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

Chapter 408 One of the Three Major Tournaments, the World Cup!

4 month 8 day.

Beijing Capital International Airport, Terminal 3.

Airport waiting hall.

The massive glass curtain wall cuts through the slightly hazy afterglow of the evening.

The sounds of people, broadcasts, and the hum of suitcase wheels rolling across the ground merged into a noisy ocean.

Xie Mingyang and Zhang Jiahao, dragging their respective suitcases, slowly sailed out of the international arrivals gate like two small boats that had just weathered a storm.

His face showed signs of fatigue.

"Old Xie, Jiahao."

As soon as they stepped out of the turnstile, a familiar voice pierced through the noise and reached their ears.

The two of them followed the sound.

Chen Jin stood amidst the crowd, like a steady rock, a smile playing on his lips as he waved.

"Brother Jin!"

Pushing his suitcase towards Xie Mingyang, Zhang Jiahao, amidst laughter, spread his arms and pounced on Chen Jinfei.

Xie Mingyang didn't say anything. He grabbed two suitcases with both hands and quickened his pace to catch up.

"Brother Jin, I did pretty well at the Incheon Championship this time, right?"

Zhang Jiahao grinned and couldn't help but show off as soon as they met, "I made it to the semi-finals in my first time participating in the championship."

"Moreover, he fought his way through the competition, defeating only top players like Dako and Lin Yunru."

"If it weren't for Lee Sang-su's home advantage, this Incheon Championship would have been mine, Zhang Jiahao's!"

Listen quietly to Zhang Jiahao's excited boasting.

Chen Jin smiled and nodded, saying, "You played very well and deserve praise."

"Just verbal praise? No real action? Like treating me to a meal or something?"

Zhang Jiahao chuckled, then spat on the ground, "Brother Jin, you don't know, I've been eating kimchi every day for the past few days. It's not even as good as my grandma's kimchi. My stomach acid is about to come out."

"no problem."

Chen Jin readily agreed, "We'll arrange it tonight."

"really?"

Zhang Jiahao's eyes lit up. "What do you want to eat?"

"The General Administration's canteen."

"..."

Just then, Xie Mingyang arrived in front of him.

His gaze bypassed Zhang Jiahao and settled on Xie Mingyang's face.

Chen Jin smiled slightly: "Old Xie, congratulations."

Although the Chinese national table tennis team did not send its main players to the Incheon Championships.

However, top-notch external collaborators, such as Tomokazu Harimoto and Felix, were all present.

Under these circumstances, Xie Mingyang, a young player, fought his way into the finals.

In the end, he defeated the host Lee Sang-su with a score of 4:2, winning his first WTT championship.

Such an achievement is indeed worthy of celebration.

However, Xie Mingyang remained calm and said indifferently, "Without you participating, this championship is not as valuable."

"Pooh!"

Zhang Jiahao curled his lip, "He got the benefit but is still acting innocent."

"If I hadn't depleted Lee Sang-soo's health, would you have been able to defeat him?"

"This championship is at least half... no, mostly my credit."

……

Since the National Games team qualifying rounds ended, the main players of the Chinese national table tennis team have returned to the General Administration of Sport to prepare for the World Cup.

The World Cup will kick off on April 14 at the Galaxy Macau Arena.

As one of the three major table tennis tournaments, the World Cup has often been criticized as a "watered-down cup" in the past due to its limited number of participants and low profile compared to the Olympics and the World Table Tennis Championships.

The competition was suspended for three years during the pandemic.

It wasn't until last year that it was restarted.

However, in order to increase the event's popularity, the restarted World Cup format has undergone significant adjustments. One of these adjustments is to increase the number of participants.

Previously, each association was limited to two players to qualify for the World Cup.

Now, the number of people has been expanded to four, and the maximum number can be six.

Moreover, the men's and women's singles competitions started simultaneously, which is quite different from the past.

There have also been changes to the competition format.

Like the Asian Cup, it is divided into group stage and knockout stage.

The group stage is a round-robin tournament, consisting of sixteen groups with three players in each group.

In a four-game format, the top team in each group advances to the knockout stage.

With this change in the competition format, every point must be fought for, otherwise there is a risk of an upset.

The knockout stage is best-of-seven.

As early as March 18, right after the Chongqing Championships concluded, the World Cup organizing committee announced the list of participating players.

According to the world rankings at the time, the top seed was Chen Jin, the second seed was Wang Chuqin, the third seed was Lin Shidong, the fourth seed was Zhang Benzhihe, the fifth seed was Liang Jingkun, the sixth seed was Hugo Calderano, and the seventh seed was Felix...

Apart from Xie Mingyang, all the other men's table tennis players are seeded players in this World Cup.

"Our goal for this World Cup is only one thing: the championship!"

In the training hall, Liu Guoliang's gaze swept over the crowd before him, his voice steady and authoritative, "No matter how arduous the process, you must bring back the championship and defend the glory of the Chinese national table tennis team!"

In just a few words, the fire in everyone's hearts was ignited.

4 month 12 day.

The Chinese national table tennis team arrived in Macau.

In this dazzling, decadent city, the air seems to be filled with the scent of money and desire.

That evening, the organizing committee held a grand welcome banquet in the hotel's banquet hall.

The crystal chandelier reflected a dazzling yet cold light, amidst the elegant attire and the clinking of glasses.

Top athletes of different skin colors held wine glasses and talked in hushed tones, the air filled with a unique atmosphere on the eve of a competition—polite yet subtly scheming.

In addition to the familiar contestants, there were also many unfamiliar faces.

The next day, at 2 PM.

Galaxy Macau Arena.

The makeshift lottery table was brightly lit by spotlights.

On the giant electronic screen, the names and nationalities of all the contestants scrolled silently in the waiting area, like a group of gladiators waiting to be chosen by fate.

The air was so thick it felt like you could wring water out of it, with only the occasional sound of camera shutters and the low voices of staff breaking the silence.

"Men's Singles, Group 1..."

One by one, the contestants' names were read out, and their fates were decided.

As the number one seed, Chen Jin was naturally placed in the first group.

His opponents in the group stage were Australian player Pei Huan and Polish player Milos Rydzimski.

These two are not ranked high in the world, and their strength is not particularly strong.

Neither their technical skills nor their experience in major competitions pose a substantial threat to Chen Jin.

When the other contestants saw their names appear in the first group, they breathed a sigh of relief and cast sympathetic glances at each other.

Without a doubt, the qualification situation in Group 1 is already clear even before the competition has started.

Among all the male table tennis players, Xie Mingyang is under the most pressure.

Because, just like in the Asian Cup, he is in the same group as Tomokazu Harimoto.

"Including this time, this should be the third time I have faced Zhang Ben this year."

Xie Mingyang's pupils suddenly contracted.

He won both of their previous encounters.

However, even so, Tomokazu Harimoto's strength should not be underestimated.

Moreover, the pressure to advance from the group stage in this World Cup is immense.

Tomokazu Harimoto is bound to fight fiercely.

Believe in yourself.

Sitting next to him, Chen Jin seemed to have seen through his thoughts and suddenly said, "If you can beat Zhang Ben twice, you can beat him a third time."

(End of this chapter)