In fact, in the qualifying schedule of the Table Tennis Open over the years, abstention is common.
The qualifying round is a typical hellish schedule. Compared with the main round, it is like a stepmother. For example, the group Wang Chao has a total of seven players, using a table. If they want to complete the group cycle in one day, theoretically they have to play 21 games. Even if each game is played very fast, all 4:0, it will still take half an hour. Those 21 games will take more than ten hours to play.
But how is it actually possible to finish a game in half an hour? The duration of most games is about forty or fifty minutes. If there is a chip in the group and the decisive game is played, it is common for a game to last for ninety minutes.
So in this case, it is actually impossible to guarantee that every group can be played in one day.
So International Table Tennis Federation and the organizer are very happy for someone to withdraw from the competition.
After all, there is no live broadcast or commentary in the qualifying rounds in principle. Even if you really want to watch, the organizer will only give you a camera to shoot the table from a single perspective, without caring about anything else. The specific results of the entire competition within the group are only recorded by a referee and a deputy referee. The referee is responsible for arbitration and is also responsible for turning over the score board.
A bit crude, but that's the case.
Of course, with the global rise of the live broadcast industry, there will also be those small sports anchors who find new ways to broadcast live games that others do not broadcast. But to be honest, the audience who even watches such games can only be said to be fossil-level Ashes fans.
Therefore, the qualifying rounds have always had only two endings: "Qualifying" and "not qualifying". There is no such thing as "I played well, although I lost, I amazed everyone and became famous in one battle."
This kind of thing, being proud despite defeat, only belongs to the main game.
The main match is like a group of nobles wearing gorgeous coats fighting gracefully under the spotlight, and every detail will be infinitely magnified.
The qualifying round is like a group of slaves wearing rags fighting in a dark dungeon, either fighting their way out or dying silently inside.
So when a player finds that he really has no chance at all, then quitting is the best choice.
Antonio When he was divided into groups last night, when he learned that there were two Chinese table tennis players in his group, he actually wanted to book a flight. He just had a sudden impulse and wanted to feel the intensity of the Chinese table tennis players. It was a good experience.
But after experiencing Wang Chao today, he felt that life would be worse than death, and he was too lazy to experience Zou Zhengyu again.
As soon as Antonio left, an avalanche effect was immediately triggered, and two more players in the group followed closely and chose to abstain.
In a blink of an eye, there were only four people left in the group.
In addition to Wang Chao and Zou Zhengyu, there is still a young player Kimchi Country and a veteran Denmark.
Denmark veteran was the first one to play and had already accumulated one point. Although he felt a little guilty facing the two Chinese table tennis players, he still held on to the chance and refused to leave.
As for Kimchi Country, young player Kimchi Country upholds the consistent tenacity of the Kimchi Country player. He will not be able to withdraw from the competition no matter what. At most, his face will be a little pale, his lips will be a little trembling, and his hands and feet will be a little stiff.
His coach was whispering to him with his head down, chattering out a string of words, looking quite excited.
The referee spoke at this time and announced that the next match would be between Zou Zhengyu and veteran Denmark.
But Wang Chao did not leave the table at this time, he said, "Can I finish my game first?"
The referee was stunned.
According to the rules, it is actually possible, because the circulation within the qualifying group is really not that particular. It is often whoever is idle will play, as long as the table is not empty.
But now there are only four people, so there is plenty of time, so the referee subconsciously thinks a little too much. He hopes to play as fair as possible in this wide environment.
The so-called fairness means trying not to let the same player play twice and giving him enough rest time.
Just as he was about to shake his head, he heard someone in the stands shouting, "Let him fight first."
The person shouting is Bayer.
Uncle Bai made a special trip to see Wang Chao today. After watching it, he had to warm up, practice, and prepare for the big battle tomorrow. Of course he didn't want to wait here. It happened that the referee was from Europe and was very familiar with Uncle Bai, so Uncle Bai spoke directly.
