Recaps

Wang Chao narrowly beat Gao Ming after deliberately holding back, and Gao Ming accepted his loss and advised him to play more boldly. After Gao Ming left to pursue a place in the Table Tennis First Division, an arrogant teammate insulted him and challenged Wang Chao, who agreed to a full match.

• Wang Chao defeated Gao Ming 4:2 after keeping the match close for most of the games.
• Gao Ming told Wang Chao he planned to leave the team for the Table Tennis First Division and advised him not to play so safely.
• Wang Chao exchanged contact information with Gao Ming and promised to attend his first Table Tennis First Division match.
• An arrogant teammate mocked Gao Ming and taunted Wang Chao about his cautious play.
• Wang Chao challenged the teammate to a best-of-seven match with no breaks or surrendering.

Wang Chao challenged Li Shaoqin to a match and prepared a cup of boiling water as a playful tribute to an old meme. Meanwhile, intern reporter Luo Xiaoyu sneaked into the training base but wandered into their remote corner, where she mistook their confrontation for a secret battle between experts.

• Wang Chao led Li Shaoqin to a secluded table after checking the score of Jiang Shan and Li Fang's match.
• Wang Chao set a cup of boiling water aside, planning to drink it after the match as part of his joking ritual.
• Luo Xiaoyu slipped into the training base to observe the team without revealing that she was Luo Zhihong's daughter.
• Luo Zhihong learned that Luo Xiaoyu had entered and posed authoritatively on the court, hoping she would see him at work.
• Luo Xiaoyu lost her way and found Wang Chao and Li Shaoqin, assuming their isolated match was a contest between hidden experts.
• Li Shaoqin lectured Wang Chao about professional fundamentals, then criticized Wang Chao's paddle.

Wang Chao faced Li Shaoqin in a match while using Jiang Shan's shakehand racket, and quickly dominated him with precise returns and aggressive shots. Wang Chao led 5:0 as Li Shaoqin struggled to respond.

• Wang Chao grew impatient with Li Shaoqin's lecture about rackets and walked away, but agreed to play after Li Shaoqin promised to stop talking.
• Luo Xiaoyu watched as Wang Chao won the first two points with serves that Li Shaoqin misread.
• Wang Chao smashed Li Shaoqin's spinless serve to take a 3:0 lead.
• Li Shaoqin used a high-toss serve, but Wang Chao returned it sharply and smashed the next ball to make it 4:0.
• Li Shaoqin attacked Wang Chao's body with a loop, but Wang Chao blocked it into Li Shaoqin's deep wide left corner and extended his lead to 5:0.

Wang Chao continued to dominate Li Shaoqin, using increasingly spectacular shots and serves as Luo Xiaoyu filmed the match. With the score at 9:0, Li Shaoqin was left stunned and Luo Xiaoyu gained a new appreciation for table tennis.

• Wang Chao won a seven-loop rally against Li Shaoqin, bringing the score to 6:0.
• Li Shaoqin tried to concede, but Wang Chao reminded him of their agreement and told him to admit he was a pig if he quit.
• Wang Chao returned Li Shaoqin's long serve with a Penhold Backhand Loop, then countered his smash with an overhead kill to make it 8:0.
• Wang Chao used a deceptive chop serve that Li Shaoqin misread, sending the ball sharply sideways and making the score 9:0.
• Luo Xiaoyu watched the match through her camera and became fascinated by the artistry of table tennis.

Wang Chao defeated Li Shaoqin with a spectacular side chop, then refused Luo Xiaoyu’s interview despite learning she was Luo Zhihong’s daughter. After the promotion-relegation matches, Luo Xiaoyu told her father about the impressive player she had watched, and Luo Zhihong mistakenly assumed she meant Wu Li.

• Wang Chao scored the tenth point against Li Shaoqin with a low, curving side chop that went around the net, and Li Shaoqin admitted defeat and ran off.
• Luo Xiaoyu approached Wang Chao for an interview, introduced herself as a Jiangcheng City TV intern reporter, and revealed that her father was Luo Zhihong.
• Wang Chao declined the interview but explained several table-tennis terms, while Luo Xiaoyu left with a video clip and three pages of notes without visiting her father.
• Wang Chao and Jiang Shan won promotion, while Tian Ye lost to Zhou Bo after six games and failed to advance.
• Luo Xiaoyu called Luo Zhihong and praised his players, then described a quiet, hardworking player without knowing his name; Luo Zhihong assumed she meant Wu Li.

