Almighty Coach

by Stayrr

How could a poor graduate student without any background or connections become successful? With a coaching system? An upgrade? This is not a computer game, but real life we’re talking about! This will be a fantasy based on reality. Dai Li will fight back against all those who would mock and humiliate him with his astonishing and awe-inspiring training skills. From a nobody he’ll t

10. 285

Read Almighty Coach - Chapter 285: Helped by Some Master online free - Light Novel Full

Chapter 285: Helped by Some Master

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Holding the athlete's report card in his hand, Ping Wang seemed hesitant.

"So difficult! Which should be chosen to attend the National Table Tennis Championship?" Shaking his head, Ping Wang continued, "Recently, all our athletes have improved a lot, and it seems that everyone is working hard! However, the number of participants is limited. I really don't want to discourage them now."

Tao Lin, the assistant coach standing beside him said, "I think the new-come Coach Li is great. As far as I know, the entire team follows him to practice every night."

Ping Wang nodded. "It is true that our players have made significant improvement since Dai Li came here. As a coach, it is simple to ask players to practice overtime, but ordinary people can't make all the players willing to do so. I am reluctant to let him go. Unfortunately, he came here to help us on secondment. He will return to the track and field team after the National Table Tennis Championship."

Ping Wang and Tao Lin both knew about the athletes' practice, but they didn't know the exact content of it. Both of them thought that Dai Li was a professional sports coach, and all the players were professional athletes, so the content of the practice must be professional training projects. How could they think of yoga?

Besides, in front of Ping Wang and Tao Lin, the athletes were embarrassed to say they were practicing yoga. After all, they were professional players and they were proud.

Tao Lin offered, "Coach Wang, why don't we try to keep him here by offering him better conditions?"

"It's quite impossible. The track and field team is also a major force of the sport field, and the influence and background of Weidong Chu cannot be ignored. What's more, Dai Li has relations with the national track and field team. Sooner or later, he will enter the national team. We cannot be compared with the national team at all." Ping Wang sighed in disappointment and continued, "Forget about that. Now we should determine our players to attend the national championships. Tao Lin, what do you think?"

"I think Feng Zhu is definite to play. After all, he is the strongest on our team. And also, as a left-handed player, Da Liu is a good match for the doubles..." Tao Lin said without stopping.

The limit for each team was five male and five female players to participate in the National Table Tennis Championship. In the singles events, each team could only send two players. In the doubles events, each team could only send two groups, four players in all. In the team competition, the latest rule was a three-win system of five sets, with the third set being doubles and the others singles.

Since there were doubles events, left-handed players had a better chance of playing.

In the doubles of table tennis, it was more convenient for cooperation when one player used his right hand and the other his left hand. But most players used their right hand, so left-handed players were more likely to find a partner in doubles. Sometimes, an athlete's skills were not excellent at all, but he had more chances to play because he was left-handed.

...

The National Table Tennis Championship was far more difficult than the Olympic Games or the World Table Tennis Championship.

In both the Olympic Games and the World Table Tennis Championship, the seed players would avoid competing with each other in advance in grouping. When attending the Olympic Games or the world championship, the national champion player might encounter an African player in the first round, an American player in the second round, a European player in the third round, a second-class Asian player in the fourth round, and a first-rate Asian player in the fifth round. The opponents gradually became stronger and stronger. In the semi-finals after five rounds competitions, which meant entering the medal circle, it was quite normal to encounter top players of Japan and Korea or even their own teammates in the national team.

In such competition with opponents becoming gradually stronger, it was quite impossible to produce a dark horse. For a top player, it didn't matter if he didn't feel good at the beginning or if his hands weren't hot yet. He could defeat an African player first to get the feeling. In the second game, he could win against an American player to stimulate the enthusiasm. In the third game, he could defeat a European big guy, then get his feeling and morale back. Here came the period of beating children like a Big Devil.

The National Table Tennis Championship would be held at the provincial level with two players from each province, so none of them would be weak. Therefore, even a top player could lose the game if he entered the game too slowly or encountered an opponent in a perfect state.

...

Dai Li didn't follow their team to attend the game. According to the rules, each team could only have two coaches in the competition. So, the table tennis team sent Ping Wang, the head coach, and Tao Lin, the deputy coach. Therefore, Dai Li, the physical coach, had no opportunity at all.

What's more, when the team went out to play, the physical coach was useless. The tactical arrangement of the game and the guidance of the athletes were all the work of the chief coach, not the physical coach. Even being there, Dai Li was just a part of the audience.

Being an audience member was no different than watching the game on TV or on the computer.

In the first few rounds, TV broadcasters would only broadcast the matches of famous players. Obviously, Feng Zhu was not famous and therefore not qualified to be on TV. But now, webcast was so advanced that online live-broadcasting platforms would broadcast the games not on TV, even with live commentary from sports anchors. Therefore, Dai Li didn't miss Feng Zhu's game.

Feng Zhu's first opponent was also strong, basically the same as the previous Feng Zhu. Nevertheless, Feng Zhu's physical flexibility had been improved greatly and his level had been improved significantly. He defeated his opponent without any trouble.

In his second game, he encountered a national player who was only seventeen years old, and had just enrolled in the national team this year.

Maybe because he was too young and lacked experience, or maybe because Feng Zhu was so eager to defeat a national player, the kid played in an extremely fierce way. In a word, this game was quite easy for Feng Zhu.

In the third game, Feng Zhu met another national player, called Tielin Li in the national team two, who was about the same age as Feng Zhu. For Feng Zhu, this game was a real challenge.

...

Two middle-aged men were sitting in an unimpressive corner of the grandstand. The left, wearing a peak cap, was fat and plain-looking, and now he was sleepy as well. The one on the right had a buzz cut, a big nose and big eyes, a square face, and a wide mouth. He had a pair of dashing eyebrows. At first glance, he appeared an upright man, who was suitable to play the protagonist in an anti-Japanese war film.

The two men were the chief coach and deputy chief coach of the national table tennis team. The left one with a peak cap was the chief coach Zhizhong Gu, and the right one was the deputy chief coach Bin Wang.

These two men had both been world champions when they were young, and both were grand slam winners of table tennis. They had once been teammates. Zhizhong Gu retired earlier because he was older, and he stayed and became a table tennis coach for the national team. Also, Bin Wang stayed on the national team as a coach after retirement.

Nowadays, this pair remained partners as they had been when they were young athletes, and became captains of the national table tennis team, leading this team to a glorious future.

Today, of course they were in the stands to inspect the athletes.

"Players of team one play stably. It has been smooth for them to reach the second stage." Bin Wang was watching the latest games on the phone with his head down.

"They usually have more chances to attend in various competitions. When facing big competitions, they will be more stable in mentality. I'm relieved about them." Zhizhong Gu continued, "But those young men of team two, some of them are beyond my expectation."

"Some of them are really promising. They definitely can make great achievements after they go through more, but they just lack opportunities." Pointing to Tielin Li, who had just entered the stage, Bin Wang continued, "Tielin Li, from team two. He has been on our team for two years, right?"

"Yes. It's time to achieve some awards for the national team after two years' training," Zhizhong Gu said, his attention unconsciously focused on Tielin Li.

...

Bang! The flying ball hit on Tielin Li's racket with a clear sound.

Not good! Tielin Li thought.

The rapid rotation of the ball was beyond Tielin Li's expectations. Though he tried to hold the ball, it still flew off the table.

Feng Zhu is not tall but strong in power. The ball he returns is even equal to those strength players in terms of speed and rotation. I can't play hard with him. I should play flexibly and make him move all the time to seek chances, Tielin Li thought.

Tielin Li strictly carried out his plan, but nearly in vain.

Feng Zhu's action was much smoother than Tielin Li had imagined. He even made some hard skills without much distortion.

This Feng Zhu is even much harder to handle than teammates on the national team! Tielin Li looked at the score and realized that he was behind again, and he felt anxious.

...

In the stands, Zhizhong Gu frowned. Bin Wang said beside him, "If the game goes on like this, Tielin Li will lose!"

"Tielin Li plays well. His opponent is so excellent!" Zhizhong Gu said.

"This guy is called Feng Zhu. Our national team inspected him before," Bin Wang said at once.

Zhizhong Gu searched his memory and said, "I remember I read some reports about him two years ago. He has practiced table tennis since he was a child, and his skill was pretty good and his strength was much greater than a lot of big players. His serve was fast enough and the rotation was strong enough. However, he lacked body flexibility."

"Feng Zhu's ball is great in speed and rotation, but his flexibility is also not bad! I don't see any problems in his body flexibility," Bin Wang commented.

"It means that Feng Zhu has improved his flexibility during the last two years." Zhizhong Gu frowned again. "I remember that he was eighteen two years ago, so now he is twenty. Athletes at this age start to build muscle. I believe they will become strong, but I will not believe they can be more flexible!"

"Watch longer. Maybe Feng Zhu is playing at his best!" Bin Wang continued, "If it was his normal level, I believe he is better than most of the players in team two!"

As they were talking, the game ended. Feng Zhu defeated Tielin Li. Tielin Li was also the first national player to be eliminated.

...

Bin Wang's judgment was correct that Feng Zhu was indeed much better than most players of national team two.

In the fourth round, Feng Zhu faced another player of national team two. Although he lost the first two sets, he finally won.

In the fifth round, the quarter final, Feng Zhu faced a senior member of the national team as well as the world number one player, Anshan Wang.

Anshan Wang was a super grand slam player who had won all the titles including the Olympic Games, the World Championship, the World Cup, the Asian Cup, the Asian Championship, the Tour Finals, and singles in the National Games. Besides, he had ranked the first place in the world for three consecutive years.

There remained a big gap between Feng Zhu and Anshan Wang. What's more, Anshan Wang was more experienced than Feng Zhu. At last, Feng Zhu lost this game. However, Feng Zhu's performance in this competition was remarkable. He could feel proud even though he was defeated.

After the end of the singles competitions, the doubles and team competitions began.

...

"When did Hanbei Team become so strong? They defeated Huajing Team in the group competition!"

"There are three national players in Huajing Team, and Hanbei has none."

"Hanbei Team won the crucial game in the doubles."

"As for the doubles, it suddenly occurs to me that the two pairs of players from Hanbei both entered the last sixteen!"

A lot of discussions went on around.

Zhizhong Gu felt interested and looked at Ping Wang on the stage.

"Hanbei Team is a black horse this year. Their strength improved significantly this year. So strange!" Zhizhong Gu said, smiling.

"I agree with you. Those players are much better than they were last year. I've known Ping Wang for years, and I know exactly how much he can handle. If he is so excellent like this, the Hanbei table tennis team is already number one!" in Wang wore an expression of approval.

"I think Ping Wang must get help from some master hand. Let's go and talk to him!" Saying this, Zhizhong Gu stood up.

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Chapter 286: National Team Came to Poach Him

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

"Dai Li!" Zhizhong Gu repeated the name again.

Bin Wang beside him said, "A physical coach can contribute so much to a table tennis team. Incredible!"

"But it's true! Ping Wang didn't need to lie to us about this," Zhizhong Gu said. "Table tennis today is different than it was the past. The rules changed, and if you want to win a competition, you should focus on speed and rotation. A physical coach will become more and more important."

"You are right. We have basically developed table tennis skills to their limit. And under the current rules of table tennis, it is difficult to develop new technical styles. Therefore, we can only explore the potential in other aspects of the game to enhance player abilities," Bin Wang said. "Should I check Dai Li? I heard that he stayed in the national team before, and I might find out some new information."

Zhizhong Gu nodded. "Go and check it out. Talent is hard to come by. If he is really a talent, we can't let him in another team. After all, our team needs new coaches this year."

…

After Zhizhong Gu and Bin Wang left, Tao Lin came to Ping Wang.

"Coach, why do I think you will sell Dai Li? If Zhizhong Gu wants Dai Li, he must poach him! I know Zhizhong Gu. He is a doer," Tao Lin said.

Ping Wang stared at Tao Lin and said, "Zhizhong Gu is the chief coach of a national team. Did you think I could cover up that he came and asked about Dai Li? Besides, we can't keep him here."

"After all, he is in the track and field team..." Tao Lin whispered.

"That's why I'm letting Zhizhong Gu poach Dai Li." Ping Wang lowered his voice and said, "If Dai Li is poached to the national team, he will be a table tennis coach rather than a track coach. Afterwards, in the National Championship or the National Games or whatever, the national coach will be called back to provincial teams, then Dai Li will be our table tennis coach!"

Tao Lin understood this at once, and gave a thumbs up involuntarily. "Coach, you are really thoughtful!"

…

Meanwhile, Bin Wang found out some information about Dai Li.

"Coach Gu, all his information is here," he said, handing the file to Zhizhong Gu. "He is indeed a talent. He taught an Asian Games champion. A champion coach for the Asian Games under thirty. What's more, he is the last disciple of Li Xue. Such talent is hard to poach!"

Looking at Dai Li's curriculum vitae, Zhizhong Gu sighed with emotion. "According to his curriculum vitae, he really is a great guy. With his experience, it would be no problem for him to be our physical coach."

"Coach Gu, did you hear what I said just now? He is the last disciple of Li Xue and also a champion coach of the Asian Games. He is so outstanding, and the national track and field team will let him go! After all, Li Xue has been a coach all his life. He is so qualified that even if he had no achievements, he would be put in a lot of sweats. It's not good to poach someone from him, right?" Bin Wang asked with concern.

"What's wrong with that?" After staring at Bin Wang, Zhizhong Gu continued. "In our team, there is no top-ranking physical coach now. Now here comes a very qualified person. How can I let him go?"

"I'm just worried that the track and field team will not let him go easily," Bin Wang said.

"Your file says that the organizational affiliation of Dai Li is still in the Hanbei Sport Bureau. We will directly give him an official position in the national team and poach him from the Hanbei sports team. This is a promotion! Hanbei sports team won't have any hesitation for that, let alone refuse it, right?" Zhizhong Gu's mouth turned upward as he spoke.

"Promotion should be based on mutual agreement. If Dai Li isn't willing to come?" Bin Wang asked.

"That's why I am going to do it in person!" Zhizhong Gu continued, "At the end of this national championship, I'll go to Qingcheng and pretend to be a sports inspector. Feng Zhu performed pretty well, so I'll go to inspect him."

Bin Wang understood him immediately and said, "I see. You want to manage it secretly!"

Zhizhong Gu nodded. Though he still seemed to be sleepy, he said with a determined expression, "Poaching should be done secretly and quickly. We should handle it all before Li Xue and the track and field team realize it! Get his organizational affiliation here, and after he comes to our team, others won't be able to take him away."

…

Because of the characteristics of track and field sports, it was certainly more than enough for a track coach to double as a physical coach, since an excellent track coach would certainly be excellent in physical training. Therefore, it wouldn't be a problem for Dai Li to be a physical coach in the national team.

The national table tennis team didn't have any lack of excellent coaches, because top national players with many world championships would work as coaches in their national team after retirement. Those former world champions were world-class not only in the skills and experience of table tennis, but also in their understanding of table tennis. It couldn't be more suitable for them to be professional table tennis coaches.

However, these coaches were not good at physical training. They were proficient in technical skills, not really intelligent heroes but agile ones. They couldn't do strength-type work. They couldn't resist damage but could cause it.

In fact, the domestic training system focused on technical skill much more than physical training. Therefore, in some sports, not divided by weight class but requiring high technical skills, the national team always occupied a relatively strong position, like gymnastics, diving, shooting and so on. The national team could always get some gold medals in big competitions.

In some sports divided by weight, Chinese players also had advantages in lightweight competitions. Especially in resistance sports, like boxing, judo, taekwondo, wrestling and so on, men under 70kg and women under 60kg, Chinese players were the best in the world.

Nevertheless, in heavyweight sports such as heavyweight boxing and heavyweight judo, Chinese national players were ranked significantly lower than others. The most fundamental reason was their lack of physical training. Heavyweight competitions required stronger bodies, and while Chinese players were rich in technical skills, they were poor in physical strength. They couldn't defeat their opponents quickly or outlast them. Losing the competition was just a matter of time, since they had no weapons to fight with.

However, in western countries, physical training was highly valued and the position of physical coach was pretty important. Professional physical training centers were everywhere, and excellent physical coaches could earn two to three hundred thousand dollars annually, the same as some doctors.

Until some changes in recent years, table tennis had always been a technical sport. Foreign players couldn't defeat Chinese players on stage, but they could change the rules and equipment. The rules beneficial to national players were weakened and the equipment suitable to them was changed.

As the chief coach of the national table tennis team, Zhizhong Gu had realized this long ago, so he was eagerly searching for excellent physical coaches.

However, under domestic systems, it was really hard to find a good physical coach.

There were good physical coaches abroad, but the national team could not hire one. Table tennis was the national ball sport, and the Chinese team was number one in the galaxy; if even one foreign coach was hired, Chinese coaches would feel embarrassed.

Beyond that, money was another factor. It would cost much to hire a foreign coach. Taking European physical coaches as example, even a physical coach of Eredivisie could get three hundred thousand dollars a year, let alone of the Premier League or La Liga. And they would have to be paid even more to get them to work in Asia, far from their homes.

Coaches from Eredivisie couldn't satisfy our national players at all. Thus, American physical coaches would have to be hired, which would mean a higher price for their value.

The national table tennis team indeed had money for plenty of advertising sponsors. But that was public money, and it would be audited once used. Taking hundreds of thousands of dollars to hire a foreign coach definitely would not pass the audit. The person who signed it would be responsible for it.

