This is the fourth year that Wang Chao has traveled through time. Wang Chao is 21 years old. As the Table Tennis Super League Spring Split resumes, Spade Q welcomes a super heavyweight player: Luo Jiu.
Nine and a half years ago, Luo Jiu, who left Spade Q for performance reasons, finally returned.
Fan Xiaofan, Fan Xiaoxian, together with all the current players in the club, went to the door to welcome Luo Jiu in, and then Fan Xiaofan took everyone to visit the club again In the Ministry of Honor Exhibition Hall, seeing the trophy that Luo Jiu led Spade Q to win the Table Tennis First Division championship, everyone felt a certain power of the passage of time and couldn't help but feel a little sad.
This year, Jiangcheng University Team officially degenerated from a Table Tennis Super League mid-to-upper-tier team into a Table Tennis Super League bottom-tier team. The entire spring split had a disastrous record. If not for the promotion and relegation in the spring split, they would have gone to Table Tennis First Division.
The boss behind Jiangcheng University Team was furious because of this. He called Fan Xiaofan and scolded him severely. Finally, he slapped the table and threatened. "If my team is demoted in the second half of the year, you will never marry my daughter!"
Fan Xiaofan is very embarrassed about this, because he knows that although Table Tennis Super League brought a large number of foreign aid during the transfer period last year, all of them have been digested now. This year's transfer period may return to its previous appearance, and there is no hope of seeing any big fish in the transfer market.
But Jiangcheng University's current foundation is a bit too poor. In addition to losing Luo Jiu and Hook, even veteran Wang Bo has also lost his ability. After retiring, now only Duan Changying is left alone. As for his substitute Ma Angxing in the first half of last year, he already chose to leave in the second half of last year because there was no game to play.
Ironically, after leaving Jiangcheng University, Ma Angxing's strength improved by leaps and bounds in the next few months. This kid from the bitter cold land in the northwest followed a path of accumulation and success, and it happened that he completed his sublimation in those few months. He joined Chinese National Table Tennis First Team, and then naturally joined Imperial Capital New City, the team of Table Tennis Super League, and became teammates with Liang Kunpeng and Lin Zijun.
Purely looking at the current paper strength, Imperial Capital New City is definitely a dark horse, while Jiangcheng University is a has-been aristocrat. Unless Jiangcheng University is willing to pay double the price, Ma Angxing will not come back unless it is a brain show.
What to do?
Although Jiangcheng University and Spade Q belong to the same city derby, the relationship between the two teams is intricate. Strictly speaking, it is a bit like wearing a pair of pants. This time Spade Q poached Luo Jiu, and Fan Xiaofan still felt a little guilty. In order to make up for it, he chose to exchange Hou Xijia and Qiu Shang.
There is no doubt about this for Hou Xijia and Qiu Shang. This is because the salary offered by Jiangcheng University has increased by 30% on the basis of last year. At the same time, these two people also know that with Luo Jiu returning to the team, Spade Q now has Wang Chao Luo Jiu Wu Li has three top generals. They have no chance to play. At this time, changing to another team can just be the main force.
However, relying on the two of them alone, Jiangcheng University can be considered a mid-range team at best. It is still very difficult to achieve further results.
Both of them can only be used as assistants. If Jiangcheng University wants to regain the glory of the year before last, it needs a strong player.
The problem was thrown back to Fan Xiaofan. Who told him to use a honey trap to kidnap his general? Who told him to want to marry someone else's daughter?
Although Luo Jiu was already Fan Xiaofan's real brother-in-law at this time, Fan Xiaofan still habitually asked Wang Chao for advice. Wang Chao smiled and said, "There happens to be one strong general, but whether he can grab it or not depends on his ability."
The big fish Wang Chao is talking about is Fan Xiaodong.
In fact, in the national team, Fan Xiaodong, Lu Feiyang, and Sun Zhongwen are all of the same age. They are all 18 years old this year and are qualified to participate in professional leagues.
Of course, there is another 18-year-old boy Jiang Shan in the national team. He is more than half a year older than Fan Xiaodong. But because he is not well-known, he signed a contract in the second half of last year, but it is not Table Tennis Super League, but Table Tennis First Division.
During the Table Tennis Super League transfer period in July this year, Fan Xiaodong became the biggest favorite, and his worth was slightly higher than last year's Lin Zijun. This is because he defeated Lin Zijun head-on in the semi-finals of last year's year-end finals.
Jiangcheng University Club tried his best to grab people, but in the end he fell short. Fan Xiaodong chose to go to Xiangnan Province Fruit TV Club, a mediocre downstream team from Table Tennis Super League, and it was also a relatively poor club.
