89 Moscow World Games - Mixed Doubles
◎A violin racket.◎
When Xu Dong heard Zhu Qi say this, he couldn't help but almost laughed out loud.
In fact, in this kind of situation, one of the most important tasks of off-field coaching is to enlighten the players.
But Zhu Qi seemed to need no guidance at all. As long as Xu Dong gave her emotional value points, she could just shout them out.
Zhu Qi joined the national team at the age of 15 and is 21 years old this year.
Before they knew it, the two of them had spent more time together than Zhu Qi and He Qianlu in the Jianghuai Provincial Team.
When Xu Dong took Zhu Qi to the Tokyo Olympics for the first time four years ago, he felt that he had gotten a great deal.
This little "Wu Quxing" played well because the provincial team coach taught him well and had a solid foundation, which had nothing to do with her. But if Zhu Qi played poorly, it would be her fault for not coaching him well.
That's why Xu Dong felt quite pressured when he found out that Zhu Qi wanted to follow him.
As a new coach in the national team, Xu Dong was also exploring as he went along when coaching Zhu Qi.
Fortunately, Zhu Qi worked hard and had strong self-management skills, so apart from training, there was almost nothing for him to worry about.
These six years in the national team.
Zhu Qi grew up, and Xu Dong watched him grow up day by day.
Xu Dongcai felt that the player's honor was related to himself.
When Zhu Qi first came to the national team, she said that she chose to be the head coach because of He Qianlu.
But when a newspaper interviewed Zhu Qi some time ago and asked her how she got along with her head coach during her six years in the national team, Zhu Qi said something that moved Xu Dong very much.
"Coach Xu is the most patient, attentive, considerate, and player-focused coach I've ever met. She's played many roles in my life. Sometimes, she's like an older sister, understanding things from a child's perspective. Sometimes, she's like a teacher, guiding me when I need improvement. And sometimes, she's like a family member, considering many things beyond training. Coach Xu brought glory to our country as an athlete, and she's also dedicated as a coach. I have a lot to learn from her."
He Qianlu is also very nice to Zhu Qi, but He Qianlu is too rough.
He only took care of Zhu Qi's training. When Zhu Qi was sick or didn't eat well in the provincial team, he took care of himself.
But Xu Dong's responsibilities were much broader, covering basically everything from eating, drinking, defecating and urinating. Even when Zhu Qi twisted her foot, it was Xu Dong who took her to see a doctor every day.
Throughout the Moscow cycle, Xu Dong also treated Zhu Qi as a Grand Slam player.
The women's singles places in the three major competitions are the primary target.
Xu Dong has confidence in Zhu Qi...
In such a large-scale competition, in addition to technology, the most important thing is the players' mentality.
If Ren Xinhua heard Zhu Qi say this, he would definitely be impressed by this child's excellent self-regulation ability.
This ability to adjust was not something Zhu Qi was born with.
In fact, when playing in the direct-to-qualification tournament before, Zhu Qi liked to talk to himself and mutter something.
In fact, many players on the national team have this habit.
Because there is no off-field coaching in the direct-to-tournament, the players have to play the game on their own.
So the players also like to coach themselves when they play in the direct-to-finals.
What makes Zhu Qi different is that she has previous experience working in a club. Every time she coaches herself, she looks at the problems that occurred during the game from the perspective of a coach.
Therefore, one person may play two roles.
Zhu Qi felt that it was already good enough that he didn't have mental problems.
After listening to Zhu Qi, Song Linzhou could understand what she meant.
This was a kind of psychological suggestion that Zhu Qi wanted to make.
In fact, they played very smoothly in the second, third and fourth games.
In the fifth game, the rhythm was brought back mainly by Mori Yunan's backhand twist, and the Hong Kong team caught up with the previous game.
So in the sixth game, the only thing they had to do was to get the rhythm back.
Forget about the big score and keep the touch in the fourth game.
While the audience in the stands were waiting for the game to begin, they saw the Chinese team's mixed doubles players taking a deep breath at the same time on the huge screens displayed in all directions.
They were clearly not looking at each other, but their breathing frequencies were inexplicably synchronized.
Take a deep breath, take a deep breath...adjustment completed.
The Hong Kong team actually forgot one thing.
Although their ability to take the initiative in the first three shots is very good, their basic skills are not as good as the Qilin combination in terms of stalemate.
The sixth game begins.
The game suddenly seemed to be accelerated by someone.