As soon as he opened his mouth, Pike and other European players next to him also shouted, "Yes, yes, let him play first, we will wait and see."
As soon as the European players shouted, Weng Chunting, Mizutori Hato and other Asian players also started shouting, "Let him fight first and call it a day."
After all, we are all professional players and time is precious. Who wants to watch Zou Zhengyu and Denmark, two veterans who have no chance of winning the championship, play?
Only Lin Zijun remained silent because his face was tender, but his delicate face was slightly red, and he was obviously very excited. In particular, he felt that it was quite special for an off-field player to shout to the referee on the field. It was like sneaking into the arcade to play games when he was a child. There was a different kind of excitement.
The referee was a little confused by this battle and could only nod obediently. "Okay."
Although Antonio is gone, Wang Chao can still score one point for the game he won, so now he and veteran Denmark have one point and are tied for first place in the group.
Denmark veteran volunteered to fight against Wang Chao.
He is not very confident, but feels that his luck is like a beautiful soap bubble, which will burst as soon as it is popped. In this case, it is better to have a fight with Wang Chao as soon as possible. If he wins, he will continue to dream and try again. If he loses, he should give up his luck as soon as possible and book a flight for this afternoon.
So thirty minutes later, he was easily beheaded by Wang Chao.
Throughout the game, Wang Chao still simply adopted the Taiwan-wide offensive style of not retreating, but again, because the opponent was weak, the true strength could not be seen.
The professional players in the audience saw some clues and found that Wang Chao's offense seemed to be better than last year. The improvement in strength was obvious, because last year Wang Chao's forehand on the table could only be picked and not pulled, but today he has pulled the ball on the table more than once.
Denmark veteran lost this game and gave up without saying a word, turned around and left.
So there were only 3 people left in this group.
The referee made a gesture to signal Kimchi Country to come out.
His idea is very good. The opponent progresses from weak to strong, step by step. This wheel battle is like a grand drama at the beginning of the new year, leaving the climax until the end. How wonderful.
He believes the audience thinks so too.
But he was wrong again...
"What are you doing? You are so annoying, our time is precious, okay?" Mizutori Hato shouted directly, "Let them start a civil war in China Table Tennis!"
The referees are too lazy to pay attention to him. This guy has such a bad mouth. Even if he is ranked very high in the world, there are really not many people in the world table tennis who can give him face.
However, Uncle Bai also echoed, "Yes, yes, let Zou Zhengyu come on. Can you be a little considerate of us? Don't keep us waiting."
The referee was very aggrieved. He found that after all his efforts, he paid the wrong amount.
Zou Zhengyu came out amidst everyone's expectations.
He shook hands with Wang Chao and laughed in a low voice, "Fight hard, don't hold back... but don't shave your head, save some face for me."
Wang Chao couldn't help laughing, "Of course."
He actually considered whether Zou Zhengyu would be hostile to him. After all, with Zou Zhengyu's strength, he was sure to enter the main competition, but he happened to meet him.
Chinese table tennis players are generally very open-minded when they eliminate each other in the main draw. That is because entering the main draw has actually proven themselves, and being eliminated by one of their own will not be punished by the coaching staff.
But the qualifying rounds are different. As a Chinese table tennis player, if you fail to enter the main draw, the evaluation of the coaching staff will be seriously lowered. If you are a new player, it is okay and you can have several opportunities to try and make mistakes. But for veterans, especially secondary players like Zou Zhengyu, if you fail to enter the main draw, you will be severely punished, and you may not even have the chance to compete throughout this year.
And this has nothing to do with who he was eliminated by.
This is an inhumane aspect of Hua Ping's system, but it is also the inevitable result of Hua Ping's "performance theory" for many years.
Fortunately, Zou Zhengyu is very open-minded.
He even deliberately made a little joke with Wang Chao, just to help Wang Chao relieve his psychological burden.
