65 Minsk Table Tennis Mixed Team
◎We must not allow sports to become a competition for men only.◎
It started raining as soon as we arrived in Minsk.
The temperature in Belarus in May is still much lower than that in Beijing.
Especially when Zhu Qi and his team first arrived, it was night time and the players were so cold that they were jumping up and down.
It was already early morning when they were waiting for the competition organizers to pick them up.
The three girls were wrapped in a huge military coat, and when they huddled inside it, they looked like three little quails. They sat at the back of the bus.
The dark green bus was fueled by diesel, and people felt dizzy when sitting on it.
I don’t know if the driver was still drunk, but the whole car was shaking and he would occasionally step on the accelerator to rush forward.
As soon as he arrived at the place, A Shui vomited first.
Maomao quickly ran to the nearby small shop to buy some water for her, but found that there was only cold water there. She had no choice but to buy a bottle of room temperature water for Ah Shui to fill her stomach first.
I poured one before I even got to the hotel.
Ren Xinhua quickly asked the team doctor to check on Ah Shui's condition, and the feedback he got was that he was suffering from acclimatization problems.
Maomao borrowed an induction cooker from the hotel staff and used it to boil water in the hotel.
The water was bubbling, and the temperature in the room rose slightly.
Zhu Qi sat beside Ah Shui's bed, reached out and touched Ah Shui's head, a little worried: "You don't have a fever, right?"
"My head doesn't hurt, my throat is just itchy." Ah Shui shook his head.
"Take this." Zhu Qi took a hot water bottle and stuffed it into Ah Shui's stomach. "If you feel uncomfortable, be sure to tell me."
"I don't feel uncomfortable at all, I just want to cough."
"It must have been the cold between getting off the plane and getting on the bus. Take some medicine." Maomao came over with a pill and popped it into Shui's mouth. "This was prescribed by the team doctor. You can take it, but it's just for inflammation."
For athletes.
I'm not afraid of any bumps or scrapes.
This is all very good.
Because external injuries can be cured quickly by applying medicine or ointment.
But for athletes, being sick at home is too painful.
Don't just take random medicine. Many female players have endocrine problems and can't take traditional Chinese medicine. This is because many traditional Chinese medicines contain stimulants. If you have a fever, you really just have to drink lots of hot water to fight it off.
The coaches walked around, made sure all the children were in the room, reminded them to go to bed early and about the gathering time tomorrow, and then left.
The coaches had just left in the last second, and the next second the children ran out and ran around.
The absolute main force all lived on the first floor. When Qin Xiaoba heard that Ah Shui had caught a cold from the wind, he even ran over to visit him.
"Sister, are you okay? Is it contagious?"
"Go away, it's just a cold. How can it be contagious? It's not a virus." Maomao waved at Qin Xiaoba. "Move aside. Don't get in the way."
"I'm afraid that everyone in your women's team will fall down." Qin Xiaoba took out a pack of throat lozenges from his pocket.
I don’t know when he bought it or brought it here. He just stuffed it on A Shui’s bedside table and left.
This was Qin Xiaoba's first time participating in a large-scale team competition, second only to the mixed team event of the World Games, so he was naturally very excited and took it very seriously.
On the way here, when he called his family to report the good news, his uncle repeatedly reminded him to fight hard.
Humph, they never talk to my sister like that.
Every time I talk to my elder sister on the phone, I always say... Hey, it doesn't matter whether I win the championship or not, second or third place is also good, just work hard... blah blah blah.
The coaching staff also received the draw results.
This time, the Chinese team was drawn into the lower half of Zone D, and the Swedish team is in the upper half of Zone D. It is estimated that they may meet in the quarterfinals.
As the winner of the "Alesi" Cup in the last mixed team table tennis event, the Swedish team knows that they may be in trouble this time and will face the currently powerful Chinese team in the quarterfinals.
On the second day after all the athletes checked into the hotel, the head coach of the Swedish team came over and chatted with Ren Xinhua for a while.
As a result, most of the conversation revolved around Zhu Qi.