After watching the televised match, Luo Zhihong realized Wang Chao was far stronger than he had assumed and reconsidered who should practice with Wu Li. He called the coaches back into a meeting to discuss the choice again.

• Luo Zhihong and the coaches ruled out Jiang Shan as Wu Li’s practice partner and settled on Wang Chao, while Wang Bin stayed silent.
• Luo Zhihong watched the evening news broadcast of Wang Chao’s match against Li Shaoqin and recognized Wang Chao’s remarkable ability.
• Luo Zhihong called Li Shaoqin to ask about Wang Chao, but Li Shaoqin broke down, fearing Luo Zhihong had seen how badly he had lost.
• Luo Zhihong comforted Li Shaoqin briefly, then called the coaches to hold another meeting about Wu Li’s practice partner.

The coaches assigned Jiang Shan to train with Wu Li and paired Wang Chao with Li Shaoqin, who discovered Wang only wanted to practice. At lunch, Jiang Shan prepared to face Wu Li, the relentless top player at the base.

• Xiao Ping and Xiao Jian thanked Wang Chao and invited him to lunch after learning he would not be Wu Li's sparring partner.
• Head Coach Luo Zhihong assigned Jiang Shan to train with Wu Li for the week.
• Luo assigned Li Shaoqin to train with Wang Chao, and Li accepted without protest.
• Wang Chao spent the morning doing straightforward multiball drills with Li, who realized Wang was focused on practice rather than revenge.
• Jiang Shan loaded his lunch tray with food and said he would build up his strength to beat Wu Li that afternoon.
• Wang Chao recalled Wu Li's reputation as a ruthless, meticulous player with extraordinary stamina.

Wang Chao pushed himself through increasingly intense training and made Li Shaoqin train alongside him, while both players gradually improved. By the end, Wang Chao had received a custom paddle order from Hongshuangli, though the company had only collected his requirements and physical data.

• Jiang Shan complained to Wang Chao about being frightened by Wu Li’s aggressive attacks and said he was serving Wang Chao’s sentence as a sparring partner.
• Wang Chao trained extra every evening and pressured Li Shaoqin into joining him after Luo Zhihong backed the plan.
• When Wang Chao proposed starting training at five in the morning, Li Shaoqin begged him to stop, but Wang Chao insisted and threatened to complain to Luo Zhihong.
• Wang Chao and Li Shaoqin began training at four in the morning, while Jiang Shan gradually improved under Wu Li’s pressure and Wang Chao’s stamina increased.
• Hongshuangli examined Wang Chao’s physical condition and recorded his paddle requirements for a custom paddle funded by the training base.

Wang Chao settled into life at the base as he prepared for the monthly internal round robin, where he faced Zhou Bo. His overwhelming victory began to challenge the coaches’ belief that Wu Li was unbeatable in actual matches.

• Wang Chao received his custom racket, engraved his name on its handle, and later heard Cook praise his performance in a recent match.
• Black Spade Q representatives asked Luo Zhihong to let Wu Li play for their club, but Luo refused and Wu Li showed no interest in professional league play.
• The base began its monthly internal round robin, and Wang Chao looked forward to testing his strength against Wu Li.
• Wang Chao faced Zhou Bo, who asked him to play seriously, and won the first game 11–0.
• The scorekeeper watched Wang Chao dominate Zhou Bo and reconsidered the coaches’ belief that Wang Chao could not beat Wu Li in a real match.

Wang Chao swept through the Jiangcheng City main squad’s round-robin matches, but the increasingly strong afternoon opponents drained his stamina. As he began his second-to-last match against Liu Heng, he realized he might be too exhausted to face Wu Li.

• Wang Chao defeated Zhou Bo twice, both times 11:0, and the coach told Zhou Bo he could concede if he could not continue.
• Wang Chao won all nine of his morning matches by 4:0, while Jiang Shan struggled against lower-ranked opponents.
• After lunch, Wang Chao faced stronger opponents and overwhelmed one with two 11:0 games, but his stamina continued to fade.
• Wang Chao defeated his third and fourth afternoon opponents 4:0, then worried that Old Luo’s easy-to-difficult match order had left him too exhausted to face Wu Li.
• Wang Chao offered Liu Heng the chance to concede, but Liu Heng insisted he would clean-sweep Wang Chao as their match began.

Wang Chao defeated Liu Heng after an exhausting match, then faced Wu Li in the final contest to decide the Jiangcheng City Table Tennis Team’s top player. Jiang Long praised Jiang Shan as a provincial-team prospect but doubted Wang Chao, who fell behind 1–0 when Wu Li opened with a powerful over-the-table flick.

