Joining the Team

The sport of table tennis, serving has always been a very important part of the game.

From the time when hidden serves were all the rage, to the later rule changes by the International Table Tennis Federation forbidding them.

From when there were no restrictions on tossing the ball, to now when it's mandatory to toss the ball vertically upwards, and the toss height must be no less than sixteen centimeters.

From when all sorts of strange and exotic rubbers were popular, to now when many rubbers have been ruled illegal.

From when any kind of glue could be used, to now when organic glue is not allowed in official matches.

It can be said that in order to avoid "information asymmetry" during matches and to make the games as fair as possible, the International Table Tennis Federation has made countless rule revisions over the years.

And serving is precisely the area most plagued by "information asymmetry."

Nowadays, all serves are crystal clear in slow motion. Theoretically, as long as the opponent observes carefully enough, there is absolutely no problem in determining the serve's trajectory and spin direction.

So Wang Chao scoring points on his serve actually has nothing to do with the difficulty of the serve itself.

His challenge lies not in technique, but in "calculation."

For example.

With the same short backspin serve, if the opponent anticipates it and steps forward early, they can forcefully twist and loop or flick it, potentially ending the point with a single shot.

But if the opponent mistakenly believes it's a long serve to the baseline and doesn't step forward early, they will have no choice but to play a short placement, stabilizing the rally for one shot.

And if they actually judge it to be a fast long serve, they will quickly retreat. Once their body is retreating, if they suddenly realize the ball is actually a short backspin serve, they won't be able to pull their rapidly retreating body back.

They will be directly caught by the serve and lose the point.

—This is the profound mystery of serving.

Its essence lies in both "deception" and "anticipation."

The server must find ways to deceive the receiver.

The receiver must accurately anticipate the opponent's serve.

This is a psychological battle at an extremely high level.

Many amateur players don't realize that after a truly high-quality match, the first thing both players feel is not physical fatigue, but mental exhaustion.

What truly tires them is their "heart," or more precisely, their "brain."

While Wang Bin was lost in thought, six more rallies had already been played on the court, and the score jumped to 9:3, with Wang Chao leading.

Starting from 3:3, he hadn't lost a single point, winning six consecutive points.

By this point, the players outside the court had stopped their chatter. Even the most carefree individuals were starting to realize that Wang Chao's playstyle was definitely not as simple as it appeared.

Zhao Fuqiang and Li Zhenguo had already stopped their argument. Both felt a burning sensation on their faces, a slight sting.

After all this fuss, if the third spot was still Wang Chao's, then what were they arguing about?

"You..."

Li Mu's voice trembled almost imperceptibly. In the now gradually quieting stadium, it sounded exceptionally clear: "When... did you study my game?"

Young people aren't truly fearless. When you discover that your opponent seems to have completely seen through you, when you feel as if you're completely exposed in front of them, you will inevitably feel a kind of indescribable fear.

Wang Chao smiled and shook his head, "This is our first time playing against each other. I didn't even know you before today, so how could I have studied your game?"

"But... but..." Li Mu's face flushed slightly, unsure how to continue.

Wang Chao, however, sighed inwardly.

"I still went too hard. I hope it doesn't affect his mindset."

If he could, Wang Chao wouldn't have wanted to do this.

It's just that his stamina was really failing him today, and he really didn't want to miss this opportunity to enter the professional field.

So, he could only apologize, kids.

After all, he was once a renowned coach for the national team, and this was just a small city team's substitute area.

It's no exaggeration to say that the combined experience of everyone present didn't even amount to one-tenth of Wang Chao's.

He had seen too many different types of players, and he was familiar with the playing styles and specific habits of any type of player.

For players at Zhao Ge and Li Mu's level, he only needed to glance at them. Through their expressions, conversation, racket grip, and serving motion, he could completely understand them.

The remaining little bit that wasn't clear could be figured out after just two or three balls.

So when he played against Zhao Ge, initially leading 4:1, it was partly because he was observing, and partly because he was getting familiar with the racket he had just acquired.

And after Li Mu came on, he was already sufficiently familiar with the racket.

So Wang Bin's judgment wasn't entirely wrong; under the current circumstances, Li Mu was indeed more threatening than Zhao Ge.