Therefore, when they heard of Dai Li, they wanted to poach him for the national team. It would only take an official position for Zhizhong Gu to poach Dai Li, rather than plenty of dollars. Even though Dai Li couldn't be compared with those foreign physical coaches, Zhizhong Gu would be satisfied if Dai Li was better than domestic coaches.

Anyway, something was better than nothing!

…

The National Table Tennis Championship ended. Hanbei provincial table tennis won the bronze medals for both male and female group competitions, and won nothing in singles or doubles.

Yet, Ping Wang was really satisfied with these results. They had no national players so they couldn't get any prize in single and doubles. However, they were still an unexpected winner by getting two group competition bronze medals without any national players.

Later, Ping Wang was informed that the chief coach of the national table tennis Zhizhong Gu was going to inspect Hanbei's table tennis players.

It was not something unexpected, since their players performed well and got the attention of the national coach. It was quite normal for them to inspect their players in person. But this time the inspector was the chief coach Zhizhong Gu, much more important than other coaches in the national team.

All the players of the Hanbei table tennis team were extremely excited, including Feng Zhu. For provincial athletes, the only way upward was to enter the national team, which was the goal of every player in the provincial teams.

Everything seemed to be so normal that nobody realized that Zhizhong Gu's real purpose was not the athletes but Dai Li!

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Chapter 287: Everyone Wants to Go Upwards

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

The car stopped slowly, and Zhizhong Gu got out.

Everyone was familiar with Zhizhong Gu. He was once the world's foremost table tennis player, and had been so for a decade. In addition, he was the first "grand slam" winner on the national table tennis team, as well as a champion of the Olympic Games, a World Table Tennis champion, and a World Cup Table Tennis Tournament champion. He could be said to be the idol of first-generation table tennis fans.

Basically, Dai Li grew up watching the matches of Zhizhong Gu. Coaches ten years older than Dai Li, on the other hand, had regarded Zhizhong Gu as their idol when they were athletes.

Zhizhong Gu was now much fatter than before, but his world-champion's temperament couldn't be clouded by a few extra pounds.

When Zhizhong Gu appeared, many coaches formed a welcoming line, hoping that their athletes might be selected by Zhizhong Gu.

The process for national team coaches examining athletes was the same everywhere. First, they listened to the report in the meeting room and the introduction of the coaches. Then, they visited the training ground, and if necessary, they offered to watch a specific training.

However, table tennis had a strict requirement for technology, so the national team coaches would watch a match with the athletes to examine their abilities.

But it all seemed to have nothing to do with Dai Li. He was a fitness coach, whose job was to be responsible for the fitness of all the table tennis players, rather than a specific player. Dai Li, therefore, returned to his work after the welcome ceremony.

In the training room, Dai Li was leading several young players who had just joined the provincial team through strength training.

"Coach Li! Please come here!" said Ping Wang.

Dai Li turned around surprised, only to find Ping Wang coming toward him with a smile.

Why has Ping Wang come here? Shouldn't he be with Zhizhong Gu by now? Has Zhizhong Gu left? It couldn't be so fast, right? Dai Li was quite confused.

In normal times, it would be common for Ping Wang to appear anywhere. But today, Zhizhong Gu had come to visit, and as the head coach of table tennis team, Ping Wang was supposed to be with Zhizhong Gu all the time. How could he have spare time to come visit Dai Li?

"Mr. Wang, what can I do for you?" asked Dai Li.

"Coach Li, please follow me to the meeting room. Coach Gu wants to see you," Ping Wang said with a smile.

"Coach Gu? Zhizhong Gu? He wants to see me?" Dai Li couldn't believe what he had heard.

"Right!" Ping Wang nodded seriously.

"Coach Wang, why does Zhizhong Gu want to see me?" Dai Li whispered.

"He didn't tell me the reason, but I thought it must be something positive!" he said with a smile. "Do not ask me, you will know when you see him. Please follow me!"

Dai Li followed Ping Wang doubtfully to the meeting room, and then saw the world-renowned Zhizhong Gu.

Zhizhong Gu looked at Dai Li curiously as if Dai Li was something new, which made Dai Li feel uncomfortable and unnatural.

Dai Li sat down and Zhizhong Gu asked directly, "Coach Li, I asked to you to come here because I wanted to know whether you are interested in joining the national table tennis team."

Dai Li was surprised by Gu's words, and he couldn't believe Zhizhong Gu wanted him to join the national team after the first contact.

After a moment, Dai Li came to himself and then instinctively said, "I'm a track coach; I know nothing about the training of table tennis!"

"We have enough professional table tennis coaches on the national table tennis team, but we lack a great fitness coach. So, I hope you can be a fitness coach for us," said Zhizhong Gu.

"So why did you choose me?" asked Dai Li.

Zhizhong Gu smiled and said, "I have seen your resume, so I know you have trained several Asian Games champions. In addition, I just had a chat with Coach Wang, and I think you are qualified to be the fitness coach on the national table tennis team. Therefore, on behalf of the national table tennis team, I formally invite you to join us."

Dai Li was still at a loss; it was so sudden that he almost lost the ability to think.

Zhizhong Gu continued. "Table tennis is our national game, so compared to other sports events, the General Administration of Sports gives us great support. What's more, table tennis has a good foundation and high public participation in China, so there is no doubt that table tennis has a promising future."

"In terms of sponsorship, table tennis also has advantages. Let's take our national table tennis team as an example; several of our major sponsors are well-known brands in China. Just at this point, other sports events are far behind our national team."

"Compared to other sports, a coach in our national table tennis team enjoys better benefits."

Zhizhong Gu's introduction of the national table tennis team was rather exaggerated.

Actually, it was just like a business's hiring strategies; if a business wanted to recruit talent, it was necessary to present the advantages as attractively as possible. If an enterprise had neither scale nor development potential, then it would be impossible to attract talent.

So, Zhizhong Gu introduced the national table tennis team like a Fortune 500 company.

Obviously, it would be impossible to attract talents by only discussing the company's strength; more importantly, the benefits package must be clearly laid out. It would be quite difficult for even Microsoft or Apple to recruit talents if they couldn't provide good salaries. All talents deserved high salary and good treatment.

Zhizhong Gu continued by saying, "Coach Li, if you join us, we will hire you as a formal coach of the national table tennis team. In addition, you will be treated as a national civil servant just like other coaches, and your previous administrative duties will remain unchanged."

Dai Li was moved when he heard those words. The formal establishment of national table tennis team was great! Compared with the establishment of it current provincial sports team, it was obviously much better.

When he worked on the national track team, Dai Li was only an officer on secondment, rather than a formal national team coach, which imposed many limitations on him. So Dai Li wanted to be a formal coach on a national team. Now, he had the opportunity to achieve his hope.

Zhizhong Gu continued. "Our national table tennis team ranks first in the world, both in comprehensive strength and the personal abilities of the players. We have the world's best table tennis players, and our table tennis team holds a dominating position in the world. I believe that there will never be so many world champions and top table tennis players in other teams. So, it is a challenge for coaches to train so many perfect table tennis players on the national table tennis team."

"Dai Li, another reason why I think highly of you is that you are young. Young people should be brave, and try to face all kinds of challenges. I believe you are not content with your current status! I value your potential and recognize your ability; you need a bigger stage to perform your talent, and national table tennis is that stage."

After introducing "company scale," Zhizhong Gu began to introduce working treatment.

Although Zhizhong Gu was not good at indoctrination, Dai Li was deeply impacted by his words.

What Zhizhong Gu has said is right. There are top table tennis players in the national table tennis teams, and they are the world's best both in personal ability and talent. Being a coach on a national table tennis team means I can get more experience.

Dai Li needed experience, so he began to calculate silently.

In terms of the comprehensive ability of players, the national track team was definitely lower than the national table tennis team. On the national track team, Haiquan Fang and Sijie Yang had A-grade talents, and they were the best athletes on the team. In terms of table tennis, Feng Zhu, who had B plus-grade talent, hadn't been selected by the national table tennis team!"

Dai Li could predict that there would be several S-grade players and many A-grade players on the national table tennis team. Meanwhile, the players there had much better ability. All of this meant more experience for Dai Li.

What's more, the players on the national table tennis team had more opportunities to participate in international matches, and as long as they completed, they were basically champions.

Compared with the national table tennis team, there were only a few players in the national track team who could take part in an international match. Even if they had the chance to participate in a match, it would be very difficult for them to get good scores. So Dai Li had difficulty gaining extra experience.

Obviously, according to the system's settings, the higher his grade, the more experience he needed to upgrade. And if he wanted to upgrade as soon as possible, he had to train the players who had better abilities and talents.

Among all the table tennis training teams in China, the national table tennis team can provide me with the highest experience!

Dai Li understood that he relied heavily on the coaching system, and improvement in his coaching grade meant improvement in his ability.

I am only a top coach now, and I will doubtlessly need more experience as the ranks go up. If I continue as I have been, it will take me more than a decade to get upgraded. Thinking of this, Dai Li took a deep breath. I can't wait any longer!

Zhizhong Gu took out a business card, handed it to Dai Li, and said, "Coach Li, I know it is very difficult for you to make a decision in such a short time. So, please take your time and consider it. This is my business card. If you make a decision, please call me."

Dai Li took the business card in his hands, a solemn expression on his face.

"Coach Gu, I don't have to think about it. I would like to join the national table team," said Dai Li.

Zhizhong Gu was a little surprised, and then smiled.

"Surely everyone wants to go upwards!" Ping Wang couldn't help sighing.

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Chapter 288: The Surprising S-Plus Grade Talent

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

"Coach Li, I was selected! I was selected by the national team!" Feng Zhu said with excitement, his eyes twinkling with light.

Feng Zhu fulfilled the dream of three generations of his family and finally joined the national team.

As a newly-selected player on the national team, Feng Zhu had to stay on Team Two. If he wanted to be a member of Team One, it would require more effort.

Within the national table tennis team, there was a trial of upgrade and downgrade, which was attended by the last several players of Team One and the first several players of Team Two. The trial adopted the round-robin fashion and it was ranked by points.

The players with the most points could stay on Team One if they were already a member of Team One. If they were on Team Two, then they could join Team One.

Players from Team Two with low points would remain on Team Two, while Team One players with low points could actually be demoted.

In this trial of upgrade and downgrade, the low-ranking players had to attend the match of upgrade and downgrade. The famous world champions in the top of Team One, however, didn't need to attend the trials.

But in Team Two, only the players who ranked at the top were qualified to attend the trials. Thus, new players in Team Two were not qualified to attend the trials.

For example, Feng Zhu had to stay in Team Two for a while. He needed to experience all kinds of matches and round-robin's to improve his ranking in Team Two, and when he reached the top of Team Two, he would get the opportunity to attend the trials of upgrade and downgrade and then go to Team One.

In addition, Team Two had very fierce competition. In Team One, poor performance would be relegated to Team Two, but poor performance in Team Two would result in elimination from the national team.

If an athlete could go to Team One within two years, then he or she would be regarded as a talent, and would deserve the cultivation of the national team. And those who became members of the nation's Team Two at the age of 14 or 15 and entered Team One at the age of 16 would be world champions in the future, maybe even the rulers of an era.

Feng Zhu was 20 years old, so he had no advantages in terms of age. He just entered Team Two, while there were many people who had been in Team One before the age of 18. Therefore, there were many people with much greater talent than Feng Zhu.

In the teams of Hanbei province, Feng Zhu had been a well-deserved "team leader." But in the national table tennis team, he was just a common player. The great change in status could leave a person at a loss.

Dai Li didn't know if Feng Zhu could adapt to the change of status, and if he couldn't adapt to it, it might not be long before he was eliminated from the national team.

Looking at Feng Zhu's back, Dai Li suddenly felt a sense of melancholy.

Feng Zhu had realized his dream, but he had also met a greater challenge. His future path would be more difficult than it had been.

The next second, Dai Li suddenly thought of himself.

The national table tennis team was also quite strange to Dai Li, and the strange environment was a new challenge for him. What's more, the national table tennis team was totally different from the national track team, in which Dai Li was protected by Li Xue. But in national table tennis, he had nothing.

Thinking of Li Xue, Dai Li had a sense of sadness. Li Xue had tried his best to cultivate Dai Li, and he even regarded Dai Li as his future successor. However, Dai Li had chosen to become the fitness coach of the national table tennis team, and Dai Li didn't know if it was a betrayal of Li Xue.

Dai Li was very confused, and finally he picked up his phone and dialed Xue's number. But he still didn't know how to explain it to Xue.

Finally, Dai Li told Li Xue he would go to the national table tennis team, and Li Xue was lost in contemplation.

After more than a minute, Li Xue heaved a sigh.

Li Xue didn't blame Dai Li, but encouraged him. "Dai Li, the national table tennis team will treat you well. But the Sports General Administration has high requirements for the national team. So, you must work hard, and do not embarrass me!"

Dai Li could feel that Li Xue's words were full of melancholy, but also blessing for Dai Li.

Actually, Li Xue knew that the national table tennis team was more suitable for a young person such as Dai Li. There were much better players, more matches and more champions, and for young coaches, a broader space for development.

Athletes needed matches and gold medals to improve and encourage themselves, and so did coaches. If a coach could not meet a good athlete and participate in high-level matches, he could remain unknown despite being a professional. On the contrary, even an ordinary coach would improve after winning several championships.

So, compared with the national track team, the national table tennis team was a better stage for Dai Li.

A week later, Dai Li finished his job transfer and he came to Huajing again to sign up for the national table tennis team.

The training center of national table tennis team.

At the training center, Dai Li met many famous people whom he had previously only seen on television. Some of them had been on television ten or twenty years ago. Those older people were now retired coaches, but they had facilitated many brilliant achievements for the national table tennis team and won many championships. And the young athletes were following the footsteps of the former generation, and would continue their brilliant achievements.

Zhizhong Gu showed Dai Li around and introduced him to everyone.

"Anshan Wang, the team leader of the men's table tennis team. I think you are familiar with him without introduction!" Zhizhong Gu said, pointing at Wang.

Dai Li nodded; there was no doubt that he knew Anshan Wang. People in China who paid attention to table tennis all knew Anshan Wang.

Anshan Wang, 28 years old, was a leading player in the men's table tennis teams of China. He had ranked first in the world for three consecutive years, and he was a grand slam winner in table tennis, called "the best player in men's table tennis."

Dai Li subconsciously detected Anshan Wang.

S plus! His talent is S plus! It was what Dai Li had expected, but it still took his breath away.

Anshan Wang was the first player Dai Li had met with the S-plus grade talent, and according to the system's description, a player who had S-plus grade talent was capable of ruling an age. Actually, Anshan Wang had already done this; in the past year, he won the men's singles championships of World Championships, the World Cup, and the finals of the International Table Tennis Federation world tour. All of these reflected the absolute dominance of Anshan Wang. And the players on men's table tennis team voted him team leader, which also reflected a different aspect of his strength.

His ability value was 992! Only eight points less than the full score. Of all the athletes I have ever seen, Anshan Wang has the highest ability value! If he could get my help in his explosive, would his ability value break 1000?

"His advantages: comprehensive play, balanced attack and defense, back spin has strong rotary force, fickle drop point, fast speed of forehand, early hitting point, good control of serve arc…" Dai Li watched a few lines and directly filtered out the advantages, because the description of his advantages was so long that it would take Dai Li several minutes to read them all.

Shortcomings... none! No shortcoming! There is no shortcoming! Dai Li was shocked again. It was the first time the detector had failed to detect the shortcoming of an athlete, which meant Anshan Wang was a perfect athlete.

This is the ability of the world's top athletes! S-plus grade talent, near-perfect ability values, numerous advantages, but no disadvantages. Perfect! The athletes who can rule an age are like this!

Dai Li finally understood what the term "best athletes" meant.

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Chapter 289: Chapter 289

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

An athlete with no shortcomings would be a great challenge for his or her coach.

Ordinary physical exercise would keep a person healthy, but professional sports training was a more targeted enhancement to a person's specific physical condition. For example, a man who was weak might need a strength enhancement routine, while another one who was slow might need a speed regimen. In other words, strong purposes guide professional sports training.

But the training for an athlete without shortcomings would lack direction or purpose, which would pose a great challenge for the coach.

An athlete like Anshan Wang had reached perfection in every aspect. What was the most important for him, and thus his coach's task, was to maintain his current state.

Sports training was like sailing against the current. Improper training would lead to a decline of the athlete's performance, which would be especially obvious for high-level athletes.

Therefore, Dai Li started thinking about the training plan for Anshan Wang after they met.

And Zhizhong Gu continued to introduce Dai Li to other athletes.

"Over there is Pengfei Cui, whom you might know. He is the most popular player on our National Table Tennis Team, having a lot of female fans," Gu said.

Pengfei Cui was also a Grand Slam champion in table tennis. As a top world-class player, he was of course technically perfect, and what's more, he played very aggressively. Thanks to his aggressiveness, he even out-achieved Anshan Wang several years ago.

Dai Li detected Cui at once.

His talent is Level S, a little lower than Anshan Wang's, but his Skill Points are 905, far less than Wang's. Oh, it's because of injuries!

Detection showed that Pengfei Cui's weakness didn't lie in technical skill. His shortcomings came from injuries on his shoulders, waist, knees, and ankles. At that moment, Cui was engulfed by injuries, both minor and severe.

Such results didn't surprise Dai Li at all. It had been reported long ago that Pengfei Cui was injured. And taking Cui's extreme aggressiveness in playing into consideration, it was not surprising that he was injured.

