When Wang Yi entered the media room, the reporters' flashes went off nonstop. It was more than thirty seconds before they finally began to die down, after he had taken his seat.
A moment later, it was time for questions.
A reporter from Los Angeles stood up and got straight to the point.
"Wang, you're 36 years old and have won 12 championships. You've already achieved just about everything. I'd like to ask: when do you plan to retire?"
The other reporters perked up at the question.
Most players had retired by the time they were 36. Even star players had usually faded into obscurity by then.
They could only scrounge up a little playing time now and then during meaningless stretches of unimportant games.
By that point, they had already started planning for retirement.
Only the true superstars could still get regular playing time at 36.
But even their dominance had faded considerably, and it was time for them to start thinking about retirement.
Wang Yi still looked to be in his prime, but age caught up with everyone.
This season, he really didn't seem as ferocious as he had been in previous years.
In past seasons, when his team was down by a lot and his teammates weren't pulling their weight, Wang Yi could grit his teeth, plant his feet, and turn things up a notch, dragging the game back from the brink all by himself.
He still seemed capable of doing that this season, but his ability to haul a game back from the verge of a blowout didn't look quite as strong as it had in previous seasons.
So had he reached the age when he should start discussing retirement, too?
Wang Yi looked at the reporter and laughed as he blurted out, "I want to