Afterwards, the media interviewed him and asked him why he chose this club. Fan Xiaodong only gave one reason. "Supporting his hometown team."
The media praised his love for his hometown, but they didn't know that Fan Xiaodong actually didn't have much affection for Xiangnan Province. After all, he only grew up in Liancheng City, and had never been to several cities in southern Hunan. He had no understanding of the provincial capital Xingcheng City. He had Mao's hometown feelings.
The reason why he chose this way was because he knew that Wang Chao chose his hometown team, and although he was madly suppressed by Wang Chao, he admired Wang Chao deep down in his heart. This kind of admiration made him subconsciously choose to make the same choice as Wang Chao.
This is a fan's imitation of an idol, and it is also a challenger's dissatisfaction with the king. When he saw Wang Chao take off with Spade Q, from Table Tennis First Division to Table Tennis Super League winning the championship, it can be said that he turned the world around with one hand, he felt that he must take the Fruit TV Club to take off in the same way, from the lower reaches to the Table Tennis Super League giants.
Then the autumn season started, and the results of the Shonan Fruit TV Club improved greatly. However, Fan Xiaodong was unable to survive alone. The Fruit TV team finally only reached the upper middle ranks, but failed to reach the front ranks of Table Tennis Super League. It did not even make it to the playoffs, which was unexpected by Fan Xiaodong.
Of course, according to the theory of Sun Tianlong, it is not a bad thing for young people to suffer more and suffer more frustrations.
This year's international competitions are still generally Wang Chao and Luo Jiu Kings do not meet kings, the gold medal was equally divided. The only difference was that Wang Chao got all the gold medals he wanted, while Luo Jiu failed twice in one year, once to Hook and once to Lin Zijun.
In the match against Lin Zijun, he even fell down in full view of the public, and then withdrew from the match due to injury. It took him two full months to recover, and he gave up his one open spot to Wang Chao.
In the last year before Sun Tianlong retired, he once used his physical advantage to defeat Sun Tianlong. But now, time has changed and it is his turn to be defeated by others using his physical advantage.
This year's World Cup team competition was participated by Wang Chao, Fan Xiaodong, and Bai Feng. Lin Li failed in the competition within the team and became a substitute, while Luo Jiu chose to abandon the competition due to injury.
When he was sitting in the slightly deserted venue of the national team training base and watching the live broadcast with everyone, he couldn't help but think of the scene when he killed everyone in the World Cup team competition two years ago. He couldn't help but sigh and couldn't control his emotions. He even had to lower his head and take a deep breath to calm down the urge to shed tears.
He could clearly feel that his physical functions had declined significantly over the past year. At the same time, as he got married, his emotions were richer, weaker and easier to express than when he was young.
"Should I continue to fight?"
He looked at Wang Chao on the screen beating the opponent with unrivaled power, and couldn't help but feel a deep sense of fatigue. "There is World Table Tennis Championships this year, and I still have a chance to participate, but under the hands of my junior brother, do I really have the possibility of winning?"
"If I can't win the championship, what's the point of participating in World Table Tennis Championships? I've obviously already won the runner-up..."
This year, the internal situation of Huaping has been changing. Fan Xiaodong has officially surpassed Bai Feng and Lin Li, becoming the third-ranked figure in the main force of Huaping. Now he is eyeing Luo Jiu with eagerness to "Tu Jiu proves the way" written in every look.
The 30-year-old Luo Jiu felt that he was obviously unable to do what he wanted. After careful consideration, he made a difficult decision to give up the upcoming World Table Tennis Championships internal direct competition next month.
In the end, Wang Chao, Fan Xiaodong, and Lin Li got the spots in the direct competition.
Another vigorous and fierce battle attracted the attention of countless fans, and the international arena was turbulent. This time it was Sweden's Morad and Sakura Country's Zhang Benkuang that re-emerged, proving that young people do have unlimited possibilities for reinvention. Zhang Benkuang won consecutively against Sissifield., Qiu Shang, and Morad eliminated their compatriots k. Michel and England's only seedling Pike. The two young players had a battle in the quarter-finals. In the end, Morad reached the semi-finals and faced Fan Xiaodong.
In the other half, Wang Chao beat Arul and Weng Chunting, Lin Zijun eliminated Zhu Shixian and Hook, and the two reached the semifinals together.
Subsequently, Fan Xiaodong 4:3 defeated Morad, and Wang Chao 4:0 defeated Lin Zijun.
