigh of relief, but they were defeated by the French team 4:3 in the second round and did not even make it to the quarterfinals.
After the match that day, Dashu and Xiaogang, who played men's doubles, returned to the national team without even showing up.
Qin Xiaoba said that the two of them hugged each other and cried all day long, without eating or drinking water, and even didn't go out. They looked like they had lost their father.
The men's team was filled with gloom.
Zhu Qi was surprised for a moment, but not that surprised.
The performance of the men's team in the past two years has indeed not been ideal.
The women's doubles team managed to make it to the quarterfinals in the third round, but something went wrong when they met the Japanese women's doubles team of Hara Kaori and Komatsu Reiko in the quarterfinals.
Reiko Komatsu said that Jin Lili's serve was blocked and asked for a replay.
This isn't the first player to say Jin Lili's serve was obstructed.
During the 32-to-16 match, two female players from Nepal also accused Jin Lili of blocking the ball in her serve.
According to the table tennis serving rules, the opponent must be able to see the entire process from the ball being thrown to the ball during serving, and it is prohibited to use arms to block the view.
However, the problem of blocking persists despite repeated bans, and many players even deliberately exploit loopholes in the rules by leaning their upper body or shoulders slightly forward to block the serve.
Jin Lili's method of blocking is even more sophisticated. She deliberately sticks her head forward when serving, using her head to block the friction when hitting the ball.
From the perspective of the referees on the left and right sides, no obstruction can be seen, but only the receiver of the serve will know about the obstruction.
Before the quarterfinals, Ren Xinhua called Jin Lili to talk for a long time.
Ah Shui speculated that it might be related to Jin Lili's blocking during her serve. She told Zhu Qi, "When I was sparring with Jin Lili, I felt that she knew she was blocking, but she thought it was harmless and didn't care as long as she could score. She also received a yellow card for blocking during the Asian Cup, but most referees don't pay much attention to blocking. I guess she's had a taste of success and doesn't want to change."
But judging from Jin Lili's performance in the quarterfinals, Ren Xinhua's talk didn't seem to have any effect.
The Japanese players were much tougher than the Nepalese players. They asked to see the replay and accused Jin Lili of using the angle of her body to block the spin on her serve.
After the referee gave Jin Lili a yellow card, Jin Lili and Ding Shushu's rhythm was disrupted and they lost the game [2:4].
Both the men's doubles and women's doubles lost and failed to even stand on the podium.
When the news reached back home, it caused an outcry.
The most criticized team was the women's doubles pair of Jin Lili and Ding Shushu, because they lost to the Japanese team.
The men's and women's singles teams received even more bad news.
Chang Hongxia lost to the number one women's singles player of the Japanese team 4:3 in the quarterfinals due to a recurrence of an old injury.
This is a carnival in Japan and South Korea.
The screams in the whole place pierced the clouds and cracked the rocks, exploding in everyone's ears like a bomb.
Everyone's heart felt like it was being boiled and tortured by a raging fire, and they broke down emotionally looking at the extremely excited smiles on the faces opposite them.
Ding Shushu squatted in front of the pool table and cried inconsolably, while Jin Lili was at a loss and even forgot how to shake hands.
[Mixed doubles is not worth mentioning! Singles events are the real test of strength!]
The Great Wall has fallen, and the future belongs to us!
【Ping pong is no longer the exclusive glory of China. Japan will usher in the era of becoming a table tennis powerhouse!】
This was a banner that had been hung across Japan for three days. The Japanese, who had been suppressed for a long time due to the mixed doubles defeat a few days ago, were extremely excited. They shouted "The Era of Japan", opened champagne, held banners, waved the flags of Japanese athletes, danced, and shouted.
As a talented female player who has attracted much attention in Japan, in Hara Kaori.
She and Reiko Komatsu successfully eliminated the Chinese team in the women's doubles, advanced to the finals, and secured the gold medal.
The girl with a pretty face, a pure smile and a sweet voice talked freely to the media who were interviewing her.
——"Reaching the finals was easier than I thought."
In the original fragrance, she is like a foxtail lily in full bloom. Her skin is as white as porcelain, and you can smell an extremely pure fragrance through the screen, just like her sweet and mellow voice. Wearing a white sportswear, she looks as approachable as the girl next door.
Zhu Qi heard the Japanese call her "Saint".
The saint of Japanese table tennis.
Bring them the dawn of victory.
Take every word she says as gospel.
"Let's go." Ah Shui stood behind Zhu Qi sullenly and patted Zhu Qi's shoulder.