Table tennis is one of the sports in which the Swedish team has developed relatively well, and it is also the main competitor of the Chinese women's table tennis team in world-class competitions.
However, the Swedish team coach actually took the initiative to talk to Ren Xinhua about Zhu Qi, which shows that Zhu Qi performed so well in some Asian series competitions that she has become the focus of many foreign female players. It also shows that foreign associations also plan to vigorously develop the women's table tennis project.
This is not a good thing.
But it's not a bad thing.
From a global perspective.
If women's table tennis can develop in some small countries, it will be easier to expand the sport of table tennis globally.
We cannot allow sports competitions to become a competition for men only.
"I heard that Zhu Qi is only 19 years old this year and won the 'Miriam' Cup in women's singles last year. Will you use her as the Chinese team's 'secret weapon' to snipe us this time?" The Swedish coach laughed. He was obviously here to spy, but he asked what was in his heart first.
how?
Come to test the battle list?
Ren Xinhua smiled, his smile revealing only the real reason. "The specific roster will be determined based on the players' performance in this mixed team tournament, as well as collective discussions with our coaching staff. But one of your girls won a silver medal at the European Championship this year, and we're worried about that, too."
The two sides exchanged greetings.
But when talking about Sweden's European Championship silver medal, the Swedish coach's expression was not so good. He snorted and said, "It's a pity that we won the silver medal."
Ren Xinhua knew he'd been tricked, so he quickly pressed the issue, "The American table tennis team has always been amateur, unable to even make the qualifying rounds. But I heard they trained an exceptional female player who won the gold medal at the European Championships. Why didn't the American team participate in the mixed team event this time?"
"There's nothing we can do about it. That 'female' player truly outclassed our players in every way." The Swedish coach sighed at the end, dropping the subject. Then, his emerald eyes glanced at Ren Xinhua, a look that read, "Good luck to the Chinese team!" before he said goodbye and left.
I don't know why.
When these coaches from outside mentioned the mysterious American "female" player, they felt a sense of fear as if a swarm of locusts were passing through their territory and were unwilling to say a word.
Ren Xinhua felt more and more that something was not right and that things were beginning to move in an unknown direction.
A Shui's condition improved a lot, and he was fine the next day after a good night's sleep.
Master Fo and Ren Xinhua also breathed a sigh of relief.
In the next three days, you need to adapt to the environment and do some simple warm-up training.
Ren Xinhua said to them, "You three will be randomly paired up for doubles. Anyone can play, whether it's men's doubles, women's doubles, or mixed doubles. We'll pick two out of the six of you. No matter who they are, they have to be able to play as soon as they step on the court."
"Yes!" Six people.
Actually, from January to now.
The six of them also prepared for this mixed team table tennis competition for a long time.
Doubles.
It’s not a difficult task.
The two more difficult factors are Qin Xiaoba and A Shui.
Zhu Qi and Song Linzhou were standing opposite their younger brother and sister. Before they had served two balls, they heard shouting from the other side.
"Don't give it backspin! How can I flick the ball if you do?" Ah Shui shouted at Qin Xiaoba, shaking his long rubber. "Don't you know that my long rubber will turn it into topspin if it receives backspin? If then Bao Bao throws a powerful looping shot, can you catch it?"
"Why can't I catch it? I'm just waiting to catch it!"
"You can catch a hammer." ...
"What are they arguing about?" Song Linzhou turned around and asked.
Zhu Qi shook his head: "I don't know. Hey! You two! Fight hard!"
The elder sister yelled, and the younger brother and sister calmed down and stood on the left and right of the table waiting for Song Linzhou to serve.
The ball spun several times.
The older brothers and sisters on the right switched their bodies and moved back and forth to fill the empty spaces. No matter how strange the ball was at a large angle, they could handle it with ease and catch it back easily.
The group of younger brothers and sisters on the left kept bumping into each other, and one of them blocked the other's path for the ball, making a lot of noise and chattering.
