85 Moscow World Games
◎First comes the national war, then the individual war.◎
This is the first time that Russia has organized such an important world-class event since the collapse of the Soviet Union.
I heard that this World Games has reached a record high of more than 9 billion US dollars. It can be said that it is a huge investment. It is bound to make the title of the eldest son of the Soviet Union famous.
When the staff hired by Russia led the national table tennis team to the accommodation area, Zhu Qi appreciated the Russian aesthetics along the way.
She has always felt that the artistic style of Mao Zedong during the Red Period was in line with her aesthetic standards. She did not like pretentious expressions, and she did not like using various kissing and hugging scenes between men and women as gimmicks to attract so-called "artists."
The artistic pursuit of the old Russians has a sense of heaviness, struggle, and destiny that is in the bones of this nation. It is like a torrent of steel, and has the beauty of hardship of major war eras.
Zhu Qi looked at the mural corridor with a strong Stalinist style and lamented the once glorious Winter Bear.
"Wow—so beautiful." Ah Shui walked to a window and stroked the light gold crystal tassels hanging from the stained glass window. "They're like stars, strung together."
When the fingers gently pluck it, it makes a very pleasant sound.
Girls prefer this kind of shiny things.
But the boy would only say one thing - "He's so rich." Qin Xiaoba sighed.
Zhu Qi felt that his younger brother really had no talent for appreciating art.
In fact, many people don’t know this.
The World Games is a loss-making event that only serves to gain publicity.
As the organizer, not only do they have to take care of the food, drink, and toilet needs of the many athletes who come to the competition, but they also have to renovate the competition venues, hire tens of thousands of referees, and staff to maintain order on site, which is already a huge expense.
Not to mention the prize money for various events, insurance money if an athlete encounters an accident during the competition, medical teams, canteen chefs...
When Zhu Qi arrived, he saw an English advertisement explaining that more than 30 stadiums had been expanded for the Moscow World Games. He also noted that the hotel also had a variety of supporting facilities, including restaurants, cafes, and a swimming pool.
This massive construction, which wastes manpower and money, is not conducive to improving the urban living environment...
Simple ticket revenue, copyright broadcasting fees, sponsorship fees... there is no way to compare with these expenses.
Basically, since the World Games were first held, every World Games has been a money-losing event for the local countries.
Therefore, there have been cases of athletes sleeping on cardboard beds, not having air conditioning in the rooms in the hot August, and swimming directly in the Seine River where the E. coli count exceeds the standard, and even calling it environmental protection.
There are also some countries that spend 30 years paying off their national debts just to host a World Games.
Even so.
There are still many countries that hope to bid to host the World Games.
Because it can increase international visibility, and although the World Games will suffer losses, it will still bring a series of commercial values in the future. Moreover, like Russia, it can demonstrate national strength and tell the world that although the Soviet Union is gone, it is still very powerful.
The players next to them were still chattering and looking around, looking at the dome corridors along the way, the brass chandeliers hanging above their heads, and the remains of Soviet-era murals... they felt very novel.
The accommodation is a suite, which consists of three small rooms, a large living room and a separate bathroom.
"Wow! It's so big--" As soon as Ah Shui entered, he threw himself on the lacquered red sofa in the living room.
"Put your things in the room first. I'll stay in the room next to the door. It will be more convenient for the coaches to find me."
Maomao went into the house first carrying the things, and A Shui also picked a room at random.
Zhu Qi didn't pick and choose and moved into the innermost room.
The first thing to do after entering is to open the window for ventilation.
With a sizzling sound.
The sunlight poured in like gold.
The weather in Moscow in August is quite comfortable.
After a quick packing, the coach started yelling at the door again: "Bring your tennis bag, racket, towel, sportswear, and shoes—meet at the gate at 5:30!"
Ah Shui wailed, "Ah? So soon! Half past five...isn't that ten minutes later?!"
The players packed up their things and quickly pushed the door open to go out.