The two sides took their positions, the referee tossed a coin, and Zou Zhengyu finally got the right to serve.
At this moment Wang Chao clearly felt that the atmosphere was completely different from before.
The professional players in the audience stopped whispering and laughing, and all opened their eyes.
Zou Zhengyu slowly sank his body as low as possible, even vaguely like the "toad squat" of contestant Hook.
This proves that he attaches great importance to today's game.
Because he is really not young anymore, he is already 29 years old.
He, Fang Xiaobo, Yan Ping'an, Xiao Fei, the four of them entered National Second Team in the same year, and First Team in the same year. At that time, they had a common competitor, Sun Tianlong.
At that time, everyone was working hard to improve and move forward, because in a place like Huaping, every day was like sailing against the current. If you don't advance, you will retreat.
At that time, the invincible person in the world was Wang Wendong. Everyone was chasing his footsteps and sprinting with him. But in the rush, Sun Tianlong and Xiao Fei rushed to the front, while the remaining three fell behind.
They chased hard, but after chasing, they found that Wang Wendong had crossed the finish line, and their merits were complete, so the leader in front became Sun Tianlong.
They continued to chase and chase, and found that younger people entered the track and rushed to keep pace with them in the shortest time.
This group of people has a unified title, called "Golden Age Six Little Dragons of Chinese Ping Pong".
Six Little Dragons was also like this group of people. Some ran fast and some ran slow. In the end, Lin Li and Luo Jiu rushed to the front and came from behind.
Later, another younger guy entered the track and rushed in front of them again. His name was Bai Feng.
Time flew by so fast, and before I knew it, Zou Zhengyu found that he couldn't run anymore.
He looked down at himself and realized that he was no longer the 18-year-old boy he was back then, he was already 29 years old.
His strength is no longer what it used to be, and his skills have been completely finalized. It is no longer possible for him to overtake the people in front of him.
Unknowingly, Sun Tianlong, who was running alongside him, was about to cross the finish line like Wang Wendong.
He looked back and found with horror that a young man who was only 18 years old like him had already run on this track again.
The person who ran over this time was called Wang Chao.
He saw someone outside the runway warming up, they were minors Lu Feiyang and Fan Xiaodong.
Only then did Zou Zhengyu realize so clearly: my era has completely passed.
I was a genius, but in my most glorious years I did not reach the heights I expected, so I fell behind.
And now, I'm coming to an end.
This year is his last year. He hopes to officially retire at the age of thirty, so this year he wants to work hard, regardless of injuries, physical strength, and sequelae, and fight as hard as he can, just like Sun Tianlong this year.
He knew that both Yan Ping'an and Fang Xiaobo thought so.
So the three of them have made a private appointment to stagger the competition schedule with Sun Tianlong and Luo Jiu.
Three 29-year-old veterans, with a slim dream of winning the championship, want to make a comeback at the end of their careers. No matter who among the three wins, the other two will be honored because they have been closely united and share weal and woe.
They successfully secured one of the few playing opportunities from Cai Guodong.
But opportunities are not fixed, everything depends on specific performance.
If he can't even make it to the main draw, all his competitions this year will come to an end today.
Cai Guodong will never allow a player like him who has no chance of winning to continue to be active in the world competition after making such a serious mistake.
This will bring Huaping into disgrace.
Therefore, it is really not an exaggeration at all. This game at this moment will most likely be the last international game in his career.
But at this time, only Yan Ping'an and Fang Xiaobo in the world know about this matter.
Zou Zhengyu At the last moment, he turned his head and glanced at the auditorium.
He saw that his two friends had subconsciously clenched their fists, showing that they were even more nervous than he was.
There are also close friends in Huaping. If possible, the three of them would be willing to give up one year of their lives in exchange for Wang Chao losing this game today.
Lin Li glanced at Yan Ping'an beside him suspiciously. He felt some invisible tension, but he didn't understand it.
Xiao Fei also glanced sideways and vaguely guessed something.