Three days later, International Table Tennis Federation broadcast the lottery ceremony live, China Vision Channel 5 Sports broadcast the entire process live, and Yi Jing Grasshopper was responsible for the commentary.
Wang Chao and Wang Mei were sitting on their cheap sofas watching the live broadcast together.
Wang Mei already likes this feeling, because his son really understands it, and when commenting on these world-famous players, he will subconsciously show a flattering and unfazed attitude, just like he is commenting on ordinary people.
This made Wang Mei feel deeply proud. When he thought that his son had really defeated most of these players in front of fans all over the world not long ago, Wang Mei felt even more proud.
As an ordinary person who is not even a fan, what kind of treatment is it to have World Champion accompany you throughout the whole process and explain it at any time?
In Wang Chao's opinion, what he is doing now is called "watching dramas with my mother."
The first episode of the drama is about the lottery ceremony.
Many people think that the lottery ceremony is not interesting and they only need to wait for the final lineup afterwards. This is actually a profound misunderstanding, because table tennis is different from basketball and football. There are too many uncertainties and mutual conflicts of styles, so it is common to be inferior to superior. In this case, good grouping and poor grouping can really make a huge difference in your performance.
And the encounters between some fateful opponents are even more interesting.
So the really interesting thing about watching the live broadcast of the lottery ceremony is that before the results of the lottery come out, you can pray desperately who will meet whom and who will avoid whom. And after each match comes out, you can discuss the outcome of at least tens of thousands of words with others.
If it is a live broadcast on the Internet, you can interact with the barrage. You are well aware of the advanced barrage culture in China.
Unfortunately, now I am watching dramas with my mother and watching live TV, so Wang Chao can only turn regrets into motivation and analyze and popularize science to Wang Mei incessantly. Often, by accident, Wang Mei cannot understand many of the professional terms.
But Wang Mei loved to listen. Because she didn't understand, she felt that what her son was talking about must be extremely high-level. So she couldn't suppress the pride in her heart. She wanted to call a neighbor's aunt on the spot and ask her to come and listen to her son's pre-match predictions.
The so-called "guiding Jiang Shan and inspiring words" is probably this style, right?
Stop talking and get to the point.
According to the standard procedure of the lottery ceremony, the official first selected four seed players based on their points ranking and placed them in the first column of the four divisions.
The situation is as follows.
Area 1/4: Sun Tianlong
Zone 2/4: Lin Li
Zone 3/4: Bai Feng
Zone 4/4: Hook
Four seeds, three Chinese table tennis players, and Bayer, ranked third in the world, played health ball, so he did not participate in many open tournaments and accumulated insufficient points, so he did not enter the top four.
As for Luo Jiu, although he has achieved great success, he was at the bottom of the five main players until October this year. The real battle to become a god was Asian Cup, which was not considered in the year-end finals, so his points are actually very low, ranking 14th, not as good as Li Zhengzhi.
The determination of the four seeds did not cause much discussion, because one person occupied one division, and it was peaceful for the time being.
But then, it's time to draw lots.
This is purely a matter of face.
The difference between a dark face and a white face is too big.
For example, last year, player Kimchi Country Zhu Shixian failed to break into the top 20 in the world rankings throughout the year. At the end of the year, he was not qualified to participate in the finals. This is not because he is not good, but because he is too unlucky. In all competitions he participates, he will encounter super strong players in the first two rounds.
This year, he rushed to No. 12 in the world rankings and even won a bronze medal at a certain station. This ranking is considered to be in line with his true strength.
The people who came up to draw the lots were two famous European players who had retired for many years. They played with each other and soon all four groups of players were drawn. The specific matchup table is as follows.
Zone 1/4: Sun Tianlong, Sissifield, Bayer, Zhang Benkuang
Zone 2/4: Lin Li, Zhu Shixian, Pike, Weng Chunting
Zone 3/4: Bai Feng, Li Zhengzhi, Luo Jiu, Ochomirov
Zone 4/4: Hook, Wolf, Lin Zijun, k. Michel
As soon as the result came out, Wang Chao laughed and started to give Wang Mei crazy science popularization.
Because there really isn't too much to watch.
First of all, the most unlucky association in this finals is none other than Germany.
In fact, at this moment, most of the fans in Germany directly covered their faces with their hands and no longer wanted to look back.
Germany is known as the strongest table tennis country in Europe and is the only association in Europe that has three players entering the finals. It can be said that before coming here, it can be said that it is quite proud. Both Hans. Bayer, the leading brother, and Dimitri. Wolf, who sits in the second place, both looked forward to the bright future during the interview.
They believe that in the past few years, because they are older and have more injuries, there are always people who fall behind in the year-end finals every year, so that there has never been a chance for three people to enter the finals at the same time. But this time the opportunity has finally come, then German Table Tennis Association will definitely achieve a new breakthrough in medals in the year-end finals.
Hans. Bayer also specifically emphasized. "The young player Sissifield has been in the growth stage in the past few years. His improvement this year is obvious to all. I think he will achieve a breakthrough this time. Please give him more support."