• Luo Zhihong regretted arranging a gauntlet that left Wang Chao exhausted before his match with Wu Li.
• Wang Chao defeated Liu Heng 4–2, and Liu Heng massaged him while praising his play and lamenting his stamina.
• Jiang Long praised Jiang Shan’s performance and said the provincial team would give him special attention, but judged Wang Chao’s fundamentals and physical condition inadequate.
• Li Shaoqin encouraged Wang Chao before the final match, and Wang Chao realized Li Shaoqin had improved his ranking through their recent training.
• Wang Chao served a short backspin ball against Wu Li, who answered with a blistering flick to take the first point.

Wang Chao struggled against Wu Li’s relentless power and learned that Wu Li could sustain his peak strength throughout a match, a talent the provincial team called “Monstrous Strength.” After Wu Li broke through Wang Chao’s defense twice, the score reached 3:0.

• Wang Chao served long, but Wu Li attacked with powerful loops and eventually broke through Wang Chao’s blocks to take the point, making the score 2:0.
• Wang Chao realized Wu Li used maximum force on nearly every shot and seemed not to tire.
• Luo Zhihong explained to Jiang Long that Wu Li’s ability to maintain peak power and speed was his talent, named “Monstrous Strength” by the provincial team’s head coach.
• Wang Chao deceived Wu Li with a disguised shot angled toward his forehand, but Wu Li used his explosiveness to reach it and return a powerful loop.
• Wu Li launched another sustained attack, broke through Wang Chao’s blocks after seven exchanges, and extended his lead to 3:0.

Wang Chao lost the first game to Wu Li, whose relentless power and stamina overcame his deceptive shots. In the second game, Wang Chao unveiled an unfamiliar racket technique that fooled Wu Li and drew a stunned reaction from the spectators, while the coaches disagreed about whether it was worth studying.

• Wu Li used his strength and tireless movement to defeat Wang Chao 11:3 in the first game, despite Wang Chao's varied serves and clever attacks.
• Wang Chao returned to the table as the other players cheered him on, hoping he would finally defeat Wu Li.
• Wu Li continued serving long to the baseline and forced Wang Chao into rallies, taking a 3:1 lead as Wang Chao scored with a no-spin serve.
• Wang Chao used a penhold racket in an unfamiliar, banana-flick-like motion to send a strange shot past Wu Li and make the score 3:2.
• The spectators celebrated the apparent new technique, while Luo Zhihong suggested studying it and Jiang Long dismissed it as an unscientific trick.

Wang Chao lost 4:0 to Wu Li after exhausting himself and experimenting with the hook scoop, but earned the players’ respect and finished second in the team rankings. After waking in the dark gymnasium, he accepted his new youth and received care from Jiang Shan and Li Shaoqin while he recovered.

• Wang Chao used the hook scoop against Wu Li, but Wu Li adapted and won the second game 11:5.
• Wang Chao fought through the remaining games, lost 4:0, and finished the round robin in second place.
• Wang Chao collapsed from exhaustion and later woke in the gymnasium with sore, strained muscles.
• Wang Chao decided to embrace his eighteen-year-old life instead of clinging to his past memories.
• Jiang Shan gave Wang Chao lightly salted water and explained that he and Li Shaoqin had stayed nearby while he slept.
• Wang Chao gave Li Shaoqin two days off, and Li Shaoqin insisted he was staying to keep Wang Chao company.

Tian Zhengguang confronted Wang Chao on the road back to the dorms, reflecting on how Wang Chao’s match against Wu Li had changed his view of table tennis and himself. Before leaving the team, Tian Zhengguang apologized to Wang Chao and ran off into the night.

• Tian Zhengguang stopped Wang Chao, Jiang Shan, and Li Shaoqin on the road and asked Wang Chao to share a meal with him.
• Tian Zhengguang told Wang Chao he was leaving the team the next day and explained that he had once hated him over the promotion spot.
• Tian Zhengguang said he had watched Wang Chao play Wu Li and been struck by Wang Chao’s refusal to give up, even in defeat.
• Tian Zhengguang wondered whether he had been wrong to seek only easy victories, while Wang Chao sat quietly beside him as he smoked.
• Tian Zhengguang said goodbye, apologized sincerely to Wang Chao, and ran off into the darkness.

Wang Chao met provincial coach Jiang Long, who criticized his technique and threatened to withdraw a training recommendation when Wang questioned him. Wang left the meeting having likely lost the provincial training spot to Jiang Shan, while Luo Zhihong worried that Wang was running out of time to advance.