The Qilin combination's line changes, racket swings, cross-runs...are all moving at a dazzling speed.
The coaches of the Hong Kong team watched with their eyes wide open, thinking to themselves that something was wrong.
They knew that the Qilin combination had been playing mixed doubles for quite some time, and that they had won the mixed doubles championship at the last World Games. In addition, both players were well-known number one players of the Chinese team, so their personal levels were naturally beyond doubt.
But I heard that throughout the Moscow cycle, the two of them have been focusing on individual competitions, and have only participated in mixed doubles competitions four or five times.
Logically speaking, so much time has passed.
In terms of tacit understanding, there should be some discounts.
However, the two people from the Chinese team seemed to have never been separated. They didn't need to give each other any glances. The other party could understand what they meant with just a gesture.
Zhu Qi didn't need to look back, because Song Linzhou behind her would judge what she wanted to do based on her actions.
All Song Linzhou has to do is cooperate fully with Zhu Qi.
As the white ball is hit back and forth, it connects faster.
As long as the ball is hit at high speed.
It is easy to fall behind Jia Jia's slice shot.
Fast break has always been the mainstream style of play of the Chinese team.
The only way to defeat martial arts in the world is speed.
[Small score, Zhu Qi/Song Linzhou 6:4 Huang Jiajia/Mori Yunan]
The Qilin group seemed to have suddenly found a point of strength.
The two players from the opposing Hong Kong team still wanted to use the old tactics from the sixth game, letting Song Linzhou hit a backhand ball, giving Mori Yunan the opportunity to twist and pull, and then let Zhu Qi lose points.
The Hong Kong team just started to get into the groove in the fifth game, but they were suppressed by Zhu Qi and Song Linzhou again in the sixth game.
The Chinese table tennis team was very happy to watch the game, but some were also very curious.
Ah Shui turned around and asked Maomao: "Why can't the guy twist the ball out?"
"Da Ling has clearly strengthened his awareness of backhand lobs, providing insurance for the opponent's backhand, preventing them from spinning it out." Maomao understood and explained to the players nearby. "Normally, to spin a good shot, you'd typically spin the opponent's topspin, following the spin. But the Hong Kong team forgot that Jia Jia's slice is weak when she returns it, making it easy for Da Ling to serve any ball he wants."
Song Linzhou does not give topspin balls.
Mori Yunan just couldn't twist it out.
When Zhu Qi fought Jia Jia, it was Zhu Qi who attacked and Jia Jia who defended.
Jia Jia's chopping is really good.
A Shui was watching the mixed doubles match on the court, and suddenly remembered that when she and Jia Jia were in the women's doubles, they were playing against Fat Tiger and a male player from Yunwan.
Although it was an exchange exhibition match at that time, A Shui also knew that Jia Jia's ball had a special feature.
The starting action of the slice is too long.
In table tennis, the game time is measured in milliseconds, and every second is changing rapidly. If it were in singles, this would be a fatal weakness, so the Hong Kong team defined Jia Jia's position as doubles.
The first and fifth games did have some advantages.
But no one on the Hong Kong team expected this.
The connection between the Qilin group is so coherent, close, and natural.
The commentators exclaimed in admiration.
The two of them fought as if they were one person.
The two kids from the Hong Kong team can no longer keep up with the pace of the Qilin group.
Snap! Snap! Snap!
As long as the ball reaches Zhu Qi and Song Linzhou, it will accelerate back.
Another ball hits the net.
Zhu Qi and Song Linzhou scored.
[Small score, Zhu Qi/Song Linzhou 9:6 Huang Jiajia/Mori Yunan]
Jia Jia smiled bitterly and looked down at the racket in her hand.
"It's so hard..." she said bitterly.
Jia Jia knew that the coaches said Zhu Qi's loop ball was very good, so her own slice shot was just to focus on Zhu Qi's ball.
But why didn’t the coaches tell us that the Qilin group is so fast?
In the middle, Mori Yunan tried to slow down.
As long as the speed slows down, the quality of the ball cannot be very high, which gives Zhu Qi the opportunity to attack.
Zhu Qi will either give another short ball inside the table or hit a chasing ball.
The tactic of chasing the ball was learned when I played mixed doubles with Li Keshan and Han Taiyang at the Tokyo World Games.
The effect that Li Keshan and Han Taiyang failed to achieve was achieved by the Qilin combination.
But Zhu Qi would not go as far as Li Keshan and Han Taiyang, who would just hit others in the face.