These remarks caused some people to complain bitterly in the European table tennis circles, because the "young Sissifield player" is not young, he is already 26 years old, but Wolf and Bayer are older.
But no matter what, German Table Tennis Association is full of hope.
But in the end, Sissifield's opponent in the first round was Sun Tianlong, and Wolf's opponent in the first round was Hook. They directly ran into two of the three favorites to win the championship. Assuming that Hook can't lose, then these two German players are destined to be eliminated in the first round.
The last hope, Uncle King of Europe Bayer, is in a group with Sun Tianlong, which means that when eight goes into four, there is a 60% chance that he will win or lose with Sun Tianlong.
The reason why it is 60%, not 100%, is because Bayer really may not be able to beat Zhang Benkuang in the first round.
Zhang Benkuang This player has an obvious lack of strength due to his underage, but his upper limit is extremely high and he has played very beautiful games. If he performs exceptionally, he has the opportunity to create miracles.
The only good news is that Zhang Benkuang's talent "prestige" has no effect on the veteran Bayer.
But this level for Sun Tianlong is very difficult. As we all know, Dragon Team fighting Uncle Bai is like a father beating his son. He has won 26 consecutive games in seven years and is about to beat his inner demons.
Even if Bayer won the championship in July this year, it was thanks to Lin Li who helped him kill Sun Tianlong in advance.
So the three players from Germany can now book their tickets for the morning of tomorrow.
The next highlight is the first round in District 3, where Bai Feng beats Li Zhengzhi.
From a technical point of view, this game should be clear-cut, but the victory lies in a gimmick: the world's No. 1 Chinese penhold style vs. the World's No. 1 Japanese penhold single-ply blade.
Looking at the entire first round, the most difficult to predict is the game in District 4: Bay Island player Lin Zijun plays against Swedish veteran k. Michel.
This is a showdown between the new generation of horizontal and double-sided loop play and the traditional European horizontal and double-sided loop play.
k. Michel is 31 years old this year and is not young. However, he has been in excellent form in the past two years and even has a vague feeling of breaking through the bottleneck. Especially this year, after several consecutive competitions, he actually rushed to the 11th place in the world rankings and almost broke into the top ten. With this result, if the Asian players in the top 10 are excluded, he can be ranked fourth in Europe.
As for Lin Zijun, although he is only ranked 20th in the world, he is a newcomer who has stepped on Luo Jiu and Sun Tianlong.
Although he lost to Wang Chao in a few games on T2, he had a crushing effect when facing others, especially the game against Li Zhengzhi, where he was absolutely slaughtered by everyone.
Don't forget, Li Zhengzhi is currently ranked 14th in the world.
The European side has already started betting at the opening. Gambling is not allowed in China, but Silver Ball Dance Forum still opened the forum's virtual currency "Silver Ball Coin" and gave a pretty good reward: Those who can correctly guess the outcome of all the games in the first two rounds will be rewarded with a comprehensive section administrator privilege.
Finally, Wang Chao felt a little sorry for Huaping.
After all, Luo Jiu went to District 3 and will have a civil war with Bai Feng in the eight-to-four game.
If Luo Jiu can go to District 4, that will be a perfect grouping. In theory, it is even possible for Chinese table tennis players to win the top four.
At this point, the lottery ceremony ended, some were happy and some were sad. Wang Mei ran to cook supper for Wang Chao. Ten minutes later, two steaming bowls of sour soup dumplings floating with bright red chili oil were served.
This is also a benefit that has only come after the family's financial situation has improved recently. Wang Chao used to eat steamed buns when he was hungry at night. The reason why his body is so weak is indeed because he was too malnourished in the past eighteen years.
So I have to take a lot of supplements. Since the holiday, I have eaten four meals a day, breakfast, lunch, dinner and midnight snacks. Wang Chao's goal is to gain 15 pounds.
Therefore, dumplings are the most expensive beef filling, and Wang Mei went to the market to select the beef tendons.
Considering that the beef tendon is too thin and has no oil or water, I cut a piece of pure pork suet and mixed it in.
Then I thought it was too soft because it was all meat, so I bought some golden cartilage from the stall and mixed it in.
This is what she said to the stall owner, "I want three kilograms of beef meat, cut into minced meat, and don't see any fat on it."
"I want another pound of pig fat. I don't want to see any sperm on it, but I also want to cut it into minced meat."
"If you want half a pound of golden cartilage, you should also chop it carefully to make jelly. Don't see any meat on it."
Hearing her words, the stall owner always felt that there must be something behind it. His scalp was numb for no reason, and his spine was chilly. He had a vague premonition that he would be beaten with fists and kicks if he did not do well. He cut three pieces of the best meat with flying skills at that time, and really did not discount at all.
Wang Mei returned home satisfied. He spent half a day making dumplings that filled the refrigerator, vowing to make his son enjoy spicy food during this time at home.