In table tennis, players who played aggressively were more likely to get hurt, and they usually had relatively shorter career life. Athletes of Pengfei Cui's kind often made difficult technical movements, which physically made games worth watching, but they paid for such games with their own physical injuries.

Therefore, Pengfei Cui out-achieved Anshan Wang four or five years ago. He could won championships in almost every game he attended. At that time, Anshan Wang was said to be "second to Cui forever." But in recent years, Pengfei Cui could not sustain his aggressive style of play because of his injuries. His competitive state was also rapidly declining.

"Here is Xiangxian Zuo," said Zhizhong Gu, "the only left-hand penhold player on our team."

Zuo, also a world champion, once topped the world rankings and currently ranked third in the world.

Being a left-handed penhold player, it was easier for him to cooperate with doubles. So, he took part in more doubles matches than singles. And he won more championships in doubles.

There were few penhold table tennis players nowadays. Penhold was more flexible in receiving and dealt better with on-table situations. And it had more advantages in the first three strokes. However, with the change of the rules of table tennis, the advantages of penhold had been weakened, since penhold's abilities could also be performed through shake-hand grip.

The trend of professional table tennis over the last two years was to strengthen the backhand way of playing. It was obvious that shake-hand grip worked better with backhand than penhold.

And since the skill of Penhold Backhand appeared, it had become a necessary skill for penhold players. But Penhold Backhand's requirements for the player's wrist were very high, and it was very difficult to learn. What's more, even a mastery of Penhold Backhand might not equal Shake-hand Grip Backhand in terms of force. Since the benefits of penhold were not great, fewer athletes chose to use it.

Dai Li detected Xiangxian Zuo. He found that Zuo's talent was also Level S with Skill Points of 937, and Zuo was suffering from shoulder and back problems, too.

Zhizhong Gu pointed to the fourth athlete. "Shuang Pang, the genius of our team."

Dai Li knew that with everything going well, this Pang would be the next leading player in the National Men's Team after Anshan Wang's era.

Shuang Pang was the youngest genius in the National Table Tennis Team. When he was 14 years old, he already could defeat most of the players in the National Team Two. At the age of 15, Shuang Pang entered the National Team One. During the next year, he went through all the stages of in-team competitions and won the opportunity to take part in the WTTC. That year also saw him to the championships of the Table Tennis Opens in Germany and Poland in succession.

Shuang Pang was only 19 when Dai Li saw him, but he had already been crowned with a dozen world championships. He was second only to Anshan Wang in the world. And the gap between Wang and him in strength was not so big.

S! Shuang Pang's talent is also S! My prediction is right that every leading player of the National Table Tennis Team is Level S. However, he has some shortcomings, unlike Anshan Wang, who is perfect. But Pang is only 19 now. All he needs to reach Wang's level is a bit more time, Dai Li thought.

The four main players in the National Men's Table Tennis Team—Anshan Wang, Pengfei Cui, Xiangxian Zuo and Shuang Pang—were all Level S athletes, and two of them were a breathtaking S. That was enough to show the strength of the National Team.

And then Zhizhong Gu introduced other players in the National Team One. There were no more Level S, but they all had Level A talent. The worst of them ranked Level A-. No Level B.

Such a result made Dai Li worried about Feng Zhu. Feng Zhu was just Level B. It seemed that he could hardly enter the Team One.

Then Zhizhong Gu took Dai Li to the National Women's Table Tennis Team.

There were two S players of similar age. And there was only one Level S player on the Women's Team.

But there were three S- and five A athletes on the team. The worst in the National Women's Team One was Level A. No Level A- existed in the team. It could be inferred that the competition in the Women's Team was fiercer than that in the Men's Team.

Gu and Li's next destination was the National Table Tennis Team Two. They met with the Chief Coach Feihong Liu of Team Two there.

Players of Team Two were indeed not as skillful as their counterparts in Team One.

The women's situation was better than the men's. Level S players in the Women's Team were newly joined, so they hadn't achieved anything yet. The Men's Team, however, didn't have young Level S players. Most of the players in the team were Level A. The B talent of Feng Zhu was only ranked lower than the average.

After he introduced every player on the team, Zhizhong Gu said, "Dai Li, you just came here, so I will not give you training tasks. Your major task, for now, is to get familiar with the environment. You are a fitness coach. Please make a physical training plan for every player on our team. There are 78 players on our Teams One and Two. You have one month to make as many physical training plans as possible."

"No problem!" Dai Li nodded at once, knowing that working out training plans was Zhizhong Gu's "test before posting" for him.

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Chapter 290: The Test

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

There were 78 players on the National Table Tennis Team. Team One had 16 men and 16 women, which totaled 32. And the remaining 46 were in Team Two.

The 32 positions in Team One were fixed and would not change. Players in Team Two fought through promotion games to get into Team One, while unqualified players of Team One were gradually weeded out.

The number of players in Team Two was not fixed. New players joined Team Two while players in the team might be sent back to the provincial team. But generally, players in Team Two outnumbered those in Team One.

It was impossible to draw up training plans for national team players through applying exactly the same plan to every player. The different technical features, physical conditions, and ages of different players required unique training plans. Everyone needed a targeted plan.

That was a complicated task. The coach had to know the athlete well, and he had to know the athlete's advantages and disadvantages. The coach also needed to know the athlete's play style, and more importantly, the athlete's injuries. A training plan had to be based on the overall condition of the athlete.

Zhizhong Gu set Dai Li to designing physical training plans as a test of Dai Li's ability, a fact which had not escaped Dai Li's notice.

Outstanding performance on his part would lead him to a core position. He would even have the chance to take part in the training of major players. But if his performance was not so good, he might be sent to Team Two to be a coach of those ordinary young players.

And Zhizhong Gu gave Dai Li only one month, 22 working days. Normally, that would have been far from enough for a coach to make 78 physical training plans.

It was easy for a fitness coach to make a physical training plan for one player in a day. 22 days meant 22 plans. But 22 physical training plans from Dai Li would hardly impress Zhizhong Gu. An ordinary fitness coach could do that, too. What Zhizhong Gu needed was obviously not an ordinary coach.

Dai Li didn't know how many plans Zhizhong Gu expected from him. It might be 30 or 40. That would be difficult for ordinary coaches.

In addition to quantity, quality was another important concern. Physical training plans without specific aims would lower Dai Li's score. Quality was even more important than quantity.

Improper training would cause a decline in strength rather than an improvement for high-level athletes. A coach was meaningless if he could not help an athlete improve their strength.

So, the quality of the training plans was more important than the quantity. What Dai Li needed to do was make as many training plans as possible while ensuring their quality.

…

Dai Li left the training field, and then Zhizhong Gu started to talk with the Chief Coach of Team Two, Feihong Liu.

"Feihong, what do you think of this young man?" asked Zhizhong Gu.

Feihong Liu shook his head, "I don't know. He accepted your assignment to make training plans so quickly. I think he is very confident. And he should be. A Champion Coach of the Asian Games at such a young age should definitely be confident. When I was his age, I was just an intern coach!"

When Feihong Liu was young, he was the third major player in the National Men's Table Tennis Team, next to Zhizhong Gu and Bin Wang. He was younger than Gu and Wang, but he had chosen to retire earlier because of injuries. And taking his injuries into consideration, the National Table Tennis Team let him stay as a coach. Feihong Liu started as an intern coach, and after years of hard work, he finally became the Chief Coach of the National Team Two.

Zhizhong Gu sighed. "As a coach, Dai Li started from a higher place than us. And he is so young. He might not be used to this job temporarily, but he deserves that we spend our time on him. If he cannot satisfy me in one month, I will leave him to you. Let him work in Team Two to gain experience."

"Ok! Team Two will never get enough players. Please give us those whom you don't need in your Team One!" Feihong Liu laughed. "One month is not enough for one to make 78 physical training plans. How many do you expect from him?"

"30 physical training plans," Zhizhong Gu replied immediately. "I will keep him in Team One if he can complete 30 plans with good quality. Less than 30? Then he will be yours."

"That's not a hard task. It should be easy for a fitness coach in Team One," Feihong Liu said with a smile.

"If he can't complete 30 physical training plans, he is not qualified to stay in Team One," Zhizhong Gu said with a smile. "If he can make 40 plans, I will give major players like Anshan Wang and Shuang Pang to him."

"40 plans?" Feihong Liu shook his head at once. "That can't be done in one month. He is a newcomer and not familiar with these players. He needs time to observe every player's condition. He must be a very gifted coach if he completes 40 physical training plans with good quality."

…

Dai Li was constantly taking notes on his small notebook by the side of the training field.

Dai Lai only needed to run a detection of the athletes to determine their shortcomings and advantages. Thus, all Dai Li had to do was take notes. He didn't need time to observe their play.

Dai Li recorded all the detection results of the 32 players on Team One, and then he went to the training field of Team Two.

The greater number of players in Team Two resulted in more time spent taking notes.

It cost Dai Li a whole day to record the detection results of all 78 players in the National Table Tennis Team on his notebook. And then he started to make a targeted physical training plan for each player respectively.

…

A week later.

The regular meeting of the National Table Tennis Team brought all the coaches to the meeting room.

"Anything else?" Zhizhong Gu looked around the crowd and didn't see anyone still wanting to speak. Then he concluded, "Ok. We will stop here today. Dismissed!"

Everyone got up and left the meeting room in twos and threes.

Dai Li ran to Gu and gave him a file box.

"Coach, I have worked out all the physical training plans."

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Chapter 291: Seventy-eight Training Plans

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

In the conference room, what Dai Li had done attracted everyone's attention.

As a newcomer, it was normal to attract more attention when he was unfamiliar to the place. And in those days, Dai Li had been busy with the training plans. Everyone knew that this was a test that Zhizhong Gu had set for Dai Li.

"It's a month that Coach Gu gave Dai Li, right? Now it has been only one week. How come Dai Li has already handed in the training plans?"

"One week's time is only enough to make seven or eight training plans. It's far from seventy-eight."

"I think Dai Li wants to make several training plans for Coach Gu's review, so that Coach Gu may give him some comments. This may be a probe to see the evaluation standards of Coach Li. When he figures out Coach Gu's criteria, he may have a better gauge for the next training plans he is to make."

"That makes sense. He is quite smart as a newcomer. He knows how to figure things out with this method."

The coaches were discussing the matter in low voices.

Zhizhong Gu smiled. He also believed that Dai Li could not make many training plans in just one week's time, and so he was handing out these "homeworks" to feel him out.

"It has been only one week. You don't need to hurry." Zhizhong Gu took the file box. Yet the next moment, he sensed how heavy the file box was, so much so that it almost fell out of his hand.

"It's so heavy! The file box is full!" Zhizhong Gu was surprised, and then he opened the box.

As Zhizhong Gu expected, the box was full of documents printed on A4 papers.

"There are so many files!" Zhizhong Gu was shocked by the quantity of the papers and asked, "Li, how many training plans are there in this box?"

"Seventy-eight," Dai Li confidently said. "We have seventy-eight people in our team. One for each one of them, so there are seventy-eight training plans."

Zhizhong Gu looked at Dai Li with a confused stare. Although Dai Li appeared confident, Zhizhong Gu still could not believe what he had heard.

Not only Zhizhong Gu, but the several coaches there also all showed their suspicions on their faces, when they heard what Dai Li said.

"Seventy-eight training plans in one week? Is something wrong with my ears?"

"How is this possible?! No way can make so many training plans in just one week's time."

"Is he fooling us? Or are all the training plans about the same, that they can be finished in one week?"

"Does this newcomer think that he can drift along aimlessly in the national team? He cannot just scrape together some training plans and hand them in."

Everyone was guessing their theories, and Zhizhong Gu became serious. He also believed that Dai Li was totally meddling with his work, to hand in his "homework" so soon.

"Have I gotten it wrong this time? Is this Dai Li really an incompetent fool?" Zhizhong Gu was full of doubt in his heart. He didn't say anything, when feeling the weight of the file box. But in his mind, he determined that he would dispatch Dai Li to team two.

With the file box, Zhizhong Gu returned to his office. He then dialed the number of Feihong Liu, the head coach of team two.

"Feihong, stay for a while after work. Come by my office." Zhizhong Gu then said," the newcomer, Dai Li, will have to stay in your team. Teach him some lessons for me."

"Ok. I'll get there in one minute." Feihong Liu, on the other side of the phone, then said, "I heard that, in the meeting, Dai Li gave you seventy-eight training plans. Hehe, is this Dai Li a fool, or is he just pretending to be one? Or did he not get your point at all?"

"Who knows?" Zhizhong Gu shook his head helplessly. "I thought this young guy was quite smart. I didn't expect that he was such a fool! Let him stay in your team first. You teach him, and see if he is teachable or not. If he is too stupid to learn his lessons, get him out of here as soon as possible."

Zhizhong Gu finished and put down the phone, staring at the file box. Then, Zhizhong Gu heaved a long sigh, before taking up the file box and looking through the first training plan.

"Oh? It's not so bad. The advantages and weaknesses of the athlete were clearly analyzed. The training plan was detailed and specific. It had obviously been made with quite some effort." The frown on his face eased a little.

"Maybe it had been arranged on top purposefully, as the first one I'd read, to fool me. This is the first one after all. It has to be carefully made to be good. When I was at school, I used to put the well-written homework at the first," Zhizhong Gu thought these things to himself, as he flipped open the second training plan.

In the second training plan, the advantages and weaknesses of the athlete were also analyzed. A detailed training plan was then listed accordingly. The insiders could see, at the first glance, that it was well-made with a lot of effort.

"This one is also very good and well-targeted. It's not a simple copy of the first one. This is also arranged as one of the best ones."

Zhizhong Gu took up the third training plan immediately.

"This one is also good! This Dai Li is quite competent. He has sharp eyes for observation, and his analysis of the advantages and weaknesses of the athletes was dead on. The training plan is also very much to the point. If I were to have made this, I could not do any better than this." Zhizhong Gu couldn't help but rate the first three training plans as "A".

Zhizhong Gu surely could see that those three training plans were carefully written with a lot of effort. The training plans were of very high quality, and could each be put into use directly.

"It's just hard to tell how many of these training plans are of high quality, like this. Maybe Dai Li thought I would just look through the first ones. Maybe this young man is somewhat competent, but he should not play such tricks."

Zhizhong Gu still thought that Dai Li must be "fooling around" to hand in 78 training plans in such a short time. He must have had written the first several ones carefully, and scraped together the later ones.

This might be called the mentality of "summer holiday homework". The students used to do the first few pages carefully, for their teachers to review, but for the pages that followed, they would do it casually, just to simply make do. There was so much homework for the summer holiday, that the teacher couldn't possibly review every page of it.

Zhizhong Gu took out the fourth one. It was also perfect.

Then the fifth, the six, and the seventh…

Before he realized it, Zhizhong Gu had finished reading ten of the training plans. Every one of them was written according to the characteristics of the athlete. It was difficult to find anything wrong with them, even for Zhizhong Gu.

"Ten? It has been only one week! He can write ten training plans in one week. And the quality of them are so high. He may really be able to finish forty training plans in a month!"

Thinking of this, Zhizhong Gu suddenly felt a shock. Although he still believed Dai Li was fooling around, he thought Dai Li should be good enough to stay in team one, simply by the merits of having made these ten excellent training plans.

This was out of Zhizhong Gu's expectation. He took up the eleventh training plan.

"It's perfect! He made eleven training plans in one week?"

Eleven perfect training plans! This had exceeded Zhizhong Gu's expectation of Dai Li. He couldn't help but remember Dai Li's expression of full confidence when he handed in the file box. Zhizhong Gu suddenly thought of a circumstance of possibility.

"Seventy-eight training plans? Impossible! It cannot be done in one week! There must be bad ones in the pile!" Zhizhong Gu couldn't believe it. But he dared not look at the twelfth training plan.

After hesitating for several seconds, he finally took up the twelfth.

"The twelfth one is also good! I cannot believe it!" Zhizhong Gu's expression suddenly turned ferocious. He didn't continue with the thirteenth training plan, but instead, pulled one copy of A4 paper from the middle of the pile.

"This one is from the middle of the pile. I'll see if it is also without any problems!"

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Chapter 292: Hired a Superman

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Zhizhong Gu pulled out a training plan from the middle of the pile. He believed those training plans stacked in the middle were surely poorly written.

With this feeling, Zhizhong Gu started reading the training plan. This training plan was also well written, with no problems at all. It's not something to fool people. How could this be?! I pulled it randomly from the middle of the pile!"

Then, Feihong Liu came to the door of Zhizhong Gu's office. The door was not closed. Feihong Liu didn't knock, but stepped hard to make a big sound, as to notify Zhizhong Gu that he was coming. Meanwhile, he said, "Gu, I'm here!"

Zhizhong Gu raised his head and took a glance at Feihong Liu. He didn't greet Feihong Liu, but instead handed him the training plan directly.

"Take a look at this physical training plan," Zhizhong Gu said.

Feihong Liu didn't take himself as an outsider. He took a seat right opposite to Zhizhong Gu and took the training plan.

"Physical training plan? This athlete was from team two!" After a glance at the name of the athlete, Feihong Liu started reading.

After quite a while, Feihong Liu said, "This training plan is quite well-written. The analysis on the advantages and weaknesses of the athlete is very clear and specific, and the training activities are well arranged. Hence, it can be used without any modification."

"You think so?" Zhizhong Gu said, meanwhile pulling out another two from the pile, looking at the name of the athlete and handing it to Feihong Liu.

"Have a look at these two. They are also for athletes from team two," Zhizhong Gu then said.