In the end, Wang Chao defeated Fan Xiaodong 4:0 to win the championship, winning his own World Table Tennis Championships two consecutive championships.
This year, as Luo Jiu began to consciously abstain from various international competitions, the Men's Singles project in the World Series presented a strange and ever-changing situation. In the later stage, Wang Chao, Fan Xiaodong, and Lin Zijun must reach the semi-finals, and in the end, Wang Chao must win the championship, with a score of 4:0 without exception.
Wang Chao has completely become an unsolvable existence.
Lin Zijun and Fan Xiaodong became the most powerful contenders for the runner-up spot.
Others can't even hope for a bronze medal, and can only regard reaching the quarterfinals as their ultimate goal.
This is the first time that the world table tennis world has felt such profound darkness. This darkness is not caused by Wang Chao alone. Wang Chao only took away the championship, but Fan Xiaodong and Lin Zijun, as the guardians on the left and right, took away the remaining runner-up and third place.
In April, Dubai Open, Wang Chao won the championship, and Fan Xiaodong was the runner-up.
In May, Romanian Open, Wang Chao won the championship, and Fan Xiaodong was the runner-up.
In June, Swedish Open and Wang Chao won the championship, and Lin Zijun was the runner-up.
In July, China Open, Luo Jiu won the championship, and Lin Zijun was the runner-up.
In August, China Open and Hook won the championship, Luo Jiu was the runner-up, and Fan Xiaodong was the third runner-up. (Wang Chao did not participate)
In September, Singapore Open, Wang Chao won the championship, and Fan Xiaodong was the runner-up.
In October, Kimchi Country Open, Wang Chao won the championship, and Lin Zijun was the runner-up.
It is worth mentioning this year that Wu Li is no longer purely Men's Doubles's partner to Wang Chao. He has begun to emerge in singles. Although he has not yet been able to break the gold, silver and bronze medals formed by Wang Chao, Lin Zijun and Fan Xiaodong, he has also reached the top eight in six consecutive events.
Considering how dark the table tennis world is at this time, the quarterfinals are actually quite good results. In a sense, they are comparable to the results of the semifinals in past years.
In November of this year, Peacock Country Open and Wang Chao won the championship. Fan Xiaodong was beaten 4-0 in the final again. He cried after the game.
He had been holding back the tears for more than a year and finally couldn't hold back the tears at this moment. He couldn't hold it any longer. No matter how strong his heart was, it was completely shattered by the clean sheets again and again. When the final whistle of the game blew, tears burst into his eyes, crying like a child who is 1.7 meters tall and weighs 160 pounds.
Sun Tianlong was determined at this moment, and Fan Xiaodong was finally suppressed by Wang Chao.
But then he was a little confused, because even though he had been watching as a coach for two full years, he still couldn't find a way to defeat Wang Chao.
The pressure has been enough and it's time to bottom out and rebound, but the question is, how can I help Fan Xiaodong defeat Wang Chao?
Sun Tianlong chatted with Fan Xiaodong for a long time that night, and finally made a decision: take Fan Xiaodong with him to meet his mentor Qin Huachang.
He called Qin Huachang, but Qin Huachang told him, "If you want to come, just bring Wang Chao with you. I want to talk to him."
Wang Chao and Fan Xiaodong gave up Nigeria Open in December and followed Sun Tianlong to Yangcheng City in Guangdong Province to meet Qin Huachang.
This is their reunion with Qin Huachang after more than two years of separation.
In private, Qin Huachang was not as energetic as in the live broadcast. Instead, he looked a little sluggish, his face turned yellow, and he looked very poor.
Sun Tianlong asked Qin Zhenyu privately, and found out that his mentor had actually been quite tired of live broadcasting in the past two years. On the surface, he said he was passionate about live broadcasting and enjoyed it, but in fact, it still hurt his body.
It's just that Qin Huachang is getting stronger as he gets older. Neither Qin Zhenyu nor his wife can persuade him. The more they persuade him, the more frequently he broadcasts live. In addition, the influence of table tennis in the world has increased in recent years, so there are more and more competitions, more and more masters, Qin Huachang's live broadcasts are getting longer and longer, and there are more and more exciting moments during the live broadcasts.
"He has been dying for a long time. He will die in the live broadcast room one day." My wife said to Sun Tianlong with a bit of anger.
Sun Tianlong glanced at Wang Chao, both of them were silent.
They all love table tennis so much that they completely understand Qin Huachang's mentality at this time.
Probably because I know there is not much time left, I cherish time more and more and want to do more things in my lifetime.
