When Wang Chao and Xiao Fei entered, the assessments had already begun. Matches were underway at every table, with staff moving among them—some recording video, some keeping score—while coaches observed players who caught their interest from close range.
With the Olympics approaching and competitions packed tightly together, and since this was a midyear minor assessment rather than the large-scale promotion and relegation trials at year's end, Cai Guodong had not come in person. Wang Lu was presiding instead. They also spotted several familiar faces, including Coaches Cheng Aimin and Chen Taolue, both pacing around the venue in search of promising young talent.
Qiu Yinong, who had only joined the coaching staff this year, was naturally there as well.
There were also coaches from Imperial Capital's two professional teams, Imperial Capital Panlong and the Imperial Capital New City Team, along with plenty of coaches from local sports schools and nearby athletic academies.
Naturally, there were also coaches from provincial teams who had brought their players for assessment, as well as many sports media professionals who had caught wind of the event and come looking for firsthand information.
At its core, this kind of assessment was semi-public. As long as someone belonged to the table tennis circle, had a clean background and legitimate credentials, and could provide relevant documentation from an official organization, Chinese table tennis generally would not put up barriers. They were free to come in and watch. After all, this was also an opportunity for people in table tennis to exchange ideas.
Though Wang Chao and Xiao Fei were merely players and technically a generation below the coaches, no one dared overlook them given their reputations. The moment they entered, quite a few people came forward to greet them. They responded one by one before going to pay their