Feihong Liu took it and spent two minutes reading through it. Then he nodded his head in agreement, "I think these two are also very good, first-class training plans. If it were me making this plan, I could only do this well, exactly. This guy who wrote these two plans knows a lot about our athletes of team two. Gu, who wrote these?"

"Dai Li," said Zhizhong Gu, patting the thick pile of physical training plans.

"These are what Dai Li gave you, when the meeting was closed, right?" Feihong Liu was surprised, and then said, "These training plans are really good. Dai Li is quite competent, I'd say. It's only that his attitude toward work is somewhat not serious. He can do it well, but he chooses to fool around. There are only two or three good ones in that pile of training plans that he gave you, I'm guessing?"

Feihong Liu also mistook Dai Li, and thought he just wrote several good training plans to cover the bad ones up, and that all the other physical training plans were churned out simply to fool his boss.

Then Feihong Liu said, "Alright, Gu. You can trust this Dai Li with me. He is only a little not flippant about his work. That's not hard to deal with. I'll be tough with him to get him fully committed to work. Don't worry. I'll turn him into a first-class coach."

Zhizhong Gu smiled awkwardly, then handed Feihong Liu the twelve training plans he had already read. He said to Feihong Liu, "Look at those. These are training plans for athletes of team one."

Feihong Liu didn't know what Zhizhong Gu meant. He took the twelve physical training plans and began to read them carefully.

"This one is good, very specific and accurate."

"Pursuit racing? It's good. But it would be hard work for the training partner."

"Squat-style side slide with loads? This is really strength consuming. But it's necessary."

Feihong Liu made comments while reading the plans. After finishing several training plans, there was not even one negative comment. All his comments were positive.

Finally, Feihong Liu finished reading all twelve physical training plans and said, "Those training plans are of uniform style. They were written by one person."

Feihong Liu suddenly realized that the three training plans for athletes of team two were very similar to these twelve.

"Those are all written by Dai Li?" Feihong Liu asked.

Zhizhong Gu nodded, while Feihong Liu's face suggested that he could not believe it at all.

"You told Dai Li to make training plans last week. It has been only one week, and he has written twelve, no, with the three I read, that's a total of fifteen training plans?" Feihong Liu asked.

"When I assigned the task to Dai Li last week, we were at the training ground of team two. You were there, too," Zhizhong Gu said.

"What the hell?! I've been a coach for so many years, and I've never known anyone who could make so many training plans within one week! And those plans are all good, with no flaws at all. Fifteen training plans! He must have had to work all night, for several days, to finish these within such a short time," Feihong Liu said.

"Maybe not only 15," Zhizhong Gu suddenly said. "We just read 15, but here are also more than 60 training plans," Zhizhong Gu said, patting the thick file box.

Feihong Liu, however, shook his head, saying, "Stop kidding me, Gu. Making 78 training plans within one week? Not possible. The rest of the plans must be poorly made in order to fool you. I think it might be a simple process of copy and paste. They must be almost the exact same as those ones."

"That's what I thought minutes ago," Zhizhong Gu said, as he took all the files out of the box and handed about half of them to Feihong Liu.

"You and me, each take half of these?" Zhizhong Gu asked. He wanted to read all the rest of the training plans.

"Ok. Half each." Feihong Liu understood what Zhizhong Gu was doing immediately.

Then, a voice was heard at the door. "Gu, time to get off work. Still not going? Your wife's going to call and urge you home soon." It was Bin Wang, who walked in directly.

"Good, you are here. We have one more hand to help. Come here! We can finish reading these with you." Zhizhong Gu shared some of his files with Bin Wang, and Feihong Liu followed suit.

"Bin Wang, these are for you!" Zhizhong Gu said, pointing at the chair in front of him, gesturing him to sit.

Bin Wang walked nearer, full of curiosity. "Those are physical training plans! Let me have a look. Well, it's well written. Are all these training plans? You two both have some in your hands. There must be about sixty or seventy of them?

"Seventy-eight, to be exact," Zhizhong Gu said.

"That means there's one for every athlete in our team!" Bin Wang exclaimed, "This is a huge project, and it would take great effort to finish this. Gu, when have you gotten all these done? You were even hiding it from me? How long did it take to make all these seventy-eight training plans?"

"One week," Zhizhong Gu replied.

"Nonsense! It cannot be done in a month, let alone one week," Bin Wang said, shaking his head.

"I'm not the one who did it. It was Dai Li," Zhizhong Gu said, "He made all these seventy-eight training plans in one week, then gave them to me at the meeting today. You were sitting beside me then, so you should have seen it. Remember?"

"That's even more ridiculous. He is new here, and not even familiar with the athletes, right? How could he make all these plans, in one week? Is it that everyone of them is the same? Maybe only the name is different?" Bin Wang said immediately.

"That's why I've asked you to verify the matter. We have seen more than a dozen of these now, and there are more than sixty still left. Each of us has read twenty of these. It'll be pretty quick, especially with you now helping," Zhizhong Gu said.

…

One minute later, Bin Wang still had a shadow of disdain showing on his face.

Five minutes later, Bin Wang was much more serious.

Ten minutes later, Bin Wang frowned.

Fifteen minutes later, Bin Wang turned on an expression that said "Incredible".

Twenty minutes later, his eyes revealed a look of shock.

Bin Wang read the twenty training plans, seeing no clue of any "copy and paste" trickery. Each and every of them was unique, and made in accordance with the actual conditions of the athlete. They were just perfect.

Bin Wang took a deep breath. He suddenly rejoiced that he was not an online anchorman. Otherwise, he would have shouted out, "Good mate! Well done!"

Zhizhong Gu and Feihong Liu also finished reading their portions of training plans. They also looked like they had seen a ghost or something.

"Have you found any problems?" Zhizhong Gu asked.

"Bin Wang and Feihong Liu both shook their heads. Bin Wang said, "Let's switch now, and look again?"

"OK!" Feihong Liu agreed immediately.

They switched their training plans around among them, and then followed another twenty minutes of silence.

"Seventy-eight training plans, in one week! If I had not seen this for myself, I would not believe it, even if you beat me over the head with it, to my very death!" Binwang's voice broke the silence finally.

Feihong Liu raised his head and said, "Gu, you said on the phone that you would assign this Dai Li to team two, right? I'll call him and tell him this now."

Zhizhong Gu suddenly shuddered, "Who said that? He must stay in team one!"

"How can you go back on your own words?! What did you say on the phone just now? You said you would assign Dai Li to my team, so that I could teach him something. How can you change your mind in just one hour! You change your face more quickly than you turn the pages of a book!" Feihong Liu said, with more than a little anger.

Zhizhong Gu, however, smiled unabashedly, "Of course the good talents must stay in team one! As you just said, all these training plans could be used without any revision. You can pick up all those plans for the athletes in team two, and take them away with you. They will surely save you much time!"

"I say, Gu, you think I'm a mere beggar? This compensation is not enough at all! You must treat me to a big dinner tonight! And not in our canteen, either, as we must go and find a fancy restaurant!" Feihong Liu squabbled.

Bin Wang, however, looking at the two haggling with each other, heaved a long sigh.

"Seventy-eight training plans in one week! Is this even human? It must be a superman that Gu has hired this time!"

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Chapter 293: The Way of Changes

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

"Have you heard that the new Coach Li was directly assigned to team one?"

"Really? He was assigned to team one? Usually, new coaches are assigned to team two first, aren't they?" someone questioned.

"Of course, it's true! I've seen it for myself. He was assigned to team one by Coach Gu. It seems that Coach Gu values him very much!" the coach of team one said.

"Over the past years, Gu has picked several coaches from other places, and there has never been a coach who was directly assigned to team one," said the other.

"Yes. Who is this Dai Li? If he was assigned to team one, he may have a strong background, or maybe he is the son of a leader," someone said with disbelief.

"Don't guess blindly. Dai Li is a real talent!" said someone who had known about it.

"Du, you are quite familiar with Bin Wang. You must know something. Can you share with us?" someone asked.

Du replied, "Did you all get a new physical training program? It was made by Dai Li."

"Oh, it was him who made it? To be frank, it was a great physical training program," sighed the man.

Someone opposed and said, "It is not a big deal. This kind of physical training program is quite easy for me, so why haven't I been assigned to team one by Coach Gu?"

"Can you make seventy-eight physical training programs for the team in one week?" Du countered.

"What did you say? Seventy-eight physical training programs, for the whole team, in one week? How is that possible?" the naysayer said.

"You can't do it, but Dai Li is able to make seventy-eight physical training programs in a week. And these programs are now in our hands," Du said. "If you don't believe it, you can ask other coaches if they've got the new physical training program."

However, nothing could be kept secret forever in this world. As the seventy-eight physical training programs were sent to each coach, the news that Dai Li was assigned to team one was also spread throughout the national table tennis team.

Nevertheless, it was also a great challenge for Dai Li to be in team one. In team one, there were several world champions and grand slam players. They had both reputation and strength.

They were all successful athletes. However, as a newcomer, how to get these world champions to follow his instructions, and train them according to his program, were the first problems for Dai Li.

Standing in the shoes of these athletes, it's easy to understand. They would feel like, "I am a world champion, and the backbone of the national table tennis team. You are just a young and new coach, not an athlete. And as a coach, you haven't got any brilliant achievements. So why should I obey you?!"

When Dai Li went to the Sports Department of Tsing Hua University, he also encountered similar problems. At that time, he quickly convinced Guohong Liu, Xiaotian Xin, and other athletes, by pointing out their shortcomings, then, finally, his training went smoothly.

But this method didn't apply to the national table tennis team. After all, table tennis is a highly technical sport. While acting as a physical coach, it is obviously unpersuasive for Dai Li to talk about the skills of table tennis with these athletes.

The national table tennis team boasts China's top table tennis coaches, many of whom have trained world champions. Therefore, they are more experienced than Dai Li, in terms of table tennis skills.

What's more, the athletes of the national table tennis team began to play table tennis at early ages. Most of them have been trained for more than two decades. They are much better than Dai Li in professional skills. If Dai Li wanted to tell them how to improve their skills, it would be just like teaching a fish to swim.

Besides, there are athletes who are simply had no flaws at all, like Anshan Wang. While for the backbone athletes of the national table tennis, such as Pengfei Cui and Xiangxian Zuo, the only problem was their physical pain, as they had no problem in skills.

Therefore, it was impossible for Dai Li to use the method that he had used in Tsing Hua University. If he wanted to attain the athletes' trusts, he must come up with other methods.

…

Bin Wang looked at Dai Li in the distance, his eyes full of worry, while Zhizhong Gu showed an indifferent expression.

"Gu, I'm quite worried about whether or not Li can convince these guys. Consider the four backbones of our team. Shuang Pang is young, so he tends to be more obedient than the others. The world's No.1 tennis player, Anshan Wang, has a modest and introverted character. Xiangxian Zuo has always been outgoing, and he is good at getting along with others. But Pengfei Cui is a troublemaker by nature, and doesn't listen to anyone much. An ordinary coach cannot handle him at all!"

Zhizhong Gu smiled and said, "This might be the second test for Dai Li! It is a practical test. The physical training program he wrote before was but a theoretical examination."

"Aren't you going to help him?" Bin Wang asked.

Zhizhong Gu shook his head and said, "Fire tests pure gold. Athletes need to experience setbacks in order to grow up, especially the young athletes."

"But I think Dai Li is good enough, we don't need to give him more tests," Bin Wang continued.

"There is no doubt that he is good enough, but I think he has more potential," Gu added.

"We should not only focus on the present, but also pay more attention to the future. Such a young coach as Dai Li is the future of China's table tennis. When we were athletes, China's table tennis was ranked first. When we were coaches, China's table tennis was still the No.1 in the world. So I hope that, when we retire, we will still be No.1 in the world," continued Gu.

When Gu said these things, his eyes were full of hope, "These athletes are stronger than we were, when we were younger. They have stronger bodies, more prominent skills, and more reasonable tactics. If they retire and become coaches, they must be better than us. That's what we expect of our national table tennis, that each generation surpasses the preceding one. Only in this way, can our table tennis stand at the top of the world."

Just as Gu said before, it was only a theoretical examination to have Li make physical training programs. Sports, after all, are based on practice. It would be useless to talk about many theories, without putting them into practice.

Daily training is the main basic work for a coach. If we can't ensure sufficient training, even if we have great theories, we are just researchers, rather than "excellent coaches".

It also applies to teaching. Each school has a department that is responsible for teaching research, and the teachers there also have rich experience. However, the "great teachers" in parents' eyes are the head teachers who have higher graduation rates. These head teachers cannot compete with these professionals in teaching theories, but they have great teaching achievements.

Li's goal is not to be an armchair coach, so he must face the challenges he will encounter in the future. It is quite difficult for Li to make these world champions follow his training program. So Dai Li knows that, if he wants to win the recognition of these world champions, the key is to change!

The best way to win the trust of these world champions is for Dai Li to make efforts to help these athletes realize that his training will bring them changes in a short time. However, for these backbone athletes, who are quite excellent in all aspects, it is by no means easy to give them changes in a short time. Hence, Dai Li must find an appropriate breakthrough to achieve this aim.

Finally, Dai Li chose "Arm muscle training" as his breakthrough.

Professional table tennis players have a common characteristic, namely, the forearm of the ball-holding hand is longer than that of the non-ball-holding hand. So, the muscles of the ball-holding hand are obviously stronger than those of the other one. As such, to the naked eye, it looks like one arm is longer and stronger than the other. This is mainly because athletes have been playing table tennis since childhood, so the growth of their bones and muscles have been affected, causing this inevitable result.

That's not the case with people who haven't been playing table tennis from an early age. Of course, in China, those who have not been trained in table tennis since childhood are unlikely to be professional players.

The human body is a coordinated system and each movement made when playing table tennis is a part of the whole body movement. If two arms were different in length and size, it is bound to affect the integrity of the whole body. So, if this defect can be improved, athletes would quickly feel the systematic "changes" in their bodies.

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Chapter 294: Trust Building

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

"Anshan Wang, Pengfei Cui, Xiangxian Zuo and Shuang Pang." Dai Li wrote the names of the four backbones on a sheet of white paper.

As a fitness coach of the national table tennis team, if Dai Li couldn't handle these four backbones, he would definitely not be unable to gain a foothold in the team. On the other hand, if a coach couldn't win the athletes' trust, then the training couldn't go on.

"Shuang Pang is only 19, the youngest athlete in the team. Convincing him to follow the training program should be the simplest. But he is too young, and he hasn't established his prestige in the national team yet. Thus, it would be useless to make him the first target."

"Pengfei Cui?" When Dai Li read the name aloud, he shook his head immediately.

Although Pengfei Cui was a grand slam player, he was also a famous troublemaker in the national table tennis team. He had been expelled from the national team twice, and sent back to the provincial team for his resistance to management.

"It seems that I can only choose Anshan Wang or Xiangxian Zuo. Wang is the captain of the men's team. He has a modest and introverted character, while Zuo is outgoing and easy to get along with. They both have their own advantages, so I can choose either one of them."

After consideration, Dai Li finally chose Anshan Wang. Anshan Wang, the No.1 in current national table tennis team, had the most strength and prestige in the team. If Dai Li could win his trust, then it would be easy for Li to win the recognition of the other athletes.

"Please give me three days, and I will make you see change!" Dai Li said to Anshan Wang with an earnest expression.

But Anshan Wang was contemptuous upon hearing what Li said.

Dai Li was only a new fitness coach, but Anshan Wang was the world's top table tennis player. Wang didn't believe Li could bring "change" to him. On the contrary, he just felt that Dai Li was a braggart.

But Wang was a modest, diligent athlete of good self-control. Ordinarily, he followed the guidance of his coach. Therefore, he didn't refuse Li's training program immediately, and chose to have a try.

…

Domestic sports training basically remained at the "stop-gap" stage. For example, when Dai Li was on the national track-and-field team, the coaches there would improve athletes' performance by aiming at their shortcomings, giving them specialized training. This was also the mainstream training method in China.

This training method was effective for non-elite athletes, but it was of no use for top athletes. The top athletes in the world are almost perfect in skills. In other words, their defects in skills would not affect their performance. Otherwise, it would be impossible for them to be No.1 in their field of sport.

During Li's time in the AP training center, he had learned a new training theory. That is, that athletes should be regarded as a group, and thus, the performance of each athlete could be improved by improving the balance of the whole group.

This theory was just like the distribution of attribute points in computer games. Suitable attribute points should be distributed to corresponding game characters. When these attribute points reach their limit, full attribute points plus one was the best choice.

Of course, this theory did not apply to the national track-and-field team, because there was still a huge gap between the world's top track-and-field athletes and the athletes at home. But when Li was in the national table tennis team, he found that this advanced training theory could be used.

The AP Training Center had no experience in training the world's top table tennis players, but it had trained several top tennis players, including many four grand slam tennis players. Dai Li had seen some of this information while studying in the United States, so he decided to apply this experience to the training of top players in the national table tennis team.

The coaches of the national table tennis team were basically table tennis players. They were excellent and professional in skills, but their physical training had remained at the same level of a decade ago.

China's table tennis had been the world's No.1 for many years. The performance of other countries' table tennis could not pose any threat to China, and the gap was becoming even more obvious. In this case, the coaches of the national table tennis had rarely paid attention to the training of foreign table tennis athletes. This was because they all were convinced that the training of foreign countries was definitely inferior to that of China.

Three days was transient, and it meant nothing to professional athletes.

But for Dai Li, three days could help him to make some "changes" in Anshan Wang. Li had a great training theory and method, and, in terms of training effect, it was comparable to that of the elite coaches in the national table tennis team.

