Before the second game began, during the brief break, Wang Chao asked Geng Shuai, "How can I get myself excited during a match?"
Geng Shuai said, "Easy. Just yell."
Wang Chao asked, "Yell what?"
Geng Shuai froze.
He had started learning table tennis at six and had been playing for twenty years, yet he had never considered that question.
Wasn't yelling just something you did when the feeling hit you, letting out a raw howl?
Did you really need to think about what exactly to yell?
"I mean..." Wang Chao felt a little embarrassed. "Like 'ah,' or 'oh,' or 'ao,' or 'ura.' Football commentators yell 'goal' when a team scores, esports players yell 'nice' after solo-killing an opponent, and people say 'gg' after losing a match. Something like that?"
It took Geng Shuai a full five seconds to understand what Wang Chao meant. Then his expression became strange, as if he were holding back a laugh but couldn't quite manage it. He forced a straight face and said, "So you want to play with more passion?"
Wang Chao nodded, his face slightly red.
In his previous life, he had been a top-tier famous coach. He had always told every one of his disciples to be more passionate during matches, to open themselves up and shout as much as possible. Because of that, he had paid attention to what many national players shouted.
For example, Zhang Yining shouted "yo," Wang Liqin shouted "sore," Guo Yue shouted "ju," Kong Linghui shouted "ho," Wang Hao shouted "sha," Wang Nan shouted "ja," Lin Gaoyuan shouted "caolie," while Zhang Jike and Ma Long shouted the same thing: "troy."
Then there was Korea's famous defensive chopper, Joo Sae-hyuk, who shouted "shu."
And there was a certain naturalized young player surnamed Zhang from that island nation. After