He regards live broadcasting as his second career, in which he finds the value of his existence. He is willing to shine and shine, no matter what. To put it bluntly, he probably really wants to die in the live broadcast room.
This mood is just like the ancient generals who would rather return with their bodies wrapped in horse leather than die on their beds.
There was another live broadcast that day, it was Nigeria Open that Wang Chao and Fan Xiaodong gave up in December. This was also the first time Nigeria hosted the Open after the rise of Arul.
Qin Huachang was excited to live broadcast with Sun Tianlong. Wang Chao chose to go shopping by himself, but in fact Wang Chao certainly had no interest in shopping. He just saw that Old Qin master and apprentice had something to say.
Sun Tianlong asked Qin Huachang how to defeat Wang Chao. Qin Huachang smiled and shook his head, "No solution."
"You don't think there is a solution?" Sun Tianlong was surprised.
"I have been observing him since the start of the live broadcast, but the more I watch, the more horrified I feel. In my opinion, Wang Chao's playing style is no longer a human playing style, because humans must be flawed and cannot be as stable, so comprehensive, and so flawless like him. He can make the most correct judgments in any situation, and many judgments, in my opinion, clearly require a lot of review, testing, and discussion before we can reach the correct conclusion."
Qin Huachang smiled bitterly, "A person like him has never appeared before and will never appear in the future. He gives me the feeling that he is cheating, because generally speaking, any athlete will have irreparable flaws. Young players have the courage and hard work but not the city." Old players have experience and patience, but they don't have the hard work and physical fitness of young people, but he has them all. He even has the cunningness of a coach and a pure outsider's thinking mode. At the same time, he can maintain a pure heart in many details of life."
Sun Tianlong remained silent for a long time.
In fact, he had a similar view to Qin Huachang. He felt that Wang Chao was almost a demon, but he thought this was just because he was not discerning enough, but he did not expect to hear the exact same comment from the teacher.
"What should we do?" Sun Tianlong asked, "Is Xiao Dong always suppressed by him? If Wang Chao can still maintain good health, wouldn't it be possible to suppress Xiao Dong from the beginning of his career to retirement? After all, he is only three years older than Xiao Dong."
"That's not necessarily the case." Old Qin smiled, and finally showed a trace of the old fox's demeanor. "If a person wins too much, he will get tired of it. Maybe he will feel boring after playing, and decide to retire early?"
Sun Tianlong was stunned.
"Okay, okay, you kid, you are still as incapable of making jokes as you were back then." Qin Huachang felt a little disappointed, but he felt that it was precisely because of this that he was Sun Tianlong. He said seriously, "Why do you think I brought Wang Chao here? I just want to solve this problem."
Sun Tianlong asked, "How to solve it?"
Qin Huachang said, "Please."
Sun Tianlong's eyes widened. "Begging him?"
"Yes." Qin Huachang nodded. "You are too embarrassed to say this, so I will do it... I will ask him to give me, an old man, some face, and let Xiao Dong leak some soup from the gaps between his fingers, so that Xiao Dong can maintain a little food and clothing."
He patted Sun Tianlong on the shoulder and said earnestly, "So, there is no need to think about defeating Wang Chao in the future. However, Lin Zijun, Morad, Zhang Benkuang, these three people, you must help Xiao Dong to hold them down."
There was only Sun Tianlong listening to these words, which seemed ordinary, but in fact they showed Qin Huachang's unparalleled vision and foresight. The few people he faintly pointed out here are the people who are really likely to stir up the storm in the table tennis world in the next ten years, besides Wang Chao and Great Demon King.
The world says that Sweden's Old Wa has excellent vision, and Old Wa prides itself on this. In the past few years, it has made many public announcements, comments and predictions, hoping to show the world its foresight.
But in fact, Qin Huachang's casual remarks today have far exceeded Old Wa's continuous showoff back then.
It was as if he saw destiny at a glance.
So when he said these words, there were three faint thunders in the originally clear sky. Many locals in Yangcheng thought that there was a thunderstorm. They went out and looked up at the sky, but they never waited for the fourth thunder.
The three young players competing in Nigeria, thousands of miles away, felt a frightening throbbing at this moment, as if they had unknowingly fallen into someone's plan, or had their luck stolen by someone.
This is a postscript, let's not mention it for now. Let's just say that after the master and apprentice finished chatting, Wang Chao returned from shopping in the evening. After eating, he waited for a while and the live broadcast ended. Qin Huachang took the initiative to invite. "Wang Chao, let's talk?"
Wang Chao had expected it and readily agreed.