Table tennis: Swinging the racket billions of times, achieving a grand slam

Chapter 277 Zhang Benzhihe: I will defeat Chen Jin, the Great Demon King, on my home turf in the finals!

2024 WTT Fukuoka Finals.

Men's singles semi-finals.

First round.

Lin Shidong will face off against Zhang Benzhihe.

The atmosphere inside the huge venue was both tense and enthusiastic.

The stands were packed.

Japanese fans, men and women, held up light sticks and shouted in unison.

"Motorcycles will win!"

"Motorcycles will win!"

"Motorcycles will win!"

……

The place was bustling with noise and cheers.

A few scattered voices cheering for Lin Shidong could be heard from the scene.

Lin Shidong was already used to this kind of situation.

However, he still couldn't calm down because he was thinking about breaking Chen Jin's racket.

Backstage at the stadium.

To enhance the contestants' experience, the organizers specially set up a waiting area for the competition at this year's Fukuoka Grand Finals.

The waiting area not only has comfortable massage chairs, but also features live streaming of the match.

At this moment, in the spacious and quiet waiting area, Chen Jin and Wang Chuqin sat facing each other in silence.

The atmosphere was somewhat heavy.

Wang Chuqin sat with his arms crossed, legs spread apart, and eyes closed, seemingly resting.

He seemed indifferent to everything in the outside world.

In contrast, Chen Jin's attention was drawn to the live broadcast of the match between Lin Shidong and Zhang Benzhihe.

4:11?

Chen Jin stared intently at the live broadcast of the match, his brows furrowed slightly. "Lin Shidong lost the first game rather badly."

Lin Shidong was clearly not in good form in the first game, with slow reactions and frequent mistakes.

"Is it because you're still bothered by the incident where someone broke my racket that it affected your mindset?"

Chen Jin's brows furrowed even deeper.

Originally, after the incident, he tried his best to comfort Lin Shidong, because he didn't want Lin Shidong's mentality in the game to be affected.

But now it seems that fluctuations in mindset are ultimately unavoidable.

As Lin Shidong's off-court coach for this match, Liu Zhiqiang had a keen eye and immediately saw Lin Shidong's problems.

"Lin Shidong, I know what you're thinking and I understand how you feel, but it's the semi-finals now, you have to pull yourself together!"

Liu Zhiqiang's voice became sterner, "As a professional athlete, once you step onto the field, you should put aside all distractions and go all out for victory."

"Chen Jin might be watching your match right now. If he sees you in this state, do you think he'll be happy?"

"What's done is done and can't be undone. The only thing you can do now is to compete seriously and live up to Chen Jin's encouragement and support."

His words were earnest and earnest, and his tone was stern.

Like a sudden awakening, Lin Shidong's previously somewhat bewildered eyes cleared up considerably.

Looking up at the large screen suspended in mid-air, the camera was pointed directly at me.

It was as if, through this screen, he could see Chen Jin on the other side, casting an encouraging glance at him.

"I understand."

A resolute look shone in Lin Shidong's eyes.

All distracting thoughts vanished from my mind.

Take a deep breath.

With sharp eyes, he stepped back onto the field.

The second game started poorly again.

They were relentlessly attacked by Tomokazu Harimoto and lost 2 to 8.

Lin Shidong gritted his teeth and began to catch up.

His decisive shots and aggressive footwork led him to score consecutive points.

They chased all the way to 9-9.

Seeing his form gradually improving and the situation about to turn around, Tomokazu Harimoto decisively adjusted his position and changed his serve.

This tactic, seemingly unremarkable, greatly helped Tomokazu Harimoto.

This successfully disrupted Lin Shidong's rhythm.

The final score was 11-9.

Tomokazu Harimoto wins another game.

The score is 2-0.

Fortunately, in the semifinals, it wasn't a best-of-five series, but a best-of-seven series.

Sufficient tolerance for mistakes gave Lin Shidong more opportunities to adjust his state.

It's obvious to anyone with eyes that although Lin Shidong lost the second game, his form has clearly improved.

Even Liu Zhiqiang praised Lin Shidong's performance highly: "You played well in this game, very well. Play like this in the third game, but you need to pay more attention to the details of receiving serves..."

the other side.

Zhang Benzhihe's face was filled with undisguised excitement. As he drank water, he said, "I followed the tactics provided by 'Omikami' and the results were quite good."

In these two games, he used his steady backhand defense to suppress Lin Shidong's backhand smashes several times.

Then, taking advantage of Lin Shidong's inability to recover, they either used the force to quickly tear the ball or suddenly changed the direction of the ball, neutralizing Lin Shidong's extremely threatening backhand tear without any effect.

"Ah."

Kunifumi Tase didn't show much joy on his face, and simply said, "It's good that we can win."

In the third game, Lin Shidong's form and touch continued from the latter half of the previous game.

Especially when the score is 5:1.

The two players retreated to the mid-to-long range and engaged in a fierce battle, exchanging powerful forehand and backhand shots.

The atmosphere at the scene instantly exploded.

Finally, Lin Shidong crouched down and unleashed a powerful backhand smash from a distance.

Zhang Benzhihe took a step to the side, attempted a quick pull but missed.

"Pretty!"

Chen Jin couldn't help but shout it out.

This sound startled Wang Chuqin, who was sitting opposite him with his eyes closed, resting.

With a sour face and no expression, he glared at Chen Jin with some dissatisfaction.

At this moment, a highlight reel is playing on the screen.

Wang Chuqin glanced sideways, his eyes narrowing slightly: "You played the ball alright."

With his excellent touch and improved shot placement, Lin Shidong finally won the game 11-6.

The fourth game.