When other athletes from the Chinese region saw a group of people in sportswear leaving the room, they immediately guessed that they were from the national table tennis team.
"What are they rushing to do? They have to train today, their first day here?"
"Of course. Their head coach is a ruthless person. There's no way he'll let them have a break."
"I heard the men's table tennis team didn't perform well in Tokyo last year, so this year they're going to have to make a comeback. So, we have to step up our preparations and not miss any training opportunities."
"Also, I heard there's a transgender person joining the women's table tennis team."
This is true of sports competition itself.
Every difficulty will be overcome.
There is fresh blood every year, and the opponents we encounter every year are also very different.
The table tennis training hall is a bit far away, almost spanning the southernmost and northernmost ends of the World Games Village. It takes at least fifteen minutes to walk there.
The men's and women's teams stood in separate rows, with the head coach leading the way, followed closely by the captains.
Zhu Qi stood in second place, followed by other players.
The eye-catching dark red team uniforms were like a materialized red sea, swaying like waves as the crowd moved, attracting the attention of many people nearby.
Unlike the last World Games, the Chinese team changed into a new set of World Games uniforms this time.
Red is still the main background color, with light gold as the embellishment pattern.
The male players’ is the over-shoulder dragon, while the female players’ is the flying phoenix.
I don’t know what material the light gold embroidery layer is specially treated with, but it has a sequin effect under the sun, which is very eye-catching.
Anyone who sees these two iconic clothing patterns will immediately identify this group of Asians.
oh.
It's from the Chinese team.
After four years of precipitation.
The Chinese team continues to shine in major competitions.
The curse of twelve dark years for Chinese table tennis seems to have dissipated.
Qin Xiaoba, who had lived in France, knew that many white people actually looked down on Chinese people in their hearts.
It's okay on the surface, but it's another face behind the scenes.
But every time I set out with the main group, I feel particularly safe.
Because when those foreigners see the red color, they will subconsciously shrink their necks and feel a little cold in their throats.
Ren Xinhua walked in front.
Before coming to Moscow for the competition, Ren Xinhua felt a little uneasy.
Whether it is the men's team or the women's team, they have to face a group of mature outsourced players.
Even many of these outsourced projects come from our own company.
When I heard that Kim Lili would represent South Korea in the Moscow World Games.
Domestic media began reporting frantically again.
Because Jin Lili performed very well in the qualifying round, the intensity of this competition is no less than that of the last National Table Tennis Championships.
The women's team coaches are also well aware of this.
If we were defeated by a player who had left the national team, there would be no way to explain to the people of the country.
When you meet Jin Lili, you can only win and not lose.
In addition, Ren Xinhua was also very worried about two things.
Before coming to Moscow, she told Foye and Shige, "There are two young athletes participating in the World Games this time, Ah Shui and Qin Xiaoba. Although they have participated in many large-scale competitions before, it's still nothing compared to the World Games. I'm worried they might get stage fright, and I'm also a little worried that these two children won't be able to handle the pressure."
Shi Ge and Fo Ye suggested: "If there were family members present, this kind of emotion might be alleviated a little."
Ren Xinhua also thought so, but she didn't expect that Zhu Qi thought the same as her.
/
When Qin Xiaoba saw his uncle, aunt, auntie and uncle-in-law at the entrance of the World Games Village, he was stunned and thought he was seeing things.
Until my aunt called out, "Son!"
Qin Xiaoba let out a "woof", rushed over, and then grabbed the hand that his parents extended and shook it back and forth.
"Why are you here? Who issued your passports? When did you come? Why didn't you tell me?" Qin Xiaoba said a lot of things at once, and suddenly remembered to shout behind him. "Sister! Sister! Uncle and the others are here!"
Zhu Qi walked over slowly, hoping very much that he would not recognize this little fool for the time being.
The family talked to each other across the railings of the World Games Village.