When her ball bounces, it basically hits the opponent's lower body.
The white ball went back and forth a few more times.
call out--
A chance ball.
Song Linzhou was standing in the middle of the table. When he saw Zhu Qi start to move sideways when the opponent pulled a center line ball over, he knew what she was going to do.
Then he immediately made way to give Zhu Qi room to perform.
Zhu Qi started from the bottom up, from under the table, and hit a high lob. The ball flew towards Mori Yunan's position.
She predicted Mori Yunan's position, and when Jia Jia wanted to receive the ball, she was blocked by Mori Yunan and had no room to move.
Zhu Qi scored.
[Small score, Zhu Qi/Song Linzhou 10:6 Huang Jiajia/Mori Yunan]
The last ball.
It was also the last ball of the game.
Song Linzhou felt that the two opponents were going to make a desperate bet, so when it was his turn to serve, he was even more careful not to hit the ball with topspin.
Whoosh——
He hit the ball with a straight racket, trying to attack Mori Yunan's forehand position.
But Mori Yunan's reaction speed was also very fast. His running speed almost overlapped with the speed of the ball. Then he turned his body slightly sideways, and extended his arms at an exaggerated angle, his entire upper body twisted to the point that his bones seemed to be about to drill out of his skin.
Song Linzhou felt alarmed and thought to himself that something was wrong.
Mori Yunan held the bat in his hand, but used his fingers to push.
First friction, then impact.
He turned a backspin ball into a topspin ball and hit it back!
At the moment of catching the ball, a subconscious exclamation came from the sidelines, "Oh——".
Mori Yunan does not use long rubber and has no counter-spin ability, but he is able to turn the backspin ball into topspin ball purely by relying on the fine skills of his fingers!
If someone else caught the ball, it would definitely be lost.
But Zhu Qi is not an ordinary person after all.
She is like a clever little leopard, always on guard as long as the ball doesn't fall to the ground.
The moment she saw Mori Yunan trying to twist and pull the ball, she guessed that the ball would definitely be twisted and pulled successfully!
Zhu Qi held his arms flat, and at the moment the ball bounced and sank, he kept the paddle flat!
Swing your arms from top to bottom!
Like an artist adding the finishing touch to his work, with one stroke of his brush!
The racket offsets the original rotation of the ball, making a sound of friction between the ball and the rubber!
Swish——!
To people with good hearing, this sound is a little longer than the normal sound of hitting a ball.
This ball, with an extremely exaggerated twist, suddenly changed its sinking trajectory!
From the edge of the table, from right to left!
Go around the pool table!
Jia Jia looked at the ball that was almost impossible to get on the stage, and it was getting bigger and bigger within her sight.
Impossible?
This backhand twist and pull is one of Mori Yunan's unique skills.
Even the main male players of the Hong Kong team were almost unable to catch it...
The white ball almost overlaps with Jiajia's severely dilated pupils!
There are still 10 cm, 8 cm, 5 cm, 3 cm... 1 cm away from the table!!!
Getting closer!
The ball——hit the edge of the opposite table steadily!
Bang!
The white ball and the surface made a very crisp collision sound.
Zhu Qi drew the last attacking shot on his "work"... amid the thunderous cheers from the audience...
"Wow--!!!!"
“We win, we win—!!!”
[Small score, Zhu Qi/Song Linzhou 11:6 Huang Jiajia/Mori Yunan]
[Big score: Zhu Qi/Song Linzhou 4:2 Huang Jiajia/Mori Yunan]
Zhu Qi's chopping style is different from Jia Jia's chopping style.
Jia Jia's slice only offsets the original rotation of the ball, forcing the next person to receive the ball to actively create rotation on the ball, thereby consuming the opponent's physical strength.
However, Zhu Qi's slice was very aggressive, so the ball became spinning and fast when it came back.
The whole audience went wild!
This is the second great save of the day!
The commentary voice came from the display screen and reached the ears of thousands of sports fans across the country.
Congratulations to Zhu Qi/Song Linzhou of the Chinese team for advancing to the mixed doubles semifinals.
Zhu Qi's performance in this match was outstanding, with two saves that could be called textbook examples!
【This is a female warrior. 】
Zhu Qi wanted to raise his arm and shout, but when he raised his arm halfway, he suddenly felt his right shoulder become heavy and sore.
When I lifted it up, it felt like I was carrying a sack on my shoulders. After thinking about it, I gave up.
This is just the quarterfinals.
Didn't even make it to the finals.