She was not in a good mood either. No one would be happy if they lost the game.
"Where is the captain?" Zhu Qi turned around and saw that Chang Hongxia was not among the large group of people who were keeping their heads down and silent, so he asked.
"Captain, she's still in the locker room and told us to leave first," Ah Shui said. "It seems the captain is in a bad mood, and I don't know how to persuade her."
"I want to talk to the captain, you go first." Zhu Qi said.
"good."
Zhu Qi went back the same way, but didn't find Chang Hongxia in the locker room. It was empty.
She searched along the staff passage in the hall, one road after another, and finally found Chang Hongxia, who was covered with sportswear and silent with her head down, in the waiting area of the World Games Badminton Hall next door.
Feeling someone sitting on the seat next to her, Chang Hongxia didn't look up, but she knew who it was through the coat.
"How did you know I was here?" Her voice was choked with sobs, but she was strong and unwilling to let the trembling sound leak out.
Zhu Qi whispered, "I... just happened to be passing by."
She was really not good at lying, and Chang Hongxia didn't expose her.
The two of them sat on either side of her, and after a long period of silence, Chang Hongxia's mood calmed down a little.
She turned her head to look at Zhu Qi and suddenly smiled bitterly.
Zhu Qi didn't know why she was looking at him and smiled, so he sat obediently beside her and listened to Chang Hongxia say, "If you had competed in the individual event this time, the result would not have been like this."
Zhu Qi said modestly, "That's not true. In terms of competition experience, I'm still not as good as you, Sister Xia."
"Come on, you must have been thinking to yourself that you could definitely win even if I let you do it, right?"
Zhu Qi felt a little embarrassed and chuckled.
"I was like that when I was young, too. You'd never guess I was even more arrogant than you. Back then, I even had a face-to-face argument with my coach because I couldn't get the spot I wanted. My coach and I overturned a table full of balls, and he was so angry that he banned me for six months," Chang Hongxia lamented, thinking back to when she was seventeen or eighteen. "Youth is still the best. The future is limitless."
"I can't believe Sister Xia has moments like this." Zhu Qi smiled. Ever since she joined the national team, Chang Hongxia, the women's team captain, has been very mature and steady, managing all matters of the team, big and small. "Brother Lu said you're the hardest-working athlete in your group."
After just a few simple words, Chang Hongxia felt much better.
Zhu Qi really wanted to say something to comfort her, but he was not an encouraging person, so he could only talk to Chang Hongxia about He Qianlu's work in the provincial team.
Let me tell you that when He Qianlu first came to the Jianghuai Provincial Team, he was ostracized by other coaches in the team and no players were willing to learn from him.
After they won the U12 championship together, the rumors in the team decreased a lot.
The more gold medals Zhu Qi won, the better He Qianlu's reputation in the team became, and his condition gradually recovered.
But it is still completely different from the high-spirited and ambitious person he was in the national team. He is more calm and composed after years of experience.
"He's definitely different now," Chang Hongxia sighed, the light in her eyes fading. "I thought he saw you as incredibly talented, a talent you'd have to be even the best at, so he wanted you to leave. I didn't expect you'd be doing so badly. No wonder the chairman insisted on bringing you over from Jianghuai Province, against all odds. You're the type of person the women's team needs the most right now."
"Many people say so," said Zhu Qi.
"No, I mean something different. A team needs three types of people: the 'iron weight' and the 'white paper'."
"Why does it sound so much like a nickname used by gang members in Northeast China?"
"That's about right. Everyone in the martial arts world has their own social role. 'Iron weights' refer to the team's sparring partners, typically the unsung heroes of the team, dedicating their lives to the team's success without any glory to their name. They're also known as die-hard sparring partners, lacking their own tactical systems. They need to emulate famous players and tough guys from around the world to serve as foils for others' development, like Ah Shui and Qin Xiaoba right now. Then there's another type of person: they're always well-behaved, methodical, and obedient. The resumes of these athletes are like beautiful examples, free of mistakes or flaws. They serve as the core representatives of the team, trophies to be displayed to the outside world."
"Like you?" Zhu Qi asked.
Chang Hongxia shook her head. "That's your Coach Xu, and also Maomao now. Maomao has a calm personality, not easily upset by external factors, and never stirs up trouble. But she carries a heavy psychological burden and tends to keep things to herself. She doesn't usually show it, but the incident at the youth training camp has always been a thorn in her side. Before you came to the national team, she was wary and distant towards everyone, including me. I think it was because of what happened at the youth training camp that Maomao couldn't let down her guard against anyone. Now that I haven't held this half of the zone, only your encouragement can make her listen. Children like Maomao are the 'white paper' of the team. Good kids in the eyes of the coach and model students in the eyes of teammates."