More importantly, Dai Li chose the right strategy for training.

Anshan Wang had been playing table tennis since he was a child, so the forearm of his ball-holding hand was a bit longer, and the muscle of that hand was a bit stronger than that of the other. But all of these things didn't prevent him from winning the championships and being the world's No.1. However, there were still considered as being defects in the overall coordination of his body.

The human body should be a coordinated whole, and it took tens of millions of years for human beings to evolve into what they are today. If a man, whose arms were different in length and size, is more superior than his fellowmen, then all human beings would be bound to evolve in his same way.

The bone structures of adult athletes have been maturely shaped, and this factor is what Li can't change, as it was impossible for him to make the length of Wang's two forearms the same. But Dai Lin was able to improve Wang's muscles of the shorter arm.

For ordinary people, three-day's worth of training wouldn't bring about any improvement in their body. However, as one of the world's top professional athletes, Anshan Wang was much more sensitive to body changes than ordinary people.

Take the table tennis racket as an example: The table tennis rackets of the national table tennis team were specially customized by the manufacturer. Regardless of the glue and rubber, the clapper of the table tennis racket must be precise in its length, width, and thickness, for which even a millimeter of error was not permitted.

The radian of the racket shoulder is a good example for this. Ordinary people may not pay attention to the radian of the racket shoulder, but for top players, they have strict requirements for it, and can perceive the slightest change in it.

Such top athletes, like Anshan Wang, could perceive the difference in the radian of the racket shoulder, even if it was only different by 0.5 degrees. The athletes would feel uncomfortable when using the new racket. Such a slight difference in radian could not be detected in the process of regular product quality inspection. It could only be measured by engineers with precise measuring instruments.

Such was the sensitivity of top athletes, so much that they could perceive even the slightest change in their bodies or sports equipment immediately. After three days of training, Anshan Wang felt exactly the "change" that Dai Li had told him he would. It was the coordination optimization of the whole body, and subtle as it was, Wang now felt more comfortable when playing table tennis.

For Anshan Wang, one of the world's top athletes, there was barely room for improvement in regards to his professional skills, but there could also be a great improvement for him to be a little more comfortable when playing table tennis.

In order to make these top athletes more comfortable, the team behind them must work really hard. For example, the engineers of the racket had spent a lot of time developing new rackets and asked him to trying them out. The shoe maker specially designed a pair of sneakers for them, paying attention to all details. They had made all these efforts, just to make them feel more comfortable. In order to achieve this goal, the research team of sports equipment may spend several months.

Now, it only took three days for Li to make Wang feel the change.

"Li was of the same age as me, but he could get recruited by Coach Gu. It means he has real talent," Anshan Wang said to himself. At this moment, his contempt for Li had disappeared, now replaced by appreciation, and he began to trust Li.

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Chapter 295: Rehabilitation Training

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

"Don't stop! Cheer up! Another five!" Dai Li urged Anshan Wang.

In the training yard, Wang stood in front of a pneumatic resistance chest expander, doing cross-pulling exercises with his arms continuously. The chest expander was relatively advanced. The most prominent feature of it being the precise adjustment of the training load.

Traditional fitness equipment is gravity-weighted, that is, the free weight is changed by the addition or removal of iron weight stacks. For example, a weight stack of the fitness equipment used in Europe and America mostly weighs 10 pounds usually. Five-pound stacks are not so commonly seen. The lightest ones weigh 2.5 pounds. That's to say, the minimum free weight added or removed in the training is 2.5 pounds.

However, even the most commonly used pneumatic resistance fitness equipment is able to adjust the free weight by an accuracy of 1 pound. The products of top brands, such as KEISER, can change the weight by 0.1 pound, which indeed is the best to meet professional athletes' demands for precise training.

In addition, such equipment can change the free weight separately. For instance, when doing weight training for both arms, one can use different free weights for each arm respectively. So, it's particularly effective when used in the training of sports, such as table tennis and badminton, where the players' two arms are used differently.

Anshan Wang clenched his teeth and tried to do his utmost. His expression showed that his training load was very heavy, and that he had almost reached his limit. Although every single action was a challenge for him, he insisted on finishing, and didn't give up.

"Come on, just four more! Grit your teeth and hang on! Perseverance brings you final victory!" Dai Li encouraged him again, standing next to him.

Zhizhong Gu and Bin Wang stared at the scene nearby, standing side by side.

The training up to one's physical limit is something of torture for the athletes. No doubt they will reject it. Although Dai Li was not a top-notch coach across the globe, he somehow could convince a top athlete in the world to accept such extreme training. This skill had explained his success.

"It took him only a few days to nail it. We have all underestimated him," Bin Wang said of Li.

Zhizhong Gu nodded in agreement, saying, "Yeah. I never expected that. I thought that he might need a year or so, to get acquainted with his athletes, before he could smoothly carry out his training plan. But in no more than a week, Anshan Wang was willing to follow his instructions to train himself that hard. It's really beyond my expectations. That's good. It means that it's now safe to ask him to handle Xiangxian Zuo."

Wang was amazed at Gu's words, and he said, "But the doctor has recommended him to rest for a few days."

"Rehabilitation training is one of the jobs of a fitness coach." Gu stopped and then continued, "The Swedish Open is about to begin. We can't wait any longer. It's a must for us to have Zuo recovered. He is the only left-handed athlete we have. We need to count on him, at least for the double."

…

"What's the matter?" Dai Li was summoned to the office by Zhizhong Gu.

Gu motioned him to sit down, and then he said, "Xiangxian Zuo has rested for five days, and tomorrow he will return. I hope you can take on the task of Zuo's rehabilitation. Any problem with that?"

"Me? Take charge of his rehabilitation?" He was surprised at first, then accepted with no hesitation, "Okay."

Gu said, "The Swedish Open is coming, and we're short on time. I hope you can help Zuo recover, get him back to training as soon as possible. We have a lot to do before the match begins. We cannot afford to delay anything."

Xiangxian Zuo twisted his ankle during his training five days ago. Nothing serious was found in the medical examination. However, he was asked to stay in bed and not do anything intense. His training had to be stopped as a result.

When professional athletes get injured, it's impossible for them to recover slowly like common people. They will take rehabilitation training after they have recovered to some extent. Through training, they can recover much faster, and rebuild their capability.

So, it was imperative for Zuo to take his rehabilitation training. Li had not expected that he would be assigned such an important task.

He had been in the national table tennis team for no more than a month, and had only been in the first team for more than a week. This task concerning the top athletes should have been assigned to experienced coaches, rather than new coaches, like him. But Zhizhong Gu decided to choose him.

Li didn't worry about himself, as firstly, it was his job as a fitness coach, and he had plenty of professional knowledge about that, and secondly, he had a magical weapon, rehabilitation massage.

…

Xiangxian Zuo took off his socks and shoes, exposing his swollen purple ankle.

"There is still much extravasate blood," Dai Li told him to wear his shoes then.

The purple part in his ankle was a sign of that said extravasate blood, which also brought pain. Therefore, the first step of rehabilitation training was to remove the blood.

At the same time, Li also noticed some muscle atrophy in the left leg, as it looked different than his right leg.

"Both five days' rest and the injury have affected the blood circulation in his calves. That's why the slight muscle atrophy has occurred."

He frowned a bit. Extravasate blood removal and rehabilitation was easy to deal with. With muscle atrophy, rehabilitation training would not be that easy.

"Balance pedal and BOSU ball are needed." Li made a training plan accordingly in his mind.

Balance pedal is a piece of common fitness equipment. It can create an artificial slope and change the slope gradient by the adjustment of the height of pedal.

The BOSU ball consists of two parts: the upper part is half a rubber ball, the lower part, a plastic platform. It can also be regarded as half a yoga ball.

The BOSU ball is unstable. It is difficult to do exercise movements on it, and thus, increases the amount of exercise. It is fitness equipment for static muscle training, and an absolute necessity for gyms or yoga rooms.

…

Xiangxian Zuo stood on the BOSU ball on one leg, his body swinging constantly in order to maintain his balance. For an athlete with an injured ankle, it was quite difficult to maintain balance while standing on one foot. When he was on the BOSU ball, it was even more difficult for him to find the force application point. He had to change the center of gravity through his body movement to keep balanced.

Such training was particularly effective for Zuo. When he was adjusting his center of gravity, he had to twist his ankle, which, in turn, would accelerate the blood circulation in the area around the ankle. Thus, it would eliminate the extravasate blood more quickly. At the same time, he also had to use the muscles of his legs to maintain balance. His muscle atrophy was eased, too.

The rehabilitation training, together with Li's rehabilitation massage, helped return Zuo back to normal in just five days.

…

Zhizhong Gu was walking to the training room merrily.

"Ouch!" a shriek was suddenly heard. Gu found immediately that it was Xiangxian Zuo.

"Xiangxian Zuo injured his ankles not long ago. Did he get injured again?"

Gu walked faster for a few steps and rushed into the training room, only to see that Zuo was lying on the training bench, with Dai Li massaging Zuo's waist.

"Xiangxian Zuo's waist is injured. Dai Li may have touched the injury." Gu thought. He then decided to tell Dai Li to pay more attention to Zuo's injury in the waist during the massage.

But the next moment, an expression of great enjoyment appeared on Zuo's face.

"Well, I should go to the medical room first. Doctor Chen is waiting for me." He thought, as he moved across the training yard, heading towards the medical room directly.

…

In the medical room of national table tennis team, with the latest examination report in hand, the doctor showed a serious face.

"Doctor Chen, how is Xiangxian Zuo's injury in his legs? Can he resume training?" Zhizhong Gu asked nervously.

Doctor Chen put down the report and adjusted his glasses, then said, "According to the examination result, Zuo has recovered. There is no problem for him to resume training."

"That's reassuring," Gu said, relieved.

"But..." Doctor Chen said, "I think he is recovering too quickly. According to my estimation, such a sprain takes over fifteen days to recover. Sometimes it takes a month. It has been just ten days, and yet he has recovered…a total recovery."

"This may be owing to the rehabilitation training! We have hired a new physical coach named Dai Li," Gu said casually.

"I have met that young man," Doctor Chen nodded and said, "Besides, I checked his old injury in the waist, and found it much better."

"Is that so? What good news! I will not worry about the lack of competent athletes for this Swedish Open then." A tinge of happiness shone in Gu's eyes.

Doctor Chen then continued to say, "We have talked about his waist injury before. His injury was considered to be irreversible, unless he went through an operation. We will have to thank god if it is not worsening any more. But my examination report shows that it is recovering! If he had been resting every day, such a case could be explained. But taking the intensity of our team's training into consideration, it is almost impossible to be show such a result as this."

"You mean Xiangxian Zuo's injury is getting better?" Gu asked.

"You can understand that in this way," Doctor Chen nodded and continued to say, "I have been a doctor for more than 20 years. To be honest, it's the first time I have witnessed the recovery of an irreversible injury."

All of the sudden, Gu thought of the scene he had seen just now. Dai Li was doing waist massage for Xiangxian Zuo...

"Is it because of him?"

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Chapter 296: Help Only the One in Need

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

As the Swedish Open was approaching, the national table tennis team began to make preparations accordingly. They cancelled their two-day rest each week, and instead, rested for one day every two weeks. Also, the daily training time was extended by two hours.

At six o'clock in the morning, Dai Li reached the training ground and found that all the members of the first team had been there doing warm-ups already. That day, the first team had a practice match with the other team.

The match was in the form of a round robin, and should be finished in one day. The winner of each game would win 1 point, while the loser would get none. The ranking would be made according to the score points each team totally won.

The first team consisted of 26 players, equal numbers of which were male players and female players. Everyone had to face 12 rivals and thus, needed to have 12 matches in all. Assuming that one match would take one hour, 12 matches would take 12 hours, which meant it would last from the morning to the evening.

Playing 12 matches in a day was a great test of the athletes' staminas. There were no weak chickens in the first team. Everyone in the team was competent enough to earn the global champion status. So, they all had to treat their matches seriously.

Being a young athlete was advantageous for such intense matches, because they had youth and energy on their sides. For those elder athletes, the matches might be harder, due to the fact that they had less stamina and more injuries.

They knew each other well. So, in this team practice, the coaches in charge would not give any instruction. They would just let the athletes adjust their own strategies for themselves.

The practice match was finally over. Though tired, the athletes did not forget to check their results.

"Anshan Wang won 12 matches in a row! He must be in excellent condition!"

"Xiangxian Zuo earned 11 points. His only loss was the match against Anshan Wang!"

"Doesn't he have a waist injury? Days ago, he had to do this training with waist support. I thought he might lose a few matches!"

"When I was fighting with him, he played fiercely in the match, as if he had no injury at all. His pen-hold style was so hard to defeat. You would lose if you could not defeat him in the first three turns."

"What you just said reminded me of that. I met him in my 11th match."

"That was close to the end. If he was still that good then, his injury must have healed."

While everyone else was busy discussing the results, Pengfei Cui's face looked a bit unnatural. He had earned only 6 points in these matches, winning 6 matches and losing 6 of the other 6 matches. He was obviously unsatisfied with his results.

As the grand slam winner in table tennis, he had been the number one in the national team some years ago. But now, due to his injuries, he had lost his position in the team and often got defeated by younger players in the team.

Xiangxian Zuo was also troubled by injuries. Both of them shared this same miserable fate. However, today's matches had shown that Zuo was not much influenced or impaired by that.

"I have fallen behind!" Cui clenched his fists tightly. His own pride chastised him not to be a drag.

…

In the dining room, there were obviously many more dishes on Xiangxian Zuo's plate. Thanks to the easing of his injury, he had been in a much lighter mood these days. The recent increase of training had also increased his appetite.

Having hesitated for a few seconds, Cui finally came to Zuo's place and sat down. They had been teammates for several years, and trained together all-day long. So, Cui felt comfortable in asking Zuo directly, "How's your waist?"

"Better. It won't affect me during the games, as long as I pay more attention to my waist and not letting myself get too tired. How about you?" Zuo asked.

"Always the same," Cui stopped and then said, "but it may be a bit worse than before."

Xiangxian Zuo seemed to understand where Cui was coming for. He wanted to ask him how his waist got healed.

Then he gave a shiny smile and told Cui, "You can seek help from Coach Li. He does have something to offer in regards to rehabilitation training."

"Coach Li? That newcomer Li?" Cui asked in confusion.

"Yeah, it's him," Zuo nodded seriously.

"He should be about the same age as us," Cui showed his distrust on his face.

Xiangxian Zuo had expected that Cui would have such a response. Pengfei Cui feared nothing, and obeyed no one. Many experienced coaches of the team couldn't tame him. Hence, how could a young coach like Dai Li gain his trust?

"Let me tell you, bro. Although Li is young, he really is capable. My waist injury used to be no better than yours. But it has gotten better now. That was all thanks to him." He paused for a moment, and then said, "Please don't let your temper run wild, when you go to him!"

…

Hearing the knock, Dai Li stood up and opened the door, seeing Pengfei Cui standing at the door.

"Pengfei Cui, what's up?" he asked without thinking.

Cui nodded. Dai Li asked him to enter the room, "Come in!"

Cui was a straightforward man. He walked into Li's room and said without pleasantries, "Coach Li, I want you to help me with my rehabilitation training."

With no change in facial expression, Li thought, "Finally, he comes."

Pengfei Cui had the strongest personality among the members of national table tennis team. If one wanted to be a professional athlete under the national sports system, one had to obey his coach. A man as arrogant as him would normally be weeded out at juvenile sports school. But Cui's father was the coach of table tennis at the sports school. That's why he could still play table tennis, as he could not disobey his own father, or run his temper wild.

He was chosen to be a member of the national team at the age of 14. Then, he was recruited into the team one from the team two in just 10 months. His ascent of success was as fast as a rocket rising into the air.

However, one year later, he was dismissed from the national team, due to breach of discipline. He was just 15 years old then.

His talent was never buried. After 2 years in the provincial team, he got back to the national team. Yet no one dared coach him, as they all knew he was hard to manage.

He was a well-known troublemaker in the national team, yet a troublemaker with great strength and achievements. His achievement as a grand slam winner of table tennis provided him an umbrella against all criticism, and allowed him to do as he liked, without being bothered.

His complicated character and issues were reported by the press many times. Li knew of these things of him, even before Li came to work with the national team.

Dai Li had never believed he possessed any dominant power that could make such a rebellious athlete like Pengfei Cui follow his instructions. As a result, he tried to avoid too much contact with Cui during the training, because he knew he would have had to be more arrogant and indifferent in order to earn the trust of such a man.

His rehabilitation massage was, of course, of great help for the recovery of Cui. But he didn't give a helping hand immediately. Instead, he waited for Cui to seek his help on his own initiative. Then, he could do what he could to help him and earn his trust.

If he made the first move to offer Cui his rehabilitation treatment, he would have been rejected and despised, since Cui was so arrogant and unyielding. Li knew all too well that the failure of establishing authority meant a bad outcome of training.

Then Cui came in person to ask for his help, finally. If possible, Dai Li even hoped to throw him into utter desperation. Then, his help would bring an even better result, as offering help to someone in need is always more likely to gain one's gratefulness than merely providing extra aids.

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Chapter 297: The Core of the National Table Tennis Team

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Cui's injuries were more serious than those of Xiangxian Zuo. What's more, Zuo had only really had a single waist injury, while Cui had several injuries in the waist, the knees, and the shoulders, among which, the shoulder injury was the most serious.