Of course Zhu Qi knew that it was she who booked the plane tickets for the four adults in the family, and then asked her uncle to help them with the passport application.
On the phone, she told her uncle, "I used to think Qin Shang was always just going through the motions in his matches, lacking any sense of team honor or responsibility, so I suggested to his supervisor that he be suspended. After the suspension ended, Qin Shang did show some changes, and he's been playing very hard in the competitions during this period. He's actually always wanted your attention and encouragement, and the World Games will have separate women's singles and men's doubles events. If you could come to the scene to cheer him on, I think it would help him relax more."
The four adults heard it.
Did they still have a role in encouraging others? Even if it was just for the Chinese team's victory, we had to go anyway.
Since my uncle-in-law's school was on summer vacation, my uncle stopped driving a taxi, and the four of them went on a spontaneous trip.
Of course.
Zhu Qi himself also had some selfish motives.
This is her first time participating in the singles event of the World Games.
She also hopes that her family can be present, which will make her feel at ease.
Zhu Qi looked at the four people outside the railing and asked, "Have you exchanged your money? Do you have enough rubles? I still have some..."
"Enough, enough, enough! How can an adult ask a child for money?" my uncle said cheerfully, waving his hand. "We're four adults, what are we afraid of? We came two days in advance and are familiar with the place. We even know how to get to the competition venue. Just take care of yourselves and play your best. Don't worry about us."
The other players nearby looked at the brother and sister with envy.
When playing in a foreign country, what I want most is to have familiar friends and family there, so that I can feel like I am still playing at home.
My aunt and my aunt held Zhu Qi's hands and talked for a while. Then they reluctantly let go of them after watching the national table tennis team walk away.
Zhu Qi and Qin Xiaoba waved goodbye to the four adults, then quickly caught up with the main group.
"That would be great, if only my parents could come too. It's a pity they are too busy at work and don't have time to take care of my competition." A Shui said enviously.
Zhu Qi consoled him, "There will be plenty of opportunities to compete in the World Games in the future, so this one won't hurt." Turning around, Zhu Qi suddenly noticed Qin Xiaoba's eyes were red and said with amusement, "Are you serious? Why are you still feeling melancholy?"
Several male team players nearby also came over to joke, pulling Qin Xiaoba's neck and saying, "Oh! My brother is 20 years old and still crying!"
"Get out! Who said I was crying? I was just blown by the strong wind!" Qin Xiaoba raised his hand to push the group of people away, walked to Zhu Qi and suddenly gave Zhu Qi a face-to-face hug.
“?” Zhu Qi.
"It's disgusting, get out of here!" Zhu Qi.
"Sister, thank you. Thank you for taking me to play table tennis." Qin Xiaoba's demeanor suddenly changed, becoming serious and formal. "Even when I was banned, I kept wondering why I took up table tennis in the first place. My dad initially made me play basketball, and then I switched to table tennis with you. When you joined the city team, I followed suit. When you joined the provincial team, I followed suit, and then I joined the national team. It seemed like every choice I made in my life was due to my family's interference or because I was imitating you. I never thought for myself, so playing table tennis didn't seem that important to me."
But during the period of suspension.
Qin Xiaoba was particularly envious when he saw his teammates playing games everywhere.
This feeling of envy made him realize that his life was closely tied to table tennis.
Maybe the previous choice was made on a whim, but being able to stick with it for so long, how can you say you don’t love it?
Later, when Ren Xinhua told him that he was able to go to France to play competitions, Qin Xiaoba cherished the opportunity to play in France very much.
Dad is right.
Qin Xiaoba always felt that he would have a way out. No matter how well he fought or not, he could always go home in the end.
But the way back is always created by your family, and only the way forward can be walked by yourself.
Qin Xiaoba also planned to cut off his retreat. He wanted to be like his elder sister, forge ahead and see a wider world.
Zhu Qi felt emotional after hearing this and reached out to pat Qin Xiaoba on the head.