Although she is short-sighted and cannot grasp millions of dollars yet, she can still adjust her mentality when it comes to living expenses. Now she is starting to make up for it. She and her son sit in rows to eat supper together. She has a huge appetite in the middle of the night and is sweating profusely. She does not feel embarrassed at all, she is very free and easy, and she even feels that her relationship with her son has become closer because of it.
The days passed by happily, and on the next day, the second episode of "Watching TV Shows with Mom" started.
There was no upset in the first round. One day passed and the quarterfinals were announced.
Sun Tianlong beats Sissifield.
Zhang Benkuang finally lost after creating a lot of difficulties for Bayer.
Lin Li played a long game of ninety minutes with chipper Zhu Shixian, and finally had the last laugh.
The super-evolved Pike defeated the only seedling Weng Chunting in the port area relatively easily.
Bai Feng easily eliminated Li Zhengzhi 4:0 in the battle between World's Number One Penholder.
Luo Jiu used his unique forehand loop and backhand hitting method to beat Belarus's only seedling Ochomirov into a sieve.
Hook's status was not as stable as Oman Open two weeks ago, but it still defeated Wolf relatively easily.
The final battle between Lin Zijun and Michel was indeed the most intense match in the first round. Lin Zijun took the fast pace and changeable characteristics to the extreme, but Michel stayed true to one word and played extremely solidly. The two sides fought fiercely for seven games, and Lin Zijun finally won.
As soon as the quarterfinals are announced, the second round matchups are determined.
Sun Tianlong vs Bayer.
Lin Li vs Pike.
Bai Feng vs Luo Jiu.
Hook vs Lin Zijun.
The world's table tennis world is focusing on this, and even the frustrated Germany fans can't hide their anticipation for these four games.
The highlight of the first game is whether Sun Tianlong can win his 27th consecutive victory against Bayer?
The highlight of the second game is that although Pike, which has completed the super evolution, cannot beat Sun Tianlong, does it have a chance to beat the other main players of Huaping?
The highlight of the third game is whether Luo Jiu, who has mastered his magic skills, can face his former teammates again and can exert the same suppressive power as Sun Tianlong.
The fourth game has more highlights. Some people just want to know if Lin Zijun can stop Hook's violent attack, while others want to see if Hook can still exert the same suppressive power as before when facing Lin Zijun, who is also the representative of the most advanced play style of the new generation.
After all, he played Xiao Fei, Sun Tianlong, and even Wolf yesterday, all against traditional veterans.
The veteran's style of play is slow in pace and stable in style, so Hook can attack violently without hesitation, but Lin Zijun is the fastest and most distinctive offensive attribute among the new generation of newcomers. When he faces Hook, who is not in stable form, is it possible to create a miracle?
The next morning, the third episode of "Watching TV Shows with Mom" started.
Sun Tianlong successfully won his 27th victory against Bayer, but Bayer, as the loser, had a pretty famous scene in this game: the third game At that time, the referee misjudged a ball and deducted one point from Sun Tianlong. Then Bayer served. He took the initiative to commit suicide and returned the misjudged point to Sun Tianlong.
This is true gentlemanly behavior.
This move triggered enthusiastic applause from the audience, and also made the European referee a little embarrassed, and quite inhumane.
Bayer showed great demeanor when the two sides shook hands after the game. He smiled and congratulated Sun Tianlong, and took the initiative to hug Sun Tianlong, which created a wave of goodwill in the hearts of Chinese fans. At that moment, it is conceivable that Brother Da Ma's live broadcast room barrage should be flooded with "Uncle Bai".
Watching the next second game, Wang Chao felt a little heavy, because Lin Li was beaten 4:0 by Pike.
It stands to reason that it is understandable who wins and who loses on both sides, but the problem is that Lin Li was completely defeated by Pike in terms of play strategy. The whole game was suppressed to death. The heavy artillery base for which he is famous. This was a misfire, but Pike showed his powerful backhand ability, with all kinds of dazzling violent reverse pulls and twists, coupled with flexible trajectory changes, almost blinding Lin Li.
After the game, Wang Mei couldn't help but said, "This England guy is so strong, son, you must not meet him next year."
Wang Chao laughed dumbly.
Wang Mei's words are naturally typical layman's words. As for how strong Pike is, Wang Chao really doesn't think so.
This game looks very disparate, but in fact the strength of both sides is evenly matched, but Lin Li does have some problems with his adaptability and adjustment ability when facing new players. This is a slow start, and it is also a problem that Lin Li has always had.
In July, he lost to Bayer in the finals because he had always used the same tactics against Bayer, but did not expect to adjust in time.
This is of course not the fault of off-court coach Qin Huachang, because after all, the coach is just an assistant to the players. I can tell you how to play, but you have to be able to understand. If you don't understand, even if I say it a hundred times, you still won't know how to play after you go up.
Lin Li obviously didn't realize it, at least he didn't have time to realize it on the spot, so he failed miserably.
If he loses in an international competition, he will be punished if he goes back. At least the chance of playing in an international competition next year will be reduced by one.