Zhu Qi shrugged: "I'm definitely not a 'white paper'."
She was the number one student who broke the rules by skipping the dormitory right after joining the national team.
"You are not. You and He Qianlu are the same kind of people. You are both 'black bones'."
"Black bone?"
"People like 'Black Bone' are covered in thorns, each bone unwilling to bend. They are often arrogant, conceited, and proud, making them difficult to discipline. Occasionally, they even prick their coaches. But when faced with difficulties, these athletes can truly rise to the occasion. The greater the pressure, the better they perform. They are the berserkers who support the collapse of Great Xia and triumph over adversity. They are also the sharpest spears in the team, capable of piercing any opponent beyond the walls."
Zhu Qi lowered his eyes slightly: "Isn't Jin Lili also of this type?"
Talking about Jin Lili, Chang Hongxia sighed, "When Lili first joined the national team... she was a bit arrogant, but her style was domineering, she wasn't afraid of losing, and she refused to admit defeat. That was very much her style. Initially, the team groomed her as a successor, but your appearance... put even more pressure on her. She began to see what a truly talented and hardworking player looks like. A sense of crisis led her to seek shortcuts and schemes. I've told her this many times, but it's no use. This women's doubles loss was a big blow to her, but she... won't achieve greater success."
Zhu Qi responded calmly, "Actually, she cares more about what you think of her. I heard from Sister Shushu that when she first joined the national team, she followed you and learned from you every day. To her, your words may be more useful than the coach's."
Chang Hongxia patted her shoulder and said with a smile, "Maybe it was like that before, but now she thinks every word I say is a prejudice against her. Everyone has their own destiny. I did what I should do as the captain of the women's team. As for whether she listened or not, I can't control it. Besides, Jin Lili is only clever, but you are wise, as you can see from this women's doubles match. In the future, you may face many unimaginable obstacles, from opponents, the coaching staff, the fans, and many more profound ones. I hope... no matter what, you will not give up on the little white ball like He Qianlu did."
"I will never give up," said Zhu Qi.
"He once said that."
Zhu Qi looked at her and she looked at Zhu Qi too.
Chang Hongxia seemed to be able to see Zhu Qi's most sincere heart through her eyes.
"I've also experienced great failure in life," Zhu Qi said. "God took pity on me and gave me a chance to start over. I've already experienced the most painful things in life, and nothing will make me feel pain again."
"Are you talking about your life before the age of six?" Chang Hongxia asked, then suddenly lowered her head. "I'm sorry, I was so curious about you that I secretly asked my friend to go to Jianghuai Province to inquire about you."
She thought Zhu Qi was talking about the domestic violence he experienced as a child, so Zhu Qi said, "I guess so."
"Two years ago in the table tennis league, you said you wanted to win this fucking life. Now I understand what you meant. Baobao, you will succeed," she held Zhu Qi's hand tightly, as if passing a part of her body to Zhu Qi's hand, her tone sincere and heavy.
"When the old captain retired, he told me and Old Xu: It wasn't easy for the pioneers to build this kingdom, and you young guys can't lose that spark. Honestly, when we lost in the semifinals, I really wanted to die on the field. I was ashamed to face my fellow countrymen, and I didn't even know how to walk off the field. Looking at you now, I always feel like I'm looking at myself back then, and I want to say this to you too. The future belongs to you young people. You go back, I'll go around on my own. You won't have the opportunity to walk in the players' waiting room like this again."
Chang Hongxia walked alone in the empty and silent hall. Her footsteps sounded extremely dull due to the recurrence of her old injuries, as if she was no longer a living human being, but a ghost floating in this island country.
She was wearing the hottest red, like a dying fire, swaying left and right in Zhu Qi's sight until she disappeared.
Maomao said that Chang Hongxia is going to retire.
The puzzle of her life still lacks the last piece: the World Games.
Many sparks rose up on Tiantan East Road, using all their strength to illuminate a brief and bright moment.
Of the four former national table tennis stars, one left the team, one retired, one was injured... and one...
【Author’s words】
I feel like if I keep writing at this pace, I’ll be done soon… Oh no, I haven’t even gotten to Moscow yet… [nonsense.jpg]
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