For table tennis players, their shoulders are always moving, as whether they serve or catch the ball, they must always be using their shoulders. Therefore, their shoulders would not get any rest, as long as they keep playing table tennis. Considering this, it is extremely difficult for table tennis players to recover from a shoulder injury.

As for a core player like Pengfei Cui, as long as he could continue to play table tennis, it would be impossible for him to take a year or so off in order to heal his injury. Therefore, his shoulder injury would get worse from overuse, until his injury prevented him from playing table tennis.

…

Cui tried to rotate his shoulder, only to find that seventy or eighty percent of the distending pain in his shoulder had disappeared. If he did not deliberately press the shoulder, he felt no pain at all.

"My shoulder injury no longer affects my shoulder movement!" Pengfei Cui suddenly felt as he was in a dream. His shoulder injury had been a nuisance for him for several years. He had gone to see many expert doctors, including famous foreign experts, but all of them had offered no good method to treat it.

All the therapies and advice given by the medical experts were that, if he wanted to recover from his injury, he must give up playing table tennis for a while in order to then receive treatment. As such, their therapies wouldn't work unless he was willing to stop playing the games during his treatment.

However, his same shoulder injury that had troubled many medical experts was finally solved by Dai Li! Dai Li's rehabilitation massage therapy couldn't cure Cui's shoulder injury completely, but at least it could relieve the pain caused by the injury, and alleviate the impact on Cui as much as possible. Just for this reason, Dai Li won Cui's trust easily.

Cui knew that only by following Dai Li's suggestions, could his shoulder injury be relieved. Therefore, he strictly followed Li's training program. He became very serious in his training, and would do anything he was told. Based on this new leaf he was turning over in his behavior, it seemed that Cui had never been a troublemaker at all.

…

"Keeping moving, faster! faster!" Dai Li said with a strict expression, it looked like he was scolding Pengfei Cui.

However, Cui didn't mind the way Dai Li spoke to him, and he clenched his teeth to try even harder to quicken his pace. Many people were extremely surprised by Cui's unusual performance, as Cui's rebellious temperament was known to everyone.

In fact, when Pengfei Cui had returned to the national table tennis team, there was no coach willing to coach him. Even those experienced coaches felt that they could not manage him.

But Pengfei Cui became completely obedient to Dai Li. This was unexpected to everyone. They all soon wanted to know what magic the new young coach had played, that he should have the ability to convince Pengfei Cui! Thus, Dai Li had an air of mystery in their minds.

…

"Pengfei Cui became so obedient to him, so now, I'm becoming more and more curious about him," Bin Wang said, shaking his head, but with a smile on his face.

"How long has Dai Li been in our team?" Zhizhong Gu suddenly asked.

Bin Wang thought for a while and replied, "A little more than a month."

"Ah, only just over a month!" Gu said with a loud sigh, "We will have the closed training next week, and I am going to invite Dai Li to join the pre-match consultation."

"What? He has only been here for about a month, and you want him to join the pre-match consultation? Isn't that too soon?" Bin Wang asked in surprise.

"It might be a bit hasty to get him into the core of our team. He has just been here for more than a month, but now he is responsible for the physical training of the main players of our team. From this point of view, his responsibilities are similar to the main coaches. So, I want to know what he thinks before the game," said Zhizhong Gu.

"Perhaps far more than this? You are planning to cultivate him for the future, right?" Bin Wang said with a smile.

"Sure enough, you always see through my mind," Gu said. "Dai Li is different from us, as he has not been an athlete before. When we were young, we had training and competition every day, and were thinking about how to defeat our opponents every day. But Dai Li spent his youth in college, where he learned how to coach others. Compared with us, he is a purer coach. So, I want to bring him into our coaching system, to see what the effect will be."

"You are planning to try some new coaching system?" Wang asked immediately.

Zhizhong Gu nodded his head and replied, "We have been the world's No.1 in table tennis, but I want to make further progress. We had the world's top athletes and coaching team. Next, I will try to set up a world's top training system for table tennis! No matter who will be the coach of the national table tennis team, as long as we continue to follow this training system, we will still be the world's No.1."

…

The closed training of the national table tennis team was underway. On the training ground, Anshan Wang, Pengfei Cui, Xiangxian Zuo and other main players were all absent, as well as were their executive coaches.

But the coaches and athletes of the team were not surprised, as they had been used to this. Only Li's absence aroused the attention of anyone.

"It's now past eight o'clock, why hasn't Dai Li come yet? He's never late. Is he ill?"

"I saw him in the dining room, when I was having breakfast. He looked well and sound. Maybe he went to the bathroom!"

"But he doesn't need to stay for half an hour in the bathroom. Does he have constipation?" the speaker looked at his watch.

"You don't know yet? Dai Li went to the meeting room."

"The meeting room? Is the pre-match consultation going on there? What did he go there for?"

"There is no doubt that he was invited to attend the meeting!"

"Impossible! Only the core athletes and coaches can attend that meeting. He's only been here for more than a month. How could he be qualified for the pre-match consultation? I have been a coach here for more than seven years, and I haven't been invited to attend the pre-match consultation, not even once," said Coach Wang.

"That's for sure. But you haven't cultivated any grand slam winner, right? That's why you can't attend the pre-match consultation." The coach continued to say, "Although Dai Li just came here for a month, he was responsible for the training of Anshan Wang, Xinagxian Zuo, and Pengfei Cui. Regardless of other reasons, we had no ways to convince Pengfei Cui, but he did it."

"You are right, almost nobody could handle that troublemaker. But he has become so obedient to Dai Li."

"Dai Li just came here for a month so far, but he has already had the ability to enter into the core team of the national table tennis. This is really something! Compared with others, he has saved a decade of time to enter the core team!"

Dai Li followed Zhizhong Gu and walked toward the meeting room.

"Coach, what are we going to do?" asked Li.

"Attend the pre-match consultation," replied Gu.

"Consultation? Did anyone get hurt?" Dai Li didn't understand what Gu said and so continued to question, "But we are not doctors."

"This is the pre-match consultation!" Coach Gu smiled, then he said, "You are the core staff of the national table tennis team now!"

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Chapter 298: The Reason for Being Number One

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

"What is the pre-match consultation for?" asked Dai Li.

"This is a tradition for our national table tennis team, where the collective wisdom of our team can be given full display. Before the games, the core coaches and players will be gathered together, to discuss the problems of athletes." After a short pause, Gu continued, "The existing problems are not just about technology, but are more about other things, such as athletes' physical fitness, attitudes, and their psychological problems."

After saying these words, Gu turned his head to look at Li and said, "Although we are not psychologists, we have many experienced coaches, who once were players. The players' psychological problems are basically what these coaches have experienced before. So, they know how to deal with these problems."

While talking, Gu walked to the door of the meeting room. Instead of immediately pushing the door open to go in, he said to Dai Li, "After entering into the conference room, don't talk, but rather listen first, so you can see how this pre-game consultation is conducted."

Following Gu, Li entered into the meeting room. All the other people there, except Bin Wang, were surprised by the appearance of Li. Obviously, they did not expect that Li would attend the meeting.

Li sat down in a not-so-visible position, and took out his notebook to prepare for the records. After spending the whole morning listening, Li finally understood what the pre-match consultation was all about.

The pre-match consultation was mainly aimed at analyzing the recent problems of the athletes, so as to find solutions for these problems. It involved the full participation of all the people present, which included not only the head coaches of the athletes, but also the other coaches, who would likewise express their opinions. And so did those athletes present. As for the athletes themselves, they would analyze themselves in order to find out exactly what their problems were.

For example, if an athlete had been under a lot of pressure recently, all of the people attending the consultation would help him analyze the causes of the pressure, and then, they'd help to find a solution for him or her.

It is always more difficult for one to find his or her own shortcomings. But it is easier to find others' faults. Similarly, no matter how perfect a player, there are still some problems or shortcomings of that player that can be pointed out by others during the pre-match consultation.

However, for those front-line athletes of the national table tennis team, their shortcomings were not limited to their techniques, but also covered other aspects, such as a lack of calmness during a game, an overcautious playing manner, or even the handling of a clutch shot in a certain game.

It was the first time for Li to participate in such a pre-match consultation, so he remained as a silent listener. During the meeting, he had no chance to speak, and he didn't try to get the chance to speak, either.

What he did do was listen quietly. Even so, he still benefited a lot from it.

When the pre-game consultation was finished, the athletes and their coaches returned to the training ground. However, Li was summoned by Gu to stay.

"Well, how do you feel about your first pre-game consultation?" asked Gu.

"I have benefited a lot from it," Li replied frankly.

Gu added, "Just like what I said before, it's a place where our team can give their collective wisdom full play. Besides, all the information here is shared among all the members. Since it involves analysis of the famous athletes' technical and character information, our pre-match consultations' process and contents are only accessible to our internal talents and core staff, and have never been open to the media or the public."

Li nodded. He had been an "insider" in the sports circle, but before today, he had never heard of such special consultations before the games.

Gu went on, "This is actually a successful example of our national system being applied in table tennis. If you are in a foreign country, there is no way that you can gather so many of the world's best athletes and best coaches to have a consultation for one player, so as to help the player find out his or her problems and their relevant solutions."

"Our players participate in international competitions all the time. When they would get to the semi-finals, it would actually become an inner competition among our players within the team. Therefore, from this perspective, these people in the room just now, are also competitors against each other, as everybody wants to win the championship, but only one can finally win. If you win, others will lose. Therefore, it's no matter whether they are the coaches or the players, all of them have to make a consideration of their own interests. If you help your competitors by giving them good advice, they will be stronger, and you will then become comparatively weaker," Gu added.

"But this is also what our team is proud of. As we sit here, for the interests of the nation, the honor of our team, and our own ideals and pursuits, we give up our individual interests, in order to collectively apply the wisdom of the whole team, and hence, go all out to help every player in solving their own problems. All this could not have been achieved without the national system."

Gu stood up and said, "Come on, I'll take you to visit our research group."

"Research group?" Li wanted to ask the reason why he should visit there, but didn't.

Yet, Gu had already known what Li was thinking about.

"You don't think that our research group is just drinking tea and reading the newspapers all day, doing nothing else at all, do you?" asked Gu.

Li smiled awkwardly. In his view, the so-called "research group" was indeed a "sinecure" department.

It was not uncommon in some government agencies, where out of every 100 people hired, only twenty did any real work, and of those 20, only 18 are temporary workers, leaving the remaining two as the leaders. Therefore, Li took it for granted that the research group of the national table tennis team was also a place of those who were idle.

Gu shook his head helplessly, as he got up to take Li to the research group. He said, "Our research group is not a place where one can idle along in his job. Instead, there are many experienced table tennis coaches there. Some head coaches, who just participated in the pre-match consultation, had once been working in our research group."

"The table tennis rules have been constantly changing over the years. Yet our players are always No.1 in the world. This is partly due to the work of our research group. Whenever the International Table Tennis Association has issued new rules, our research group would immediately study which techniques would become more effective under the new rules, and which would be less useful, because of these new rules. In this way, our research group would instantly put forward new techniques, new methods, new tactics and new systems, in accordance with the new rules, and then ask the athletes to carry out exercises for their continuous improvements. Therefore, every time there are new rules for table tennis, we can get used to them as soon as possible," Gu said.

Li had heard of what Gu now mentioned. It could not be kept a secret that there were researchers who specialize in studying the new rules in the national table tennis team.

In recent ten years, in order to prevent the growing dominance of the Chinese national table tennis team, the International Table Tennis Association constantly changed the rules of table tennis, in hopes of restraining the national table tennis team. However, the outcome was that our national table tennis was getting ever stronger, while fewer and fewer players were playing table tennis in other countries.

This is most probably because there are teams inside the country that specialize in studying the new rules. As soon as the rules of the International Table Tennis Association were issued, our research group would thoroughly analyze the new tactics and methods under the new rules in no time, so that our players of national table tennis could adapt to the new rules very quickly.

Therefore, when our players began playing in a competition with the new tactics and methods, players from other countries may have just begun to practice under the new rules. It's like playing a game, where a new hero character has been presented. We have grasped all the information about this character, including the type of the new hero character, his skills, his equipment, how to use this new hero character to cooperate with other heroes, and even the new tactics for the hero character.

However, at the same time, the opponents are just beginning to get familiar with the new hero's skills. In this case, it's certain that we would win an overwhelming victory, just like our crushing victory of national table tennis under the new rules.

When the opponents see our players playing, they would suddenly understand that they are supposed to play in this way, while under the new rules! As a result, our national table tennis was always the No.1!

Gu then said, "In fact, in addition to studying the new rules, our research group also does a lot of other work, such as data collection and analysis. This is the reason why we also have many people working on statistics, besides the table tennis coaches, in our research group. There are so many statistical items, based on which we can find a lot of problems for improvement."

"Take picking-up time for example, you certainly won't notice it when you are watching the table tennis match, right?" said Gu.

"Picking up time? What does that mean?" Li asked, in total confusion.

"It's the pause between the end of one rally and the start of the next rally. It's the time for the player to 'pick up' the Ping pong ball," Gu explained.

"We collect data on this? Is it really useful?" Li asked in surprise. In his view, it would be a waste of time to count the time used for picking up the ball.

However, Gu explained with a serious countenance, "It certainly is useful. When the player is picking up the ball, he is actually thinking about what technique he should adopt for the next rally. So, the longer an athlete takes to pick up the ball, the longer he can think of the tactics.

"Take Anshan Wang as an example. Sometimes, when he is impatient in the match, he spends less time to pick up the ball, which is only about 20 seconds. Under such circumstances, he tends be less likely to win the game. In contrast, when he is more likely to win, he spends more than 30 seconds to pick up the ball, which means that he has been thinking through his tactics for the next rally. Sometimes, when he meets a strong adversary, like Xiangxian Zuo, he even needs 40 seconds to pick up the ball, which shows that he is giving full consideration to the tactics."

Gu paused, and then said, "This is just a small part of the work of our research group. They also do a lot of statistics of other detail information. It is very tedious. Sometimes, it is just a match for one hour, yet it will take three or four people seven or eight hours to complete the statistics on it.

Gu stopped with a long sigh of relief, and then said, "They are truly the heroes of our team, and our country. However, our head coaches can go on television and get to be known to the public, while the research group can only remain unknown in the background, unknown to the public."

"All this should be attributed to our national system, right?" Li asked suddenly.

"You're right. Only under the national system would it be possible that someone is willing to stick to their own posts for decades, so that the two or three world champions may win their victories. It shows not only a spirit of dedication, but also is an embodiment of unity," Gu nodded with emotion.

"Many Chinese people are not familiar with our national system in sports. However, the application of this system in table tennis is the most successful. We have set up a complete system, covering from the cultivation and selection of young players to the training of the adult athletes, as well as a variety of logistics services, with one closely connected to another, and everyone doing their own job to make the whole system work."

"It is this system that we have set up that makes our table tennis the No.1 in the world. As long as this system exists and works, our team will continue to be No.1!"

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Chapter 299: The Athlete Album

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Led by head coach Zhizhong Gu, the core members of the national table tennis team went to Sweden for the Swedish Open of the ITTF. Dai Li, as a physical coach, however, could not go to Sweden. He could only watch the games on the live broadcast online.

Seeing the athletes he had trained playing in an international match, Dai Li felt a tinge of nervousness. He was afraid that they might slip up. But Dai Li soon found that this worry was not necessary at all.

Although there were many good players from Japan, Korea, and Europe, no one could escape defeat when confronted with the national team's core players. It was even very difficult for the foreign players to win one single game in a match. If they could win two, that would have been an even bigger surprise.

The singles became an inner competition of the national table tennis team at the semi-finals. As for the doubles, the national team sent only one pair of players each for both the men's and women's matches, both of which partnerships won the championships.

Without a doubt, the Chinese national table tennis team had absolute dominating power over the teams from all the other countries. The last match of the Swedish Open was the final of the men's singles between Anshan Wang and Shuang Pang. Anshan Wang won the championship with a score of 4:2.

The match finally ended, and Dai Li, who had been watching the games live on his cell phone, heaved a long sigh of relief. Then, he found that his system was once again updated.

"Upgraded, finally! Senior phase of top-level coach!" Dai Li couldn't help but be excited.

The last upgrade had been more than one year ago, during the Asian Games. Thanks to the several gold medals won by his trainees in the Asian Games, he had upgraded to the intermediate phase of top-level coach. After that, he had begun a long period of experience-accumulating.

The experience Dai Li gained was closely related to the level of the athlete he trained. The best athlete in the national track and field team was only of A level talent, and the ability value was not so high, so they were not sufficient for the upgrading requirements of Dai Li.

During the period when he went back to the provincial team, he had been training athletes of an even lower level. So, the empirical value points he gained were even less. At that time, Dai Li had believed he might never upgrade again. Things had improved after he went to the provincial table tennis team as a physical coach.

One of the reasons why Dai Li had been willing to join the national table tennis team was that he thought he could gain more empirical value points by coaching these top-level athletes of the world.

It was as expected by Dai Li, as, when coaching a group of athletes of S level talent and ability value of above 900, his empirical value had indeed soared. During his one month working in the national table tennis team, the empirical value points that he gained were equal to those that he had gained in the previous several months.

Meanwhile, the empirical award gained via the competition results of the athletes he coached was also an important key element. Like the Swedish Open table tennis match, the Chinese national team had won 6 medals in the men's and women's singles and 2 medals in men's and women's doubles. These triumphs were all related to Dai Li's coaching. Therefore, Dai Li won tens of thousands of empirical value points and upgraded to the senior phase of top-level coach.