Song Linzhou hit the racket at the far table, and the white ball rose in the air at an extremely high angle, almost hitting the ceiling. A Shui quickly ran to the near table to prepare for a smash, but the ball flew straight to a black head next to the table.
“Bang!”
The ball hit Qin Xiaoba's head.
Qin Xiaoba snorted, covered his head and half squatted down.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean it." Ah Shui held the racket and apologized very sincerely.
"You're murdering me! Damn, it hurts!" Qin Xiaoba grimaced in pain and kept scratching the place where he was hit.
"Who told you not to dodge? You blocked my shot."
"I don't have eyes in the back of my head!"
"Brother Daling can dodge it every time, but you are the weak one. You don't know how to predict it!"
"Who are you calling a dish?!"
"It's you, it's you!"
"Say it again!"...
The coaches stood by with frowns on their faces, watching the two kids arguing with each other.
Fo Ye began to wonder, was it because Old Ren asked Qin Shang and Fang Miao to form a reserve mixed doubles team because these two people were annoyed by each other and would not date?
In fact, Ren Xinhua had another idea.
Qin Xiaoba and Zhu Qi's playing styles are very similar. The younger brother grew up with his older sister and has subtly learned many details from her, including serving, footwork, and first three shots. Perhaps Ah Shui is more familiar with Qin Xiaoba.
In fact, it can be seen from the battle of genders that both A Shui and Qin Xiaoba are backhand-oriented players, but A Shui's long rubber playing style is the finishing touch, which can make the opponent lose points in various reverse spins.
If the two of them work together for a longer time, maybe their results will be better than Qilin's.
The younger brother and sister quarreled for a long time and annoyed their older sister.
Zhu Qi stood by the table, his face sullen. "Have you two had enough of arguing? What are you trying to do? Kill each other? You, and you! Both of you! Come over here and play ball!"
At a table next to them, Maomao and Big Bear were playing tug-of-war to warm up, and were speechless when they heard the noise coming from the next table.
"Xiao Ba can't keep on being so reckless. He's already 18, it's time for him to secure his position as the absolute main force and then develop well." Maomao spread his legs and squatted to practice backhand.
The big bear on the opposite side also maintained the same posture. When the two began to warm up, they chatted for a while about their experiences of becoming captains of the men's and women's teams.
Maomao, the captain of the girls' team, doesn't have that many worries. It's just that girls sometimes have some small thoughts, or they have to control themselves when they are not feeling well.
But the big bear standing in front of the cat was not so comfortable.
The cat looked at Big Bear with a bit of sympathy in its eyes.
Gao Xiaofeng, the former captain of the men's team, had a hot temper, but also had the courage and decisiveness of a northern man, and he had a high prestige in the team.
Although Daxiong is also from the north, he has lived outside since childhood and comes from a military family, so he has a better character in all aspects. He is not like other boys who curse and swear everywhere. He speaks in a very strict manner and follows the rules set by the coaches, which makes it easy for the little brats to take advantage of him.
"You can't be too good-tempered. Boys are very naughty. How can you control them if you are not a little fierce?" Maomao suggested seriously.
Daxiong wiped the sweat off his face and said helplessly: "The women's team is still better. Girls are more obedient."
The women's team is indeed easier to manage.
Another reason is that Zhu Qi helps take care of the cat.
Although there is no deputy captain position in the team, sometimes when Zhu Qi sees that Maomao is too busy, he will help with statistics or watch the training.
After all, he is a double champion of the World Cup and the new winner of the "Miriam" Cup. The girls below are also very convinced and listen to Zhu Qi very much.
Practiced for three days.
The day of the 32 to 16 match finally arrived.
For table tennis players, Grand Slam is a lifelong pursuit, and individual events are the best symbol of personal level.
But for a country.
Team events represent the strength of an entire country.
If we look at the importance of the competition, individual and team events are actually on par with each other, with doubles events taking second place.
As soon as the list came out, Ren Xinhua gathered all the coaches to discuss for a whole day to determine the roster for the first game.