"That last shot was amazing!" Song Linzhou's face looked wet, his eyes narrowed, and he reached out to Zhu Qi. "No, both of your shots today were amazing! You're going to be on the front page again!"
Zhu Qi shook hands with him and felt that Song Linzhou's left hand was also shaking.
These two players from the Hong Kong team are surprisingly good, even better than this year's Japanese team.
The Japanese team went home with a big score of zero, while the Hong Kong team got two big points.
This can be considered as a relatively high-level team in this mixed doubles competition.
Song Linzhou also had a hard time playing backhand.
Both of them were too tired in this game.
/
Players from both sides shook hands.
The coaches from both sides shook hands.
The advancing teams signed and left.
Neither Zhu Qi nor Song Linzhou wanted to be interviewed after the game.
Xu Dong also noticed that the two children had expended a lot of energy after the fight, so he agreed to go back and rest first.
"It was so tough! It was so brutal!" Jia Jia returned to her head coach with a sad face and told him how difficult the game was. After she finished speaking, the head coach also felt uncomfortable, but Jia Jia digested it all by herself.
It's okay, it's okay, it's okay~
I just lost to Zhu Qi.
It's okay, it's okay, it's okay~
Sen Yunan sat nearby, watching Jiajia grieve for less than a minute before beaming again and packing up to leave work. He was envious of Jiajia's competitive spirit.
Jiajia is a native of Zhuhai and Hong Kong.
When I first came to Zhuhai, I was from the mainland and my technology was at a stalemate at that time, so I couldn't beat anyone when I arrived in Zhuhai.
It is normal to be looked down upon and excluded.
He really needs some achievements to prove himself.
Although he felt a little sad except for the competition, Mori Yunan felt better when he saw Jia Jia comforting him with a bright smile.
Jia Jia has no games to play.
The Hong Kong team only has one female player and cannot form a mixed team.
But the men's event isn't over yet.
The Hong Kong team coach comforted him and told him that there was no problem with his performance in this match and asked him to prepare well for the upcoming men's doubles and men's singles.
Mori Yunan looked at the large area of red outside the field waving towards the Kirin group. Everyone looked smiling happily, and he felt an indescribable sense of envy.
If he had made the national team...
never mind.
Don't want to think about it anymore.
It doesn't make sense.
/
Before leaving, Jia Jia changed her clothes and immediately ran to the locker room next door to exchange badges with Zhu Qi.
Zhu Qi took out a panda badge holding a red flag that he had just bought and gave it to her. Jia Jia happily pinned it on her chest and then began to discuss the balls in the previous game.
A Shui is not here, so there is no one to translate.
Jia Jia tried hard to speak her Hong Kong Cantonese more clearly, and Zhu Qi also tried hard to understand the meaning of the words, but in the end, the two of them kept talking and gesturing without making any sense at all.
Jia Jia mentioned the word "pot" several times. Zhu Qi thought she was missing the old copper pot in Chaojing, so he nodded and said, "Okay, after the World Games, we can go back and make a date."
Jia Jia was very happy and said something that left Zhu Qi completely confused.
"Excellent! You're the one who nodded your head. I'll talk to him right away!"
After saying that, Jia Jia took the badge Zhu Qi gave her and ran away happily, leaving Zhu Qi with a face full of questions.
Who should I talk to?
What to talk about?
The more Zhu Qi thought about it, the more he felt something was wrong. He began to recall the meaning of the "pot" that Jia Jia had just said. Could it be "brother"?
Did I just agree to an agreement for no apparent reason?
"Baobao, are you okay? The car is here!" Xu Dong's voice came from outside.
Zhu Qi didn't have time to think about it, so he packed up his things and went out.
As soon as he went out, Xu Dong came with a schedule and said to Zhu Qi, "One good news and one bad news."
Zhu Qi understood and said, "Let me hear the good news first."
"The South Korean team was eliminated by the Russian team in the quarterfinals with a score of [4:1]," said Xu Dong.
"Oh, so soon?"
In fact, Zhu Qi is not afraid of facing the South Korean team.
But someone defeated the South Korean team in advance, which made Zhu Qi want to watch the fun.
This time, South Korea, Russia, and Belarus were in the same half of the draw. Apart from these three, the other teams were of average quality.
Little Snow and Pineapple Head are pretty awesome.
The South Korean team was eliminated so quickly.
If this is the case, then the Russian team will face Belarus in the semi-finals tomorrow.
very good.