Dai Li knew that there were a lot of chances for the players of the national table tennis team to attend such world-level matches, and that when they went, they would for sure win the championships, even win almost of the medals. For Dai Li, each and every medal would mean another huge deposit of empirical value points.

This is vastly differently from the national track and field team. Actually, there are more world level track and field games than those of table tennis. There are the Diamond League, the Grand Prix, the Super Grand Prix, Millrose Games...They go almost year-round!

But the athletes of the national track and field team, due to their limited performance level, have no chance to compete in those world level games. The highest-level games they go to are the Asian games. So, even if Dai Li could have Li Xue's position, there would still be no way for him to gain so many empirical value points.

…

"I am now a senior-phase top-level coach now. What's the next level?" Dai Li asked.

The system answered, "The next level would be Famous Coach. Upgrading to the next higher level would cost 300,000 empirical value points."

"So many points? It would take 3 or 4 years to earn 300,000 empirical value points through daily coaching, even in the national table tennis team. It seems that I have to have more of my trainees attend more games, and win more championships. This is the only way for me to upgrade at a faster pace."

Dai Li lowered his head to think about the matter. There would be two Opens, the Table Tennis World and the annual final of the Pro Tour. Even if the national table tennis team won all the medals in all of those games, it would still not be enough for Dai Li to earn the empirical value points needed to upgrade.

But next year, there would be more table tennis games. At the beginning of next year, there would be the opens in the European countries, like Hungary, Germany, and Switzerland, then the opens in the Asian countries, like Qatar, Kuwait, Japan and Korea. More importantly, the Olympic Games would be held in August of next year. The four gold medals for men's singles, women's singles, men's team and women's team would certainly bring a huge amount of empirical value points for Dai Li.

"If I am lucky, I can upgrade to be a Famous Coach next year, once the Olympic Games finish!" Hope arose in Dai Li's heart. He even began to rejoice that he had been chosen to come to the national table tennis team. It was an absolutely correct choice. If it had been in some other sports, it would not be quick for Dai Li to accumulate his empirical value points.

"Now it is time for a bonus! Show me what upgrade bonus I have gotten." Dai Li asked in his mind, and the system set the bonus in front of him.

There were two bonus items. The one on the left was a skill book. Dai Li was quite familiar with the appearance of the skill books, so he recognized it at first glance.

On the right, however, was a big album-like book with a hard cover. It was like one of those big photo albums that were popular in the past, and it had a texture of wood grain.

The album was very thick, thicker than an ordinary dictionary, almost as thick as CIHAI, the large-scale dictionary and encyclopedia of Standard Mandarin Chinese.

"My gosh. What is this? it's so big and thick, and made of high quality materials. It must be something good!" Dai Li was immensely attracted by the album, believing subconsciously that it must be precious.

Dai Li took the album and turned to the first page. It was blank, with no words or pictures.

The second page, still blank, with no words or pictures.

The third page, still blank, with no words or pictures.

Dai Li flipped through all the several dozens of pages, only to find that they were all blank, without even a page number.

"What is this? A book of blank paper?" Dai Li was totally upset.

The system's voice sounded, "It is your Athlete Album."

"Athlete Album? What is it used for?" Dai Li asked immediately.

"You may put the information about the athletes into the Athlete Album. Everything about the athlete can be recorded in it, including information concerning physical conditions, skill features, advantages and weakness, experience, on-the-spot judgements, everything. In this way, you may have a detailed database. Even if an athlete is removed from your coaching list, you can still check the data regarding him or her," the system answered.

"Sounds like stamp collecting. But how is it useful to me?" Dai Li asked.

"Of course it is useful! Just imagine, if you could collect all the best athletes of each sport in the world into this one album, how intoxicating the sense of achievement would be! When you are old, you may look at this album and recall all the athletes you have coached. What a beautiful memory it would be!"

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Chapter 300: The Warm-up Square Dance

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

The Athlete Album, by its appearance, looked really gorgeous and precious. It was beautifully packaged and made of fine quality paper. But for Dai Li, it was of no practical use.

Dai Li had been expecting the upgrading for more than a year. He had expected to get some excellent bonus, yet it turned out to be something totally useless.

Dai Li felt that the athlete album was like a white elephant gift. What's the use of it to collect the data of athletes? It was totally useless.

The greater the hope, the greater the disappointment.

The voice of the system was heard again, "There are several things I need to clarify. First, only the athletes in your coaching list can be added into the athlete album. You cannot include an athlete who is not in your coaching list."

"Second, the status of the athlete shown in the album was the status of the athlete when he or she was added to the album. If you put an athlete into the album when he or she is at his or her peak state, then the status of the athlete shown in the album was his or her peak state status. If you add an athlete when he or she is ill or injured, then the album will show him or her at his or her illness or injury state."

"Third, if you add the same athlete into the athlete album several times, the album will record the best status of the athlete."

"That is, if you put a peak-state athlete into the album, the album records the peak-state of the athlete. Ten years later, the athlete's conditions will deteriorate due to aging. If you put him or her into the album again, then the album will not update his deteriorated statue, but automatically store what were his physical conditions ten years earlier. However, the athlete, after the ten years, will have accumulated more experience in the sport. With the physical peak-state stored in the album, the athlete will be even better than he or she was ten years ago. So, in terms of experience, the athlete album will store the status of the athlete ten years later."

"I see. Let me try it first," Dai Li answered listlessly.

Dai Li put Anshan Wang into the album, carefully following the instructions of the system. He chose Anshan Wang, because Wang was the "No.1 male table tennis player", and with his S level talent and almost 1000-point character attribute, he was definitely at his peak state.

Then, Dai Li saw the profile of Anshan Wang in the athlete album. There was the data about his height, body weight, and skill features, and the tactics he was good at were also described in detail. It was indeed an all-around introduction of Anshan Wang.

Dai Li thought, even Anshan Wang could not know about himself so well as the album.

"How is it? The introduction of the athlete is very detailed, right? Imagine if the whole album is full of the detailed introduction of athletes, how beautiful would it be?!" the system said.

Dai Li ignored the system, wanting to put Pengfei Cui, Xiangxian Zuo, and some other athletes into the album. But what the system then said stopped him.

"I forgot to tell you one thing. It costs 10,000 empirical value points to put an athlete into the album. So, be cautious when you decide to put any athlete into the album," the system warned.

"Cost of empirical value points? At 10,000 points? I lost 10,000 points of empirical value for just one small operation like that? Just to have a look at the information of Anshan Wang?" Dai Li roared with anger.

"Relax! I have not finished yet. The first three times are free. But after that, it will cost 10,000 empirical value points to add one athlete into the album. The first three times are like 10,000 empirical value points for you for free. What's more, if you add the same athlete into the album for the second time, it would cost you only 5,000 points. That's 50% off!" the system explained.

"I have put Anshan Wang in the album. So, I have left only two chances for free." Dai Li shook his head helplessly. He could not control the system, as to deciding what the bonus would be. He had to take whatever the system gave. So, his only hope was that the new skill would be more useful.

Dai Li looked at the other bonus item, the skill book. There were three huge words on the cover of it.

"Warm-up Square Dance?" Dai Li read them aloud.

By the name of the skill book, Dai Li knew the function of the new skill.

"Athletes need to warm up before either training or a game. So, this skill must have something to do with warming up!" Dai Li murmured.

"Exactly. This is a skill related to the warm-up before any sporting. If the athletes, led by you, practice the square dance, they can warm up more quickly, and thus, enter into better sports conditions. The athletes will also find it to be more easy and efficient when doing sports. Hence, the effect of the square dance is much better than when prefaced with ordinary warm-up exercises."

The system was like a salesman, and it said, "After the square-dancing warm-up, the probability of athlete's getting injured during the activity will decrease significantly. It works no matter whether it is practiced before a game or training."

"This is more useful." Dai Li finally cheered up a little.

The square dance could help the athletes warm up more quickly. For Dai Li, this advantage was better than nothing.

Warming-up was something the athletes did every day. And the period of time needed was different, according to the effect of the warm-up. In summer, when it is hot, the warm-up would take less time, while in winter, when it is cold, it would take longer. So, for the coaches or the athletes, to shorten the warm-up time by several minutes was not so practically meaningful.

Comparatively, to reduce the probability of injury was vastly more important than shortening the warm-up time. The biggest enemies of athletes are illness and injuries. As such, athletes are willing to try all sorts of things to avoid them, including daily massage, cupping therapy, skin scraping, foot massage, everything that is useful. The professional teams of the NBA were even known to hire foot massage therapists for their basketball stars.

For example, a lot of foreigners don't trust Chinese medicine, and may even see acupuncture as witchcraft. But to relax the muscles and avoid injuries as much as possible, the foreign athletes would rather believe it than not, and hence, often they'll have a try with it.

"It can reduce the probability of injuries. This makes it very useful, even just for this one function." Dai Li flipped open the Warm-up Square Dance.

The next moment, however, awkwardness crept on Dai Li's face.

"What? The movements shown in this book are really square dance steps! Isn't this a joke? I'm a professional coach, and I coach the most top-class athletes in the world. How can I get them to do square-dancing according to this book?"

An image flashed in Dai Li's mind, where Anshan Wang, Pengfei Cui, Xiangxian Zuo, Shuang Pang and other core players of the national table tennis team, in a neat formation, were square-dancing to some dynamic tunes. And the one who is leading the dance? It was none other than Dai Li himself!

The next second, Dai Li felt goose bumps all over his body.

"How awkward!"

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Chapter 301: Have Some Music!

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

It took Dai Li several days to finally perform the whole series of Warming-Up Square Dance well. At the time when the main force of National Ping-Pong Team came back from Sweden, Dai Li had already mastered the Warming-Up Square Dance.

The next key point was, how to persuade those world-top ping-pong players to accept this square dance. Early morning, at five o'clock, the sun hadn't rose yet, and coldness filled in the air. Dai Li had arrived at the training field. At that time, some early bird athletes had already been doing morning exercises for a while.

When the workload was small, the national ping-pong team players usually arrived at the training field after six o'clock in the morning to start training. Coaches arrived half an hour later. Usually, head coaches all arrived at around seven. Fitness coaches could come to the training center after breakfast.

But, in a group, there was always someone who worked harder. So, even at the super early time when Dai Li arrived, somebody had already began training.

Similar as when one was studying at school, there must be one or two students, who went to the classroom early for morning reading. They might not be the best students in the class, but they were surely the most hardworking ones. Whenever you turned to them, they were focusing on studying.

Among students, few were willing to study from dawn to night everyday. The majority were satisfied with having classes right on time. But among professional athletes, especially those who reached a high level, like those national ping-pong players, hard work and diligence were required qualities.

It had become a part of the daily routine for many professionals to train at five, before sunrise. And if some days, they lingered in bed till seven or eight o'clock, they would feel uncomfortable. Especially athletes who had outstanding competence and high talents, as well as diligence, such as Anshan Wang.

Anshan Wang didn't play the peacock, as he dominated the rank of first place in the world for a long time. On the contrary, he was more hardworking and diligent than most athletes. Such was the case today, as when Dai Li arrived at the training center around five, Wang was already there.

I'm quite early today, but didn't expect to see Anshan Wang having already begun training. Well, athletes' performances are indeed closely associated with their efforts. Anshan Wang is worthy of being the world's No.1!

Dai Li looked at the sky, and sighed in his heart.

As a person with S talent, who was willing to put forth more efforts, Wang's achievements were obviously not obtained simply by luck and coincidence.

"Coach Li, you are early today!" Anshan Wang noticed Dai Li's arrival.

As a fitness coach, it was not necessary for Dai Li to arrive early at the training center, like head coaches did. Hence, Dai Li's early arrival surprised Anshan Wang.

Dai Li hesitated, then asked, "Have you warmed up yet?"

"I just exercised a little bit, but haven't started my formal warm-up yet," said Anshan Wang.

"Then shall we?" asked Dai Li.

"Sure!" Anshan Wang answered without hesitation. With the assistance from a professional fitness coach, the warm-up would be more effective than if he did it just by himself. Moreover, Dai Li's coaching ability had already convinced Anshan Wang.

"We do some simple exercises first, and have basic warm-up practice." Dai Li glanced at Anshan Wang diffidently, and asked, "Shall we do it together?"

Anshan Wang nodded. He didn't think much of it, after all, as it was familiar to see coaches guiding athletes to warm up.

"Alright then, follow me!" Dai Li stood in front of Anshan Wang, and began to perform the Warm-Up Square Dance.

Although they were doing square dance movements, Dai Li still shouted out normal beats.

"One two three four, five six seven eight. Two two three four, five six seven eight..."

...

Anshan Wang began to play ping-pong when he was a child, after being a professional athlete for years, from sport school to provincial team to the national team, so he couldn't be more familiar with warming up exercises. But today, Anshan Wang noticed, Dai Li's "Warming Up Exercise" was completely different from what he had ever done before.

What's this? I have never done such an exercise before. It looks strange...

Anshan Wang followed Dai Li's actions, filled with confusion. Since Anshan Wang had never experienced Square Dance before, nor did he pay attention to things other than ping-pong, due to his tight schedules of training and competitions, he didn't realize that Dai Li was actually taking him to do a square dance.

Regular warm-ups contained many muscle-stretch actions, such as stretching the thigh muscle, crus muscle, and backside muscle, which all had high probabilities of being hurt during highly intensive training. Besides muscle stretching, the rest was about activating joints, such as shoulder joints, hip joints, knee joints, ankle joints, etc.

However, Dai Li's square dance looked like the body was exercising, but the actions were totally different from regular warm-ups. Luckily, Anshan Wang was a modest and reserved person, which meant that he always did as coaches said. So, even though he was filled with questions, he didn't say anything or pause for a second, but kept following Dai Li's actions. If Wang had been a more outgoing athlete, with individuality, like Pengfei Cui, he might have already stopped and figured it out with Dai Li.

...

At this moment, Dai Li felt the actions didn't go smoothly. Square Dance was a coherent dance, so if it was performed with regular beats, like "one two three four, five six seven eight", the original sequencing movements would be broken into loosely divided fragments, which often caused some problems on overall coordination. That was why those grannies danced with stirring music, rather than dancing with digital beats, like doing broadcasting gymnastics.

This can't work, as I have no feelings for it. Square dance must be performed with music. Now, Dai Li finally understood why those square dancers always danced with loud music. Square dance without music was no longer square dance.

Dai Li stopped, then turned to Anshan Wang while he took out his phone. "We just got up, and we are both still a little bit sleepy, so let me play some energetic music to wake us up."

The background music was ready in his phone. Anshan Wang nodded indifferently. Based on his trust of Dai Li, he didn't think much on this.

...

Dai Li and Anshan Wang's square dance startled the other athletes. As the "big brother" in the national ping-pong team, Anshan Wang's every move was under much scrutiny.

"What are Coach Li and Anshan Wang doing?"

"They are warming up, aren't they?"

"The actions are strange. I have never seen such warm-up exercises before, have you?"

"Neither have I. Why does it look like square dance?"

"Square dance? How could it be possible?! Coach Li is a professional fitness coach, and we are professional athletes, so why would he teach us square dance?"

Hardly had his voice faded away, when Dai Li pressed the "play" button.

The music started out loud!

"This does sound like Square Dance music!" someone suddenly said.

A few athletes stared speechless at each other...

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Chapter 302: Let's Dance!

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Square Dance music was magical. Whenever the music started, it easily caught everyone's attention.

When the music was played out loud, Dai Li felt more sure-footed. Square dance without background music somehow lacked the proper atmosphere.

Now that the music was being played, Dai Li got excited with the rhythm. But by his side, Anshan Wang behaved quite the opposite. At present, he was very uncertain about what was going on.

The unknown "Warming Up Exercise" had left him puzzled, and now the devil character of square dance music put him in even more of a nonplussed mood.

This doesn't look like warming up, but like actually doing square dance instead! Anshan Wang had realized this.

Coach Li is a professional fitness coach, he wouldn't guide me to do an actual square dance, would he? Anshan Wang thought.

At last, he chose to obey, since he was always coach's "good boy", besides, he had enjoyed the benefits of Dai Li's training thus far. Therefore, although he was full of doubt and uncertainty, he still followed Dai Li's movements and continued doing the square dance.

Under stimulation from the background music, the atmosphere was immediately enlivened. Dai Li was high on the dance, both mentally and physically, and he was dancing with great energy. As the music went on, Anshan Wang's movement became smoother, and he felt that he could hardly stop it.

My whole body is warming up! Anshan Wang sensed every tiny change of his body. Dancing with the music, although the actions were normal and easy, he felt that his every single cell was dancing energetically.

Unknowingly, Anshan Wang's forehead began to sweat, then beads of sweat fell down from his face. The feeling of it on his skin brought him indescribable passion.

I sweat! How come such simple movements make me sweat! Anshan Wang took a deep breath, the music beats coordinating with the steps of the square dance made him unable to stop. Square dance was magical, and full of devil characters! Once one got into it, it was easy to integrate into the rhythm. Even clumsy people could move with the music.

...

On the side, the other athletes all stopped their training and stared at Dai Li and Anshan Wang. A coach, with an athlete, doing square dance early in the morning in the training center? What's more...the square dancer was the world's No.1 Anshan Wang? To the onlookers, the scene was creepily weird.

"Is this really warming up? I think this is square dance, isn't it?"

"It should be. You see, they even have music."

"What's wrong with Coach Li? Is he here early, just for square dancing? Isn't he crazy?!"

"And Anshan Wang is dancing, too! Isn't he crazy? Is this the newest training method?"