In the first round, we faced the Pakistani team, which was a group of South Asian brothers and sisters with deep eye sockets, big eyes, high noses and dark skin.
Men's doubles: Qin Xiaoba and Daxiong.
Women's doubles: A Shui and Maomao
Men's Singles: Song Linzhou
Women's singles: Zhu Qi
Mixed doubles: Zhu Qi and Song Linzhou
The Baba Sheep are not very good at table tennis, and most of the time they are just there to make up the quota.
I heard that after knowing that his team had drawn the Chinese team in the first round, the Pakistani coach directly bought a return flight ticket on the night of the game.
He even checked out of the hotel he had rented for a week and brought his luggage to the competition venue, ready to board the plane home the next second after the game.
And the result was just as everyone expected.
The men's doubles, women's doubles and men's singles were all won directly.
The game was over before Zhu Qi even had a chance to play.
Zhu Qi watched in the audience for more than two hours without breaking a sweat, and then announced that he had advanced and was ready for the next 16-to-8 team competition.
Very hateful.
She grumbled to Xu Dong, "Please let me play doubles and singles in the next match against Nepal. If they win the first three matches, what's the point of me playing in the fourth? It would be so boring just sitting in the audience. It would be so embarrassing to take home a championship for nothing."
Xu Dong smiled and patted her head: "Okay, I'll fight for you."
But it's a pity.
The roster for the second day was exactly the same as the first round.
Zhu Qi is still in the fourth round of women's singles and the last mixed doubles.
Watching the other people playing on the court, Zhu Qi, sitting in the first row of the audience, felt a little unhappy.
Because Pakistan and Nepal are not table tennis powerhouses, Ren Xinhua and Fo Ye did not provide coaching this time. Instead, they asked Xu Dong and Gao Xiaofeng to sit in the coaching seat and arrange tactics for the players.
Ren Xinhua is also training his successor.
In the 1990s, the retirement age for ordinary female workers was only 50 years old, while female cadres like Ren Xinhua had to retire at 55. However, she is already four years over 55 and is about to turn 60, and there are indeed many things that she is unable to do.
Logically speaking, Ren Xinhua could have applied for retirement and returned home to enjoy his retirement after leading the team to the Tokyo World Games.
However, the team was in a tough situation during the Tokyo cycle. Several players had retired, and the rising stars were still not fully mature enough to take charge.
So Ren Xinhua has no plans to retire for the time being.
No matter what, we have to take these kids and defeat Moscow.
During this period.
Ren Xinhua also needs to think about it carefully.
Who will succeed me as the head coach of the national table tennis team and lead this team to the top?
Although Foye has considerable experience and a long tenure with the national team, he needs someone to keep him in check and assign tasks to him. Otherwise, he often makes judgments that are heavily influenced by personal feelings. In other words, he can be a small-time leader, but not a big one; his mindset is too narrow and he lacks a broad perspective.
While Shi Ge is capable and resourceful, he's also overly emotional. He's a bit brusque in his words and actions, inflexible and inconsiderate, and overly protective, always believing his players are flawless. For example, when Ren Xinhua approached Shi Ge about Tang Tang and Fat Tiger's romance, he was remarkably reassured that his players wouldn't be in a relationship.
These two people are actually not very suitable.
Think of this.
Ren Xinhua suddenly turned around and looked at Zhu Qi who was sitting next to him. He looked Zhu Qi up and down meaningfully and said "Hmm..."
Zhu Qi didn't know why Ren Xinhua suddenly stopped watching the game and turned around to look at him.
She thought that she might be unhappy because she didn't get a place in the first three games, and Ren Xinhua saw it, so she could only relax her expression a little and not show "I'm unhappy" too obviously on her face.
"You are 19 years old this year, right?" Ren Xinhua suddenly asked.
Zhu Qi was watching Maomao and Ah Shui's women's doubles match when he heard this. His mind was lost for a moment, so he nodded. Then, realizing it was impolite, he added, "Yes, I just had my birthday in early February. I'm 19 now."