Qin Xiaoba's eyes were filled with tears. At this tender moment, Zhu Qi suddenly changed his hand and grabbed his ear: "Don't think that I will let you go just because you say these nice things. If you don't play well in the competition and don't win the gold medal, even if your coach Gao doesn't kill you, you will still die in my hands!"
"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! It hurts! Help! Someone's killing me!"
/
The mixed group draw results are out.
Zhu Qi and Song Linzhou are in area C1.
It just so happens that the Japanese team is in area C2 this time.
If they all advance successfully, they will meet in the quarterfinals.
"This time, the Japanese team's mixed doubles players are Hara Kaori and Koharu Ko, your old rivals." Ren Xinhua took a look at the draw results and circled several important players of the Chinese team in red.
Zhu Qi and Song Linzhou sat opposite each other, looking at the red circle carefully.
Russia is still represented by Little Snow and Pineapple Head this time, in Area A.
The South Korean team this time consists of Ahn Ji-hye and a South Korean male player who is rarely seen. He is fat and has big ears, and looks like a power type.
What surprised Zhu Qi the most was that the North Korean team also participated in the mixed doubles this time, and the female player was Xi Lingen, whom Zhu Qi was very familiar with.
very good.
They are all old acquaintances.
They are also not easy targets to fight.
It seems that this table tennis competition has started with the mixed doubles.
Since the mixed doubles event was added to the last Tokyo World Games, many major competitions have followed suit and added the mixed doubles event.
Since ancient times, the strange chemical reaction between men and women has always been a topic of discussion.
The decision to launch the mixed doubles competition was originally made to make table tennis more entertaining and a hot topic.
After the Tokyo World Games, the Kirin group became famous overnight.
At this Moscow World Games, mixed doubles has become a target for many countries to compete for.
Japan, Russia, North Korea, South Korea... The only player participating in the US team this time is Shackleides Jamie, and he will not participate in doubles and team events.
Ren Xinhua mentioned two more people, circled them in the lower half of area C, and then emphasized them.
"This is Huang Jiajia and Mori Yunan from the Hong Kong team."
Hearing the latter name, Song Linzhou's back stiffened slightly.
Zhu Qi, who was sitting next to Song Linzhou, noticed this abnormality, and Ren Xinhua also glanced at Song Linzhou intentionally or unintentionally when talking about Sen Yunan.
A question mark popped up in Zhu Qi's mind.
What's going on? Are these two having problems?
Zhu Qi carefully recalled the last time the Hong Kong team came to Chaojing for an exchange match. Fat Tiger said that reporter Mori’s younger brother was also from Chaojing, and the two were of similar age. Logically speaking, he should have known Song Linzhou for a long time.
But Zhu Qi had never seen Song Linzhou and Sen Yunan talk to each other. When the two met, they acted as if they didn't know each other and didn't say a word.
But Song Linzhou's stiffness just now was only for a moment, and he immediately returned to normal the next second.
Ren Xinhua didn't ask any further questions, but simply reminded them, "The last time the Hong Kong team came, Huang Jiajia, a pure chopping player, showed impressive performance in the women's doubles with Ah Shui. Although Zhuhai and Hong Kong have returned, we represent the mainland, and the gold medal should still be firmly in the hands of the national table tennis team. There are no friends on the table, only rivals."
When he said the last sentence, Ren Xinhua looked at Song Linzhou again.
Song Linzhou's reaction this time was more normal. He nodded slightly to show that he was listening.
After that, they talked about some preparations before the competition started, and Ren Xinhua let the two children leave.
When Zhu Qi stood up, he saw Song Linzhou lowering his eyes slightly, with an expression of thought and reminiscence in the corners of his eyes.
What?
Is there really something wrong?
Zhu Qi asked him, "Do you know reporter Mori's brother?"
"We were in the same team before." Song Linzhou answered softly.
“…” Zhu Qi.
Nonsense, how could I not know that we are in the same team?