It's just a pity that Wang Chao was even more familiar with the racket in his hand and the table in front of him.

So in the actual match, Li Mu's performance was actually worse than Zhao Ge's.

The match continued. Wang Chao served twice, and Li Mu lost the point on both serves. The entire scene was handled with such ease, as if Li Mu had already given up resisting.

The score was fixed at 11:3, with Wang Chao winning the first game.

He lay on the floor again, gasping for air, utterly exhausted, but everyone's gaze towards him had completely changed from before.

Li Mu felt a bit wronged. He walked to the side and quietly complained to Li Zhenguo next to him, "I wasn't throwing the game... I didn't give up resisting... I was really serious about receiving the ball, I was just deceived by him..."

Li Zhenguo remained silent, patting his nephew on the shoulder.

He had seen it clearly.

Wang Chao's last two serves were very strange. The first serve was clearly a long serve, but every detail of his motion during the serve looked like a backspin short serve. Only at the instant his paddle contacted the ball did his wrist flick, the motion extremely concealed, so much so that even he, as a coach, almost didn't notice it.

As for the second serve, both the angle of the paddle, the direction of Wang Chao's body tilt, and even the position where Wang Chao's gaze was fixed, all indicated that the ball should have been aimed at Li Mu's right small corner. However, the ball ultimately landed on Li Mu's left baseline.

Li Mu hadn't given up resisting; he had simply been deceived.

Deceived by an overly skilled feint.

Ten minutes later, Wang Chao sat up from the floor again, but what greeted him was not the second game between him and Li Mu.

Li Mu had directly conceded.

"Can you still play?" Wang Bin asked, his eyes complex.

"I can probably take on one more person," Wang Chao replied frankly. "Anymore than that, I won't be able to hold on."

His gaze swept across the sidelines. It was then that he suddenly noticed a problem and couldn't help but ask, "Where's Tian Zhengguang? Doesn't he want to try again?"

Wang Bin didn't say anything.

However, the moment he asked the question, Wang Chao understood the entire situation.

He knew the specific circumstances within the table tennis training bases of each level too well. After all, he had spent a considerable amount of time in every level of the base.

So, in just one second, he had already guessed that Tian Zhengguang must have been severely punished. He then naturally changed the subject, "Then who do you want me to play?"

Wang Bin's gaze searched the court. Just as he was about to speak, he suddenly stopped and frowned, "Where's Jiang Shan? Why isn't Jiang Shan here? Did he not come for training today?"

Yes, Jiang Shan, the youngest, strongest, and usually the most eager to join in the fun among the substitutes, was unusually absent from the scene today.

"He came with me this morning," said Tian Ye. "Later, when he heard there was a new player tryout, everyone went to watch the excitement. But he said he was going to the restroom, and after that, he never came back."

"What's going on?" Wang Bin was somewhat displeased. He turned to Tian Qi, "Go find him and tell him to come over quickly."

Tian Ye, however, looked eager. "Head coach, since Jiang Shan will be a while, why don't... you let me try?"

Wang Bin glanced at him, then at Wang Chao, and after a moment of thought, shook his head. "Forget it. Wang Chao can only play one more game. Let's wait for Jiang Shan to come back."

The implication was that he had already determined Tian Ye couldn't defeat Wang Chao.

Only Jiang Shan, ranked first among the substitutes, had a slight chance.

This head coach has decent judgment. He must have seen something, Wang Chao thought with a hidden smile.

Ten minutes later, Jiang Shan arrived late. His expression wasn't good when he saw Wang Chao, clearly still affected by yesterday's shadow.

"Hello there, we meet again," Wang Chao greeted with a smile.

"Who wants to meet you!" Jiang Shan said indignantly. "When I heard there was a tryout, I knew it was you, but I didn't expect this! I even hid in the restroom, but Coach Tian dragged me back!"

After he said this, everyone's expression changed.

"You two have played before?" Wang Bin frowned.

"Yeah, we played yesterday, and I couldn't win at all," Jiang Shan sighed. "Head coach, don't waste any more time. This kind of freak isn't someone we substitute players can handle. You should just send him to the main team quickly."