"You've been in the national team for four years, but I always feel like you've only been here for a short time." Ren Xinhua sighed.
Time flies.
Zhu Qi thought so as he watched Maomao and A Shui on the table win another game, with a big score of [2:0] and prepare for the third game.
A Shui has made great progress this year.
Not only has my racket-swinging technique become more proficient, but I've also been training madly to swing with my right hand.
"A Shui has a false left hand, and it is not easy for him to practice the reverse shot technique to this level. It seems that Xiaoxia has devoted a lot of energy to A Shui." Ren Xinhua is very satisfied with A Shui's progress now. Watching one child after another grow up, Ren Xinhua truly realized that he is getting old.
Chang Hongxia, who was listening nearby, chimed in, "Actually, Ah Shui is quite diligent himself. He trains a lot and also thinks about things on his own. Ultimately, it's Bao Bao and Maomao who are really leading the way."
It's strange.
Since Zhu Qi came to the team, many things have gone very smoothly and the players have grown by leaps and bounds.
Zhu Qi is like a little sun, able to release his energy to everyone around him.
A Shui's performance is okay.
But Maomao seems to be in a bit of a erratic state after coming back from the surgery.
Although he can lead the Super League and many current active players, he can't control it as stably as Zhu Qi.
Fortunately, Maomao and Ashui cooperated well and won directly with a score of [3:0]. Song Linzhou followed closely and the game ended with a big score of [3:1].
In this match against Nepal, Zhu Qi once again acted as the atmosphere creator for the day.
The Russian team next door also successfully advanced.
The Chinese team and the Russian team will meet in the quarterfinals.
Zhu Qi thought that it would be her turn to play in the women's doubles this time, but when the list was announced, only some changes occurred on the men's team.
Men's doubles: Qin Xiaoba and Daxiong.
Women's doubles: A Shui and Maomao
Men's Singles: Big Bear
Women's singles: Zhu Qi
Mixed doubles: Zhu Qi and Song Linzhou
Before Zhu Qi could not help but ask Ren Xinhua, Ren Xinhua took the initiative to explain the purpose of his arrangement.
"Only Little Snow is a decent player among the Russian women, so women's doubles is basically off the table for the Russian team. It would be a waste of you to play. Maomao's form has been inconsistent lately, so letting her play a few more matches will help her adapt to the rhythm of the game faster and regain her form. After we win women's doubles, no matter what problems arise in men's doubles or singles, you and Daling will be there to cover them."
Zhu Qi thought about it and felt that it made sense.
If I were a coach myself, I would probably arrange it this way.
Although it is a pity that he couldn't play, it would be fine if the others could win directly and ensure that the Chinese team advances safely.
Thinking of this, Zhu Qi had no objection.
Who would have thought that on the third day, in the match against the Russian team, the men's doubles and women's doubles would win again.
Although Maomao and A Shui made some mistakes in the fourth game of the women's doubles and the score was tied by the opponent, they still won the fifth game without any danger.
Just when Zhu Qi thought he would be sitting on the bench again, the Russian team suddenly paused the game and exercised the rights of the weaker team.
Under normal circumstances.
The third match is men's singles.
If one side loses both the first men's doubles and the second women's doubles, the weaker side has the right to adjust the order of subsequent matches.
This means that the third game can be played in women's singles or mixed doubles.
Whether it is women's singles or mixed doubles.
Either is fine, Zhu Qi has a share.
But one bad thing is that Zhu Qi did not have enough time to warm up, and her bones were not fully opened before she was pulled up to play in the women's singles.
"Baobao! Come on!" Ah Shui, with a towel on his shoulder, came back happily after shaking hands with the other person, and prepared to change clothes with Maomao.
After that, there was no more competition between the two of them, and the only task left was Zhu Qi's.
Zhu Qi pulled his racket out of the box and walked around the aisle to the table. Suddenly, a whirring sound erupted from the audience seats on both sides, and countless eyes fell on Zhu Qi.
It’s the third day in Minsk.
Zhu Qi finally had the chance to play.