Lin Shidong continued the tactics from the third game, increasing the variety of his shot placements and targeting Zhang Benzhihe's middle position.

Despite Tomokazu Harimoto's best efforts, he still lost the game 8-11.

The score is now 2-2. A best-of-seven match has become a best-of-three series.

"Based on my understanding of Tomokazu Harimoto, in the next game, Harimoto is very likely to strengthen his side-step attacks."

Just as Chen Jin had predicted.

In the fifth game, Tomokazu Harimoto launched a series of long serves, followed by a forehand attack from the side, engaging in a fierce battle.

"Choo-hoo!"

"Zhu--"

With each point won, Tomokazu Harimoto's furious roar echoed through the stadium.

Others expend physical energy playing ball, but Zhang Ben only strains his voice.

Furthermore, with the added advantage of playing at home, Tomokazu Harimoto's momentum was even stronger.

Lin Shidong was immediately put in a passive position.

Despite their best efforts to fight back, they managed to tie the score at 10-10.

However, a backhand error resulted in the ball going out of bounds, and Tomokazu Harimoto's return of serve grazed the net.

12: 10.

Tomokazu Harimoto leads the score 3-2, regaining the lead.

Waiting area.

Wang Chuqin had no intention of closing his eyes to rest; like Chen Jin, he was also paying close attention to the match between Lin Shidong and Zhang Benzhihe.

"It's a pity that we couldn't take such a good opportunity in the fifth game."

Wang Chuqin frowned slightly. "Lin Shidong will most likely be out of the game next round."

Lin Shidong had a poor head-to-head record against Tomokazu Harimoto in the past.

Zhang Benzhihe's backhand defense perfectly counters Lin Shidong's shot trajectory.

The Asian Championships are a good example.

This time, Lin Shidong's willingness to go to such lengths is already a significant improvement.

However, Chen Jin's idea was exactly the opposite of Wang Chuqin's.

"In the sixth game, as long as Lin Shidong adjusts his tactics, plays steadily, and varies the placement of his shots more during rallies, he may well win."

The reason for losing the fifth game was firstly because Zhang Benzhihe's side-attacks suppressed Lin Shidong in the first three shots.

Secondly, it was also due to Lin Shidong himself. He was so eager to finish the move in one go that he made too many mistakes, including problems with motion correction and landing point selection.

During breaks between games.

Coach Liu Zhiqiang also mentioned these two issues, reminding Lin Shidong: "Zhang Benzhihe's backhand defense is very effective, so don't be impatient, and don't think you can kill him with one shot."

"Even when unleashing a powerful backhand smash, reduce the power slightly, aim for a good landing spot, give him the middle position, make him uncomfortable, and then look for an opportunity..."

The sixth game, a do-or-die game.

Under Liu Zhiqiang's tactical guidance and encouragement, Lin Shidong returned to the field.

The tactics were executed quite thoroughly.

While ensuring the quality of the shots, the variation in the landing point was enhanced.

Another fierce battle ensued.

11: 7.

They tied the score.

"They actually won?"

Wang Chuqin was quite surprised, "It seems that Lin Shidong has improved recently."

Chen Jin had anticipated this outcome.

However, in the final game, he dared not draw any conclusions easily.

In the decisive game, it's not just about skills and tactics, but also about the mindset for handling crucial points.

With the home advantage, Tomokazu Harimoto clearly had the upper hand mentally.

Zhang Benzhihe's first two serves were both scored by Lin Shidong with a powerful backhand flick.

"..."

Tomokazu Harimoto was dumbfounded.

Unexpectedly, Lin Shidong acted with such determination.

He quickly adjusted his mindset and then relied on his backhand to defend against changes in direction and his forehand to fight back, leveling the score.

In the following matches, the score fluctuated.

On the contrary, Tomokazu Harimoto took the fifth point in the deciding game first.

5: 4.

The two sides exchanged venues.

Just then, staff came to inform Chen Jin and Wang Chuqin that they should get ready to go on stage backstage.

The two, each carrying a backpack, left the waiting area and headed to the backstage area of ​​the competition venue.

Chen Jin glanced back at the screen, feeling a pang of regret.

Such a tense match, reaching its final stage, yet unable to watch it, is truly agonizing.

more importantly.

I thought the deciding game would end quickly.

Unexpectedly, after waiting backstage for a long time, the match still seemed to be going on, with cheers from the audience frequently heard from inside the arena.

"A huge score?"

Chen Jin pondered to himself.

Unfortunately, being backstage, I couldn't find out what was going on, and my heart was filled with a restless, cat-like anxiety.

The winner and loser can only be determined based on the reactions of the audience.

Another moment passed.

Sudden.

Inside the stadium, cheers thundered.

Chen Jin's gaze darkened: "Zhang Benzhihe has made it to the finals?"

The result of the match was exactly as he had predicted.

In the seventh inning, the score was 17-15.

Tomokazu Harimoto's calm performance at crucial moments secured his victory and advancement to the final.

Lin Shidong, despite his best efforts, ultimately suffered a regrettable defeat.

"Choo-hoo!"

"Zhu--"

Tomokazu Harimoto roared at the audience, clenching his fist, basking in the cheers and applause that belonged to him.

Stepping off the field, his gaze shifted.

Looking towards the entrance passage.

He knew perfectly well that Chen Jin and Wang Chuqin were standing backstage, ready to go on stage.

"Next, it's your turn to perform."

Tomokazu Harimoto let out a long sigh of relief, "No matter who makes it to the finals, it will be a tough battle for me."

"However, compared to Wang Chuqin, I would much rather fight Chen Jin again."

"I will defeat this suddenly emerging table tennis powerhouse on my home turf in the finals!"

(End of this chapter)