• Luo Zhihong told Wang Chao that Jiang Long might recommend him for provincial-team special training and warned him to be humble.
• Jiang Long criticized Wang Chao's background and grades, then called his hook shot unscientific and told him to stop using it.
• Wang Chao asked Jiang Long to explain the shot's flaws and offered to demonstrate it, angering the coach.
• Jiang Long threatened to reconsider Wang Chao's recommendation, and Wang thanked him politely before leaving.
• Wang Chao recounted the meeting to Luo Zhihong, who realized Jiang Long would likely give the remaining recommendation spot to Jiang Shan.
• Luo Zhihong explained that he had chosen Wang Chao because he was already eighteen and had little time to reach the provincial team.

Wang Chao ignored Jiang Long’s attempt to pressure him into competing for closed training, and Jiang Shan secured a spot alongside Wu Li. After the Cook praised Wang Chao’s match and new technique, he offered to introduce him to a teacher, leaving Jiang Shan stunned.

• Jiang Shan told Wang Chao he had not been selected yet, and Wang Chao assured him he was not interested in the training spot.
• Jiang Long waited for Wang Chao to apologize, then recommended Jiang Shan and Wu Li and finalized their spots.
• Jiang Shan talked with Wang Chao in the cafeteria, where he noticed Wang Chao had been eating with his left hand.
• The Cook served Wang Chao and Jiang Shan Cantonese dishes, praised Wang Chao’s match against Wu Li, and asked about his hook-around technique.
• The Cook offered to introduce Wang Chao to a teacher, and Jiang Shan fell off his seat in shock.

He Jingping offered to introduce Wang Chao to renowned coach Qin Huachang, who wanted to meet him, but Wang Chao questioned why He Jingping would not coach him himself. He Jingping explained that he regretted taking Luo Jiu as his disciple and changing his game, believing he had ruined a potential Grand Slam champion.

• Cook told Wang Chao that Qin Huachang, coach to Sun Tianlong and Lin Li, had watched Wang Chao's matches and wanted to meet him.
• Wang Chao hesitated over traveling to the Imperial Capital and asked why Cook would not take him on as a disciple himself.
• Cook revealed that he could not coach Wang Chao because he regretted taking Luo Jiu from Qin Huachang during a mutual selection seven years earlier.
• Cook explained that he had overhauled Luo Jiu's stance, style, racket, and rubber, but Luo Jiu fell behind Sun Tianlong, Lin Li, and Bai Feng despite working hard and keeping his composure.
• Cook identified himself as He Jingping and confessed that he felt he had failed Luo Jiu and ruined a potential Grand Slam prospect.

After learning why He Jingping had abandoned coaching Luo Jiu, Wang Chao watched Luo Jiu’s match videos while hoping to earn He Jingping’s backing. His growing reputation then brought a wave of teams trying to recruit him as the Table Tennis World Cup final approached.

• Wang Chao asked He Jingping whether Luo Jiu hated him, and He Jingping explained that Luo Jiu had repeatedly asked him to return but he felt unable to coach him again.
• Wang Chao suggested that He Jingping take him as a disciple, and He Jingping jokingly promised to do so after Luo Jiu beat Sun Tianlong.
• Wang Chao asked Jiang Shan for Luo Jiu’s match videos and studied them, while privately viewing He Jingping as a potential patron and considering whether he could help Luo Jiu.
• Mao Qian, the head coach of the Xingcheng City Team, tried to recruit Wang Chao, and Luo Zhihong later urged Wang Chao to remain loyal to the Jiangcheng City Team.
• Coaches and clubs from several organizations arrived to recruit Wang Chao, including one club that offered him five hundred thousand yuan per quarter, but he refused them all.
• Luo Zhihong explained that Wang Chao’s televised match and recorded match against Wu Li had revealed his talent, making teams eager to sign him during July’s busy recruiting season ahead of the Table Tennis World Cup final.

Jiang Long arranged a secret round-robin to force Wang Chao into another match against Wu Li and protect his coaching position. After Wang Chao played through exhaustion, Wu Li unexpectedly asked to concede, but someone at the venue refused to allow it.

• Jiang Tiansheng threatened to strip Jiang Long of his coaching position after learning that he had left Wang Chao off the provincial team recommendations.
• Jiang Long persuaded Luo Zhihong to secretly hold another round-robin and arrange for Wang Chao to face Wu Li last.
• Wang Chao played through the demanding round-robin, exhausting himself before his match against Wu Li.
• Wu Li asked to concede because he was not feeling well, surprising everyone who knew his relentless fighting spirit.
• An angry voice from the sidelines declared that Wu Li would not be allowed to concede.