She was a little excited.
But before she went on the court, Ren Xinhua reminded her: "The Russian team is initiating the weaker team rights at this time, probably intending to let Little Snow fight you with all his might."
Zhu Qi nodded.
When he walked to the billiard table, he saw little Snow striding towards him from the other side. He was wearing a sea-blue sportswear that wrapped around his bulging muscles, giving him a very direct impact.
ah.
I haven't seen this Russian girl for such a long time. Has she gained so much muscle?
The first game started.
Zhu Qi felt the effect of Xiao Snow's muscle gain.
As an old rival who has played against Snow three times, besides the coach and himself, the only one who knows about a person's progress is his opponent.
Snow's playing style has become sharper and more powerful.
Once the power comes up, the ball's rotation will become stronger.
After A Shui and Maomao changed their clothes and came back, they found that the first game was almost over.
[Small score, Zhu Qi 8:7 Snodiava]
"How's the battle going?" Maomao sat down first and asked Qin Xiaoba next to him.
"A little anxious." Qin Xiaoba and Daxiong answered in unison.
Um?
Anxious?
Not really.
Zhu Qi has made great progress in the past two years.
Two years ago in Tokyo, Little Snow was no match for Zhu Qi, so now...
After taking his seat, Maomao looked around for a while and was surprised that the growth of outsourced companies should not be underestimated.
Ever since Zhu Qi dazzled the world with his loop shots at the World Table Tennis Championships last year, I heard that many foreign players have also started to study loop shots.
According to the news from the coaching staff, the Russian team even hired some retired Japanese players and coaches at high salaries to provide them with various special training sessions, so that they can quickly study and understand the looping technique and apply it to their own needs.
Maomao looked at the two sides of the table, where two white balls with afterimages were flying back and forth like shooting stars.
Although Snow's loop ball system is not very complete and mature.
But judging from Snow's control over rotation and power, he is already a semi-finished product.
Under the hedging of the two sides.
Relying on his tall and strong physique and strength, Little Snow was able to tie the score with Zhu Qi many times.
"Now table tennis teams all over the world are making progress, and we can't take it lightly." Mr. Fo said from the side.
Fortunately, Zhu Qi was more proficient in this technique and quickly won the first game with a score of [11:9].
At the beginning of the second game, Snow continued to use his aggressive loop balls to fight back and forth with Zhu Qi.
He took the lead by several points and began to widen the score gap with Zhu Qi.
Zhu Qi chased for three points, but Snow took advantage of the situation and turned the tables, bringing the score to a 1:1 tie.
Cheers came from the audience seats on all sides, including whistles and trumpets.
Then there were a bunch of incomprehensible Russian cheers.
This time in Minsk, Belarus, the home of the Soviet Union's third son, the audience was basically all their people.
But the viewing environment was much better than before in Tokyo. At least there was no booing when Zhu Qi scored.
Halftime break.
Seeing that Zhu Qi was not excited, Xu Dong said a lot of encouraging words to Zhu Qi, and Zhu Qi actually listened to them all.
But Zhu Qi was thinking of one thing, that little Snow had gained so much muscle that his physique looked like he was almost catching up with that of a weightlifter.
When it comes down to it, strength is only one aspect of the overall level in table tennis and is not that important.
Exchanging your running ability for muscle gain and weight gain is not worth the effort.
Zhu Qi started bombarding the entire table in the third game.
The little white balls were like phantom bullets, blasting towards the opposite side with a crackling sound.
As soon as the speed increased, little Snow was unable to catch the ball and kept losing points.
Zhu Qi began to think again.
Could it be that Snow gained so much muscle because he heard there is a transgender player in the United States?
Want to compete with others in strength?
[Big score, Zhu Qi 2:1 Xiao Snow]
At the beginning of the fourth game, as soon as little Snow came on the court, he started shaking his head repeatedly, as if he had no confidence in beating Zhu Qi, and he did not look in a good mood.