The quarterfinals four years ago were repeated.
It's still the big Russians fighting the small Russians.
"What about the bad news?"
"District D has also played, it's North Korea," Xu Dong said. "You will meet in the quarterfinals and semifinals."
Zhu Qi said "hmm", indicating that he had guessed it a long time ago.
After all, this is the style of the mysterious team. Once they participate in the competition, they will definitely not go back empty-handed.
I didn't expect to meet Xi Ling'en again so soon.
We haven't seen each other for such a long time since we parted at the National Table Tennis Championships three years ago, and I don't know how Xi Ling'en has developed.
Zhu Qi: Ah, I really miss it.
During these three years.
Zhu Qi felt that the only person who could fight with him inseparable was Xi Ling'en, besides Maomao.
Let’s not talk about the American eunuch for now, we haven’t fought each other yet.
It is only a matter of time before they meet the North Korean team. Xi Ling'en is no ordinary player and will definitely be among the top three.
Zhu Qi shook his slightly sore right arm, feeling grateful in his heart.
Tomorrow will definitely be a fierce battle.
"That's not all." Xu Dong pinched his sore temples and handed Zhu Qi a photo. "This was taken by Master Buddha. He said the rackets used by the North Korean men's players are...very...weird."
"How weird is it?" Zhu Qi took it and saw a photo that was not very clear and even had poor focus.
From the blurry photo, it can be vaguely seen that there is a male player standing next to Xi Lingen who is also wearing a North Korean team uniform.
The racket held in the hand of this male player has a concave part in the middle and a slightly expanded outer ring. It looks like - a violin?
/
"What?! What violin?!"
When Ah Shui heard what Zhu Qi said, he sat up from the sofa in the suite with a "swoosh", took the photo Zhu Qi handed over and began to look at it.
"I've never seen anyone use this kind of racket. Is it possible that this racket is qualified?" A Shui felt strange.
Maomao also came over to take a look, and then looked at A Shui, both with surprised expressions.
"Table tennis paddles aren't fixed to a round shape. With the permission of the International Table Tennis Federation, and as long as the paddle isn't too large or too small, some degree of shape change is permitted." Zhu Qi put down her paddle box and sat down to do some simple stretching. She massaged her shoulders as she spoke. "A long time ago, Europe also had a variety of paddle shapes. There were teardrop shapes, hexagonal shapes... and even violin shapes."
In fact, this type of violin racket has appeared before, and it was first used by a French player.
But the French player failed to hit the ball, and this racket disappeared in the history of table tennis.
Zhu Qi thought that no one used such a racket anymore because it was too rare and no one taught how to use it.
But North Korea actually has all kinds of strange and bizarre fighting styles.
This only goes to show that North Korea is not only strong in its players, but also in its coaches, who are top-notch as well.
Maomao and A Shui were confused.
At this time, Ren Xinhua came over with three older boys who were competing next to him, along with Xu Dong and the men's team coach Gao Xiaofeng.
The boys also began to pass the photo around, and it finally reached Qin Xiaoba.
Qin Xiaoba frowned and shouted, "I know this!"
He had previously worked in a French club for three months. The French do not value large-scale table tennis competitions. They mainly focus on entertainment. There was someone in his club who had used this violin racket!
However, the opponent was a sparring partner for the French women's team. When Qin Xiaoba saw the racket, he just thought it was interesting and watched it for a while.
"Tell me about it quickly!" Ah Shui held the pillow and looked at Qin Xiaoba with a curious baby's face.
Finally having the opportunity to demonstrate his knowledge, Qin Xiaoba grabbed a piece of paper and began to write and draw. "Actually, when we play tennis, we mostly use the top half of the racket. Isn't this area of the rubber that's most effective for hitting the ball called the sweet spot? This racket is designed to increase the top half's area, meaning the horizontal sweet spot. When I was in France, I heard that violin rackets and hexagonal rackets can both increase the hitting area by 5%!"
Five percent!
For a spin-style player who relies on friction on the racket to create spin, this is already very, very, very much!
Under normal circumstances, for a round racket like Zhu Qi and his team, the upper part of the racket has a limited area, so no matter how hard you rub it, you can only rub that small part.
If the upper part of the racket is expanded, there will be more friction on the ball!
This kind of racket, combined with Xi Lingen's anti-arc rubber... can basically judge the playing style of the North Korean mixed doubles. There are attacking points and defensive points.
Okay.
During these three years, the mysterious teacher has come up with a big move.
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