Wu Li refused to play Wang Chao while Wang Chao was exhausted, insisting that their match be postponed until the next day so he could compete fairly. After Wu Li revealed that he wanted to prove himself to He Jingping, Wang Chao agreed to face him at full strength and promised to defeat him.

• Jiang Long ordered Wu Li to play, but Wu Li refused because he did not want to face Wang Chao after Wang Chao had run out of strength.
• Wu Li insisted on forfeiting or playing the match the next afternoon, and Jiang Long agreed to postpone it.
• He Jingping offered Wang Chao tactical advice for the match and said he would come watch.
• Wu Li approached Wang Chao in the cafeteria and asked him to give his all in their match.
• Wu Li told Wang Chao he envied the attention He Jingping gave him and wanted to prove he was stronger.
• Wang Chao accepted Wu Li's challenge and promised to defeat him decisively.

Wang Chao faced a crowd of curious teammates after challenging Wu Li, while the team doubted his chances of winning their match. The rookies watched the World Cup semifinals and were stunned when Lin Li defeated Sun Tianlong after Sun Tianlong inexplicably collapsed in performance.

• Wang Chao left the cafeteria after publicly challenging Wu Li, and Jiang Shan excitedly imagined how their confrontation would unfold.
• Xiao Ping, Xiao Jian, Li Shaoqin, Zhou Bo, Liu Heng, and other players crowded into Wang Chao's dorm to ask about his plans and warn him that his attacks lacked the power to beat Wu Li.
• The team gathered to watch the World Cup semifinals, where China's players occupied three of the four men's semifinal spots.
• Lin Li defeated his senior brother Sun Tianlong in seven games after Sun Tianlong lost his lead and won only one point in the final game.
• The players wondered whether Sun Tianlong's injury, an injection, or another problem had caused his sudden collapse, then hoped Bai Feng would secure the gold medal.

Bayer defeated Bai Feng in a seven-game semifinal, setting up a final against Lin Li and raising Wang Chao’s concerns about China Table Tennis’s hidden weaknesses. The next day, Wang Chao and Wu Li began their internal playoff, and Wu Li won the opening point after a long rally.

• Jiang Shan organized a betting pool before Bayer faced Bai Feng in the semifinal.
• Bayer beat Bai Feng 19:17 in the deciding game and celebrated before the German crowd.
• The players comforted Bai Feng, while Wang Chao suspected that China Table Tennis faced a hidden danger.
• Luo Zhihong stopped the players from recording the internal playoff between Wang Chao and Wu Li.
• Wu Li chose to serve and opened with a Sneak Long Serve, but Wang Chao returned it with an aggressive topspin.
• Wang Chao and Wu Li exchanged more than fifteen shots before Wang Chao sent the ball long, giving Wu Li a 1:0 lead.

He Jingping watched Wang Chao face Wu Li and praised Wang Chao’s penhold talent, while pointing out that his stamina and power held him back. Wu Li took the first game 11:6, but Wang Chao’s pressure pushed him to his limits.

• Luo Zhihong asked He Jingping who he thought would win, and He explained that the match represented the conflict between penhold and shakehand styles.
• He Jingping praised Wang Chao’s skill and called him a genius, saying he could become stronger than Wu Li within three months if he improved his conditioning.
• Wang Chao repeatedly took the initiative against Wu Li but lost points when his attacks lacked power and he could not sustain the rallies.
• Wang Chao adjusted his tactics and gradually scored more often, but Wu Li won the first game 11:6.
• Wu Li finished the game exhausted yet believed his superior endurance would let him defeat Wang Chao 4:0.

Wang Chao borrowed Jiang Shan’s shakehand paddle and switched to playing left-handed, surprising everyone with the skill he had secretly practiced. He took the first point against Wu Li, and the match continued with Wu Li demanding another rally.

• Wang Chao called for a paddle change and borrowed Jiang Shan’s shakehand paddle, then switched from his right-handed penhold grip to a left-handed shakehand grip.
• Li Shaoqin realized Wang Chao had secretly practiced playing left-handed during early-morning training.
• Wang Chao served left-handed, and Wu Li returned the short backspin ball.
• Wang Chao used an Overlord Twist, followed with powerful drives and a loop, then scored with a delicate short return.
• Wang Chao took a 1:0 lead, and Wu Li retrieved the ball and demanded another point.