Perhaps because he felt that he could not catch up with Zhu Qi's score, Snow was obviously not as hard-working in the fourth game as he was in the third game. He lost the game in less than ten minutes and only scored three points.
The Chinese team cheered.
There were also some Belarusian fans in the audience who applauded the Chinese team and celebrated their advancement to the semi-finals.
After the game, Snow walked towards Zhu Qi with a wry smile and said hello to him in English: "Hi, I lost to you again."
The two of them have never had any private contact, but they often met each other because they played in many Asian competitions before.
In the matches between Little Snow and Zhu Qi, he always loses more than he wins.
In Zhu Qi's memory, Little Snow seemed to have only beaten him once in last year's Texas Open.
"Have you changed your fighting style recently?" Zhu Qi asked curiously. "I feel that you are different."
"As you can see, the coach asked me to build muscle," Little Snow said with a smile, patting the flesh on his arm. "Although I feel like my strength has improved a lot, I'm more bulky. But there's no other way. If you want to achieve good results at the Moscow World Games, you always have to make some sacrifices, right?"
When Zhu Qi packed up his racket, tennis bag, and towel and prepared to change his clothes, little Snow followed him.
It was a bit strange to see two girls, one Chinese and one Russian, walking side by side towards the locker room.
Qin Xiaoba poked his head in and asked, "Why is my sister chatting so happily with that Mao girl?"
"You want to know? Why don't you go in and listen?" A Shui joked.
"I won't go into the women's locker room. I'm afraid they'll beat me up."
The other members of the Chinese team also began to pack their things, preparing to leave together after Zhu Qi changed his clothes to play the fourth game against Sweden tomorrow.
As soon as Little Snow entered the locker room, he began to strip naked in front of Zhu Qi, saying as he did so: "Oh, damn, I forgot to take my towel."
Zhu Qi looked at her, somewhat amused.
Oh my god, it’s so white...
These Slavs are so white that you can even see the blue blood vessels beneath the sebum.
"Zhu, have you heard about that American 'female' player?"
Zhu Qi became interested and pretended to be calm: "I heard about it, but I don't know much about it."
"I heard Mikhail tell me about that 'little rat'. Humph, a disgusting, smelly gay." Little Snow cursed directly. "Do you know why this guy doesn't dare to come to Minsk? He's afraid that we'll smash his head in."
Mikhail is the head coach of the Russian team, nicknamed "Old Angel".
Zhu Qi was shocked.
Is this a homophobic nation?
Damao has always been a hell area for homosexuals.
In Russia, promoting homosexuality is illegal, especially targeting children, and the punishment is even heavier.
Therefore, many people who post same-sex love stories online will be reported and arrested.
If you do it secretly, you definitely won't care.
Zhu Qi remembered watching a documentary about a group of "predators" in the Damao family who specifically visited websites related to homosexuality to lure people into the law, then gave them a beating. Even when the police arrived, they didn't think it was excessive. Students often used homosexuality to humiliate each other.
Of course.
This approach is too extreme and not advisable.
But Zhu Qi's attitude towards Snow deepened his previous stereotype of a homophobic superpower.
"Has that person really been confirmed to be an active professional American player?" Zhu Qi asked.
Little Snow put on a small vest, leaned against the wall and lit a cigarette. "Yeah, that guy's real name is Jamie, and he's just 21 years old. I met him eight years ago when he played in the Men's National Youth Tournament. He was still called 'Hui' back then."
When little Snow said "Hui".
It's a Russian pronunciation.
In Russian, it represents the male reproductive organ.
So funny.
No wonder little Snow called this little rat.
On the one hand, Zhu Qi admired the girl's quick words, and on the other hand, he began to think that it seemed that the United States really intended to let this transgender person help them win the championship.
In that case...
This matter still needs to be taken seriously.
However, after chatting with Xiao Snow, Zhu Qi was quite happy. At least he knew the other person's name, so he was not completely in the dark.
"I want to know more about this person. Where can I get more information?" Zhu Qi asked.