I just want to ask if you two know each other well.
never mind.
Seeing that he didn't want to talk, Zhu Qi didn't force him. He turned around, took his notebook and walked towards the door.
Song Linzhou quickened his pace and chased after him.
He followed Zhu Qi quietly, as quiet as a shadow.
This kid has been like this since he was a child, quiet and never noisy. He and Qin Xiaoba are two extremes... Oh, no, Song Linzhou was already 18 years old when they met, so that time should not be called childhood.
In fact, Song Linzhou had always followed Zhu Qi like this many times in the past.
When running in the morning, when training during the day, when stretching at night...
Zhu Qi often joked with A Shui and the others, and when he turned around, he could see Song Linzhou.
Over the years, Zhu Qi and he have also played together in mixed doubles several times and participated in several Asian-level competitions, and basically won first place.
Many newspapers nicknamed them the "Qilin Combination", praising them as the chosen mixed doubles.
Song Linzhou has had decent results in men's singles over the past two years, sharing the men's singles crown with Da Xiong and Japan's Kazi. But he was also once uncertain about his future, worried about whether he would ever have a chance to compete in world competitions because of his pen-paddle.
What does it mean to be chosen by God?
There is no such thing as destiny in sports competitions.
They are just the results achieved beat by beat.
Seeing Zhu Qi remained silent, Song Linzhou thought that his previous answer had upset her, so he took a step forward cautiously: "When Mori Yunan and I were on the same team before...we had a pretty good relationship."
Zhu Qi looked up at him. Talking now? She wasn't in the mood to listen.
Song Linzhou lowered his head: "Just like your relationship... with cats."
“…” Zhu Qi.
That shouldn't be called pretty good, it should be called very intimate.
In fact, Mori Yunan is the same thing.
Song Linzhou reacted when he heard the name because he thought of a person, Fat Tiger, who was sent back to the provincial team from the national team and developed in the Hong Kong team.
When he saw Fat Tiger's name appear in the Hong Kong team's men's doubles, he suddenly realized that his former teammate had actually stood in the other camp.
"Actually, I knew him when I first joined the city team. We both joined the team in the same year. Because I'm left-handed, the coach originally planned to arrange for me to play men's doubles. And he was my partner..."
The two childhood sweethearts became friends because of doubles, but later separated because of singles.
"...I was playing for the U18 team at the time. I won first place in that session and was directly promoted to the second national team. But because he won the runner-up, he didn't get a place in the national team. Later, he didn't participate in the youth training camp and retired from the team. I tried to find him for a while, but couldn't get in touch with him. Later I learned that his family went to Zhugang and he joined the Zhugang team." Song Linzhou sighed lightly, "Including Fat Tiger. He was also the first person I met in the national team... I was very sad when he left. If only I had stopped Fat Tiger from falling in love at that time."
Perhaps - the oath that Zhu Qi and Maomao once promised to make Moscow shine was also made by the boys themselves.
But girls are luckier after all.
The men's team appeared on the opposite field, representing two different regions.
"How can you stop something like love? Two people in love are like drunk people, they can't control themselves," said Zhu Qi.
"Have you ever thought about... if you and Maomao both made it to the women's singles final, how would you two play your match?" Song Linzhou asked.
Zhu Qi was confused: "How do you fight? Just fight normally. We've fought before. Winning or losing depends on your ability."
Song Linzhou asked again: "What if it was you and Ah Shui?"
"Same," Zhu Qi replied readily. "We have an agreement: no matter who stands on the podium, we must first defend our own half."
Song Linzhou pursed his lips slightly, seeming to agree with what Zhu Qi said.
She pointed at the national flag on Song Linzhou's chest and spoke word by word.
"No matter if it's Mori Yunan or Fat Tiger. No matter how good your relationship was before, he's different now. The things posted here are different. No matter who it is, as long as the things posted here are different from ours, we must beat him down without mercy."
First comes the national war, then the individual war.
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