Little Snow was quite enthusiastic and said, "Come to room 408 to see me at 8 o'clock this evening. The hotel TV has replays of the European Cup, but I don't know if his game will be on the replay today."
"Okay, thank you."
After returning, Zhu Qi kept it in mind and told Xu Dong before going to bed at night that he was going to find Xiao Snow to watch the European Cup. Xu Dong hesitated and told him to come back early, then nodded in agreement.
When Zhu Qi arrived, Xiao Snow was drinking something strong. The girl even called Zhu Qi and asked if she wanted some. After asking, she suddenly remembered and took the bottle back: "Oh, I forgot, you have a game tomorrow."
Zhu Qi drank water instead of wine and sat next to Xiao Snow. The two of them drank while watching the replay of the European Cup.
I heard that Xiao Haozi won the women's singles championship of the European Cup. We should be able to see Xiao Haozi's games in every round.
But Zhu Qi still had to wait for more than an hour before he could get from the men's singles to the women's singles of the European Cup.
When this male sister appeared in the camera, there was a very intense and loud cheer from the screen.
The audience at the scene did not seem to think that it was outrageous for such a special person to participate in the women's competition. Instead, they were cheering for Jamie's appearance.
The audience called Jamie a warrior.
Although Zhu Qi and Xiao Snow couldn't quite understand, where exactly did this man's bravery lie?
The entire process of the game can almost be described as a crushing defeat.
The opposing female players had almost no chance to fight back and lost the game in a daze.
Just as Zhu Qi thought, even if this person becomes a so-called "female", the muscle strength that was once male will not disappear.
What's more, the person Xiao Snow mentioned was a professional male table tennis player before.
Every time Jamie on the screen won a ball, little Snow would humph and take a sip of wine.
Zhu Qi felt that this sister's alcohol tolerance was no joke. He watched her drink a bottle of white wine, but she was still able to chat with her without blushing or beating her heart.
I heard that Russians drink wine like water since childhood. Is it true?
After the game.
Jamie had the European Cup gold medal hanging around his neck. Standing in the middle of the screen while being interviewed, he kept facing the camera and crying, expressing his joy while crying.
"I've known since I was a child that I'm a girl. Even though everyone told me I was a man, I always firmly believed that I should be a woman. But my family's disapproval made me feel very painful, and I even thought about committing suicide. Since I started playing in club competitions, I didn't spend the prize money I earned from playing, but saved it to become a real girl..."
"To celebrate my new life, I changed my name from James (male) to Jamie (female). No more "s", but a softer "i"."
"Now I have done it, and I have proved that I can represent a real girl and win my first honor! I am very happy that so many people came to cheer me on today and recognized my identity as a girl. I love you all. In the future, I will continue to bravely face the fact that I am a girl, and I will use this identity to win more honors for the United States..."
The cheers grew louder.
Everyone regarded "her" as someone who bravely faced rumors.
This is a "warrior" who is portrayed as someone who breaks through physical barriers, recognizes his inner self, and leads trans people to realize their dreams.
Hear this.
Zhu Qi understood.
This is America testing the world's compliance.
/
Maomao was anxiously waiting for Zhu Qi in the room. A Shui next to him was so sleepy that he couldn't stand it anymore. After trying to stay awake for a while, he fell into a deep sleep.
The clock on the wall struck one in the morning.
Maomao put on his clothes and planned to go look for Zhu Qi to see why he hadn't come back yet. He wondered if something had happened.
She was about to put on her shoes when Zhu Qi walked in with a gloomy face. Maomao quickly asked, "What's wrong?"
Maomao initially thought Zhu Qi was being bullied outside, but Zhu Qi sat on his bed and said, "This matter is more serious than we thought."
Ah Shui was half asleep. He rubbed his eyes and looked at Zhu Qi: "You're back... Huh, huh..."
Snow said that he learned from sources within the Russian coaching staff that the US table tennis team had submitted an application for Jamie to participate in world competitions and that it had been approved.
In this way, Jamie will also have a world ranking, can participate in the three major competitions, and can enter the World Games.
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