"A new training method? That makes sense! You see, Anshan Wang is dancing excitingly. How about we have a try, too?" One athlete was eager to try.

"Let's go try, after all, our coaches are not here yet, let's follow Coach Li to warm up!"

...

Two athletes joined into the dancing, and soon they followed Dai Li's steps.

Square dance was a simple activity, which had quite a low qualifying standard to join in, and it was also easy to learn. Square dance didn't have complex movements, and to professional athletes, whose body balances were better than ordinary people's, following up the beats was as easy as blowing off dust.

Furthermore, Square dance was infectious, just like a virus. Once someone started dancing, the surrounding audience couldn't control themself from wanting to participate too. The longer they watched, the stronger their impulse to do so would be.

This was the powerful, infectious nature of square dance. This activity was widespread around the country, and had attracted millions of people to join in. To athletes, who were used to group participation and collective life, it had an extraordinary attractiveness.

Unknowingly, five to six people joined in Dai Li's "Square Dance Army". In fact, since it was still early before the formal training, head coaches had not arrived yet, and without the strict guidance from coaches, the athletes were much more relaxed, both physically and mentally, and therefore worried less about their actions. That was why they were dancing behind Dai Li. If head coaches were present, they would have dared not dance with Dai Li so recklessly.

...

Looking at the clock on the wall, its hour hand had pointed at "six". Dai Li stopped, and wiped his sweat away. After dancing for such a long time, Dai Li still felt that he wanted more.

But time told Dai Li, he should stop now. It was six o'clock, and soon head coaches would begin to show up in the training center.

Dai Li turned around, looked at Anshan Wang, who was also wet all over, and asked him, "How do you feel?"

"My sweat is pouring down! My body is heating up." Anshan Wang added, "But I'm not tired. I feel that I'm ready for training."

The key point for warming up is to heat up the body, while another crucial part of it was not to waste too much energy. If one used all of his energy in warming up, then there was no need to train anymore.

Warming-Up Square Dance apparently integrated these two factors pretty well, it could heat up athletes' bodies, while not wasting too much of their energy. Actually, the amount of exercise in squaring dancing meant nothing to professional athletes.

The effect of the warming up would be directly reflected in the upcoming exercises or competitions. Ping-pong was a technical activity, thus, warming up was extremely important. When athletes were in a rather excited condition, the most direct reflection of this was that they had faster reaction time on receiving balls.

...

Anshan Wang could clearly feel that, at the time when he started training, his body was ready in position. No matter what program he had today, he could handle it successfully. Even Anshan Wang's head coach kept praising him, saying that he was doing very well today.

Anshan Wang had been performing steadily. In fact, athletes at this level performed steadily without doubt, which also worked out in other events. Tennis, badminton, golf, soccer, anyone who was ranked among the world's top for long-term would surely perform steadily.

It was also due to the long-lasting steadiness, that Anshan Wang could immediately sense even a tiny bit of difference.

Today's training went smoothly, I could feel that I have been excited and stimulated throughout the time, and extra alert, too.

At this moment, Anshan Wang subconsciously recalled Dai Li's words: "I will make you feel changes!"

Anshan Wang tasted "change" again.

Today's warming up was obviously very effective. Was it because of the morning square dance? I have been an athlete for such a long time, this is my first time to think that square dance could have such an outstanding effect.

Anshan Wang subconsciously looked at Dai Li. At this moment, Dai Li became even more mysterious in his eyes.

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Chapter 303: The Attractiveness of Square Dance

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Not only Anshan Wang, but also the other athletes who danced with Dai Li this morning, all sensed the unusual change. During the whole day's training, their bodies remained fully activated. In such a condition, they got two-fold effects with only half the effort.

Today, after training ended, athletes walked out of the training center one after another, friends joking at each other.

"You were in great status today during training, I saw Coach Zhou praise you. He's always bitch-faced, rarely smiles. And now, he is willing to praise you, how amazing! Pigs might fly!" Athlete A said.

Athlete B nodded. "Right, I was surprised, too. I have been after Coach Zhou for more than a year, I can count with one hand the amount of praise I've ever received from him."

"Come on, how did you get in such nice condition? Do you have any secret method?" Athlete A immediately asked.

"I guess, maybe because I did some square dance with Coach Li this morning!" Athlete B replied.

"Are you kidding me? Square dance? I can do ballet!" Athlete A curled his lips with scorn.

But Athlete B changed to a serious look. "I am serious. My training today had nothing different from my daily training, except that, this morning, I danced with Coach Li. Moreover, after I stopped dancing, I felt that my whole body was boiling with energy, and I was very excited, like I had just won a game. So that's why I think the square dance worked."

Athlete A continued, "You must be joking! I mean, is it really necessary to exaggerate like this? You say, 'My body is boiling', I say your brain is boiled away! Should I take you to the doctor's?"

After his taunting, Athlete A mockingly looked innocent, waiting as Athlete B responded, saying, "I'm not joking, neither do I exaggerate. If you don't trust me, why don't you come earlier tomorrow, and do square dance with Coach Li, then you will see whether I'm lying or not."

"You want me to learn square dance? I would never go! I'm an athlete, and if the others knew that I went to learn Square dance in the national ping-pong team, they would laugh their jaws off!" said Athlete A.

"Come on, just have a try, it only takes you ten to twenty minutes, so you won't waste much time. Besides, what if Coach Li's square dance does work? You will enjoy its benefits!" Athlete B kept persuading.

...

The next morning, Dai Li arrived at the training center at five o'clock, just like he had the day before. To be honest, Dai Li also thought that, as a professional fitness coach, it wasn't something worth being proud of, to teach athletes to square dance, even though the dance did work. Hence, he came early on purpose, in order to avoid being caught by the head coaches, and therefore, causing himself embarrassment.

Out of Dai Li's expectation, Anshan Wang was waiting right at the gate, looking forward to seeing Dai Li.

"Coach Li, finally you are here!" After seeing Dai Li, Anshan Wang welcomed him at once, while saying: "We were waiting for you, please guide us in warming up!"

We? Before Dai Li figured out who he meant, several athletes from behind came closer to surround him. They were people who learned the square dance from Dai Li yesterday, and enjoyed the benefits. So today, they all arrived early, waiting for Dai Li.

"Coach Li, the sound of your phone is too low, so we couldn't hear it from afar. I have brought a Bluetooth Loudspeaker!" One athlete squeezed to the front, with a small loudspeaker in his hand.

Ha, you guys are better equipped than I! Realizing that he was quite popular, Dai Li felt delighted.

"OK then, let's start danc...No, I mean, warming up!" While he spoke, Dai Li took off his coat.

...

Pengfei Cui walked to the training center with eyelids half-dropped. From his look, obviously, he was not fully awake yet.

As he entered into the gate, he was yawning lazily. But what he witnessed next shocked him, his eyes wide open now.

What are they doing? And the music, are they square dancing?! Pengfei Cui subconsciously stepped back, then looked around to ensure that he was in the right place.

Pengfei Cui stepped into the gate again. He stared at those dancing athletes, and everybody looked familiar. Those were all his teammates!

What the hell is this? Are they crazy?! Pengfei Cui complained in his heart. He didn't choose to join in the dancing team, but instead, found a corner for himself and began his solo practice.

"Step forward! Step back! Left! Right! Step forward! Clap!" Dai Li modeled the dancing movements, while shouting out directions.

The athletes all followed Dai Li, and danced orderly. When Dai Li instructed "clap", the crowd clapped with him.

"Bang bang!"

The two crisp claps went into Pengfei Cui's ears, which distracted him. He couldn't concentrate anymore.

Pengfei Cui looked around, noticing that, except him, the others were all dancing with Dai Li. Suddenly, a sense of loneliness flashed across his heart.

Should I try, too? Such an idea came to his mind, and soon, his feet were out of his control, as he subconsciously moved toward the dancing crowd.

Square dance was like this, as its dancers were not shy, and the audience couldn't wait to join in. Especially when everybody was square dancing, the one who stood aside felt himself as an outcast. If he wanted to make himself look normal, either he joined in, or he turned around and left.

That morning, some other athletes joined in the group. Then, on the third day, the thirteen athletes of the National Ping-Pong Men's Team 1 all learned square dance with Dai Li.

...

"Early birds eat worms, early worms are eaten by birds..." Bin Wang sang his own-written song, as he walked to the training center.

As the vice chief coach of the national ping-pong team, Bin Wang always showed up in the training center before seven o'clock in the morning. However, when there were training camps, normally, he wouldn't show up until regular working time.

But today, he couldn't sleep since waking early at 4 am, so he got up instead, and came to the training center. Before he went into the gate, Bin Wang heard music coming from the training center.

"Who is playing music out loud so early in the morning, and the song, it sounds familiar. Wait, I see, isn't it that recently popular, divine tune of square dance?! Ha, this song is really suitable for refreshing my mind!" Bin Wang considered, as he stepped into the training center.

The next second, he suddenly changed his facial expression, as he saw the dancing athletes in the center.

"What are you doing?!" Bin Wang roared.

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Chapter 304: A New Continent

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Scared by Bin Wang's roar, everybody froze.

Why is Bin Wang here?! Dai Li was astonished.

All the athletes looked embarrassed, like they were being caught red-handed.

They all remained silent. As a coach, Dai Li couldn't say anything either.

Finally, Li squeezed a smile, walked to Bin Wang, and said, "Coach Wang, I'm guiding them in doing some warm-ups."

"Warm-ups?" Bin Wang showed an "are you kidding me" expression, then said, "What kind of warm-up exercises? Yours look like square dance!"

"Well...This does look like square dance, to some degree," Dai Li answered with embarrassment.

"To some degree? This is definitely square dance! Even the music is for square dancing!" Bin Wang's tone became serious.

"What matters most, is not how it looks, but how it works," Dai Li smiled. "This method offers a pretty good warming up effect."

"I say Li, what is in your mind? Our athletes warm up through square dancing, and you even talk to me about effects, aren't you out of bounds?!" Bin Wang looked at Dai Li. If Dai Li was not wide awake, with no smell of alcohol, he would possibly even have been labeled as a delirious drunk!

Dai Li's heart was filled with helplessness. He understood Bin Wang's idea, to any other coaches, they would definitely think Dai Li overstepped.

"Coach Wang, I'm not lying to you, neither do I run wild. My warming up indeed works," Dai Li explained.

"Square dance? How could it be possible?! To ordinary people, it might be, but to professional athletes, such exercise doesn't have any effect at all," Bin Wang said straightforwardly.

"Coach Wang, in our national ping-pong team, did anyone use square dancing for warming up?" Dai Li asked.

"Of course not, who would be that stupid?" Bin Wang replied at once.

"If nobody has ever tried, how do you know square dance doesn't work well?" Dai Li argued.

"Li, you are a fitness coach, so you must know that warming up for professional athletes doesn't mean just moving the body and having some sweat, they also need to activate joints, and stretch muscles. Square dance's movement range might work for joint-activation, but for stretching muscles, it's far from being enough," said Bin Wang.

"I wouldn't say that." Dai Li shook his head, saying, "My warming up exercise can stretch muscles effectively. If you don't believe it, you can ask these athletes."

At this moment, as the team leader, Anshan Wang stood out to support Dai Li, attesting, "Coach Wang, Coach Li is telling the truth. This warming up exercise is indeed very effective."

On the side, Pengfei Cui also said, "Coach Wang, I feel that Coach Li's warming up is more effective than our previous traditional exercises."

"Right, Coach Wang, if it didn't have any effect, why would we dance with Coach Li for days?" Xiangxian Zuo's voice also rang out.

"For days? You have been square dancing everyday, all these days?" Bin Wang felt shocked. In his eyes, it was crazy for athletes to dance once, but to dance for days? He dared not even imagine.

However, the next second, Bin Wang thought in another way, noticing that Xiangxian Zuo's words did make some sense. Athletes, who were able to join in the national ping-pong team, were all very brilliant. If this square dance didn't work, they wouldn't dance after Dai Li so energetically. But to be rational, Bin Wang was still unwilling to believe that square dance could warm up adequately.

Dai Li seemed to sense Bin Wang's struggle, and said, "Coach Wang, how about this, you can have a try on my warming up exercise, and check for yourself whether it is effective or not."

"You want me to do square dance?" Bin Wang shook his head at once. As a vice chief coach in the national ping-pong team, it was too immature for him to do square dance.

Dai Li showed a determined attitude, as he knew, without Bin Wang experiencing square dance for himself, he would never believe Dai Li's explanation.

"Coach Wang, if you trust me, please dance with us, to examine its effect," said Dai Li.

To this extent, although Bin Wang was still unwilling to dance, he finally compromised. The music rang out again, Bin Wang still extremely reluctant to dance after Dai Li.

Gradually, though, he felt his body temperature was increasing, and his adrenaline started secreting rapidly. Warmth spread in Bin Wang's body, and he felt that he was showering under sunshine on a summer day.

"Forward, swing, clap!" Dai Li's voice rang.

Bin Wang had followed up Dai Li's rhythm, and as Dai Li ordered, he clapped his hands. Bin Wang coordinated himself into square dance, his body moved with the music beats, while the warmth that swept over his body became scorching hot.

Sweat came out of his skin, and Bin Wang sensed that his body was fast turning to be quite active. Bin Wang was very familiar with such a feeling, and it only occurred after being fully warmed up!

Square dance can indeed warm up my body! Bin Wang was filled with astonishment.

Bin Wang used to be a Grand Slam ping-pong player in the past, and was once the world's No.1, and also was the previous "Big Brother" of the national ping-pong team. Therefore, he couldn't be more familiar with warming up. Years of experience helped him judge clearly what level of warm up could result in him being in the best status.

Now Bin Wang was sure that his body was ready, and in the best status, he even felt that, if he took the bat now, even Anshan Wang couldn't match him as an opponent. When such an idea came to his mind, Bin Wang's heart was shocked.

To compete with Anshan Wang? I have retired for more than ten years, why do I have such weird ideas! No, this is an adrenaline surge. When I was an athlete, I only had such surges when I was in extremely heightened and ideal conditions. After I became a coach, I have never experienced such feelings anymore. Why? Why would I feel such an adrenaline surge? Because of this square dance?

An appalled look displayed on Bin Wang's face. Talking about warming-up, to activate one's body was only the first step of the process, as an ideal warm up should also arouse morale, and make athletes remain in an excited mood.

Unfortunately, ordinary warming up could hardly raise athletes' morales. Think about this, shouting digital orders, while continuing in stretching arms or legs, how could those actions make one excited?

Hence, athletes all needed to raise their morale during training or competitions, to make themselves high. Of course, some athletes, like those with hyperactivity, didn't need to do so. They would be excited as soon as they began exercising.

Now, simply by square dancing, Bin Wang sensed such a similar stimulation, as if he had won several games already!

Dai Li didn't lie to me. Square dance can indeed warm up, moreover, it not only warmed up my body, but also raised my mood! This is really out of my expectation, that square dance could have such an amazing effect!

Bin Wang suddenly felt that he was on a new continent.

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Chapter 305: Spread Square Dance in the Team

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

After breakfast, Zhizhong Gu went to his office, and saw that Bin Wang was standing by his door, eagerly awaiting him there.

"Anything I can help with?" Zhizhong behaved casually. He took out a key to open the door, as Bin Wang, not hesitating, followed Zhizhong Gu into his office directly.

"Hey Old Gu, I have found something big!" Bin Wang said with excitement.

"Take your time, have some water first." Zhizhong Gu took out a paper cup from a locker below the water dispenser, passing it to Bin Wang.

"Old Gu, I have found a good way for warming up." Bin Wang got some water for himself, then drank it.

Zhizhong Gu took off his jacket and hung it on a clothes tree, while asking, "What is it?"

"Square dance!" said Bin Wang.

"This is not funny at all!" Zhizhong Gu fetched a box of tea, shook the box toward Bin Wang, then asked, "Tea? This year's new tea. Not the best one, but tastes good."

"I'm not joking!" Bin Wang ignored that box of tea, and continued to explain, "I arrived early this morning, and went directly to the training center. You know what I saw? Dai Li was leading a group of athletes doing square dance!"

"Say it again? Square dance!" Zhizhong Gu put down the tea box. "This is ridiculous!"

"Listen, this square dance can warm up your body," Bin Wang explained.

"Square dance can warm up my body? Hahahaha..." Zhizhong Gu couldn't help but laugh out loud. His laughter was filled with scorn and mockery.

"Hey, trust me, I'm serious, I also danced several times!" Bin Wang said.

"You went to the training center early this morning, for square dance? Hahahaha..." Zhizhong Gu laughed even louder.

Bin Wang felt a little speechless, but he didn't blame Zhizhong Gu. After all, a few hours ago, he didn't believe that square dance could help him warm up, either.

"Old Gu, I'm telling you the truth, not a joke. Think about this, if I wanted to make fun of you, why would I came to wait for you so early in the morning?!" Bin Wang defended himself.

Hearing this, Zhizhong Gu finally became serious. He considered carefully for a while, feeling that Bin Wang did make some sense.

"That square dance, have you ever tried it? Did it indeed work?" Zhizhong Gu checked with Bin Wang.

"I did! And it worked out very well. This morning, I only danced for about ten minutes, and my body was warmed up, so I was excited. At that time, I had an impulse to catch a bat and have a competition with someone!" said Bin Wang.

Zhizhong Gu frowned a little bit. He thought for a few seconds, then ordered, "Let's go to the training center. And in passing, call Coach Wang, Coach Zhou, and Coach Hu. Also call the Women's team's Coach Li, Coach Zhang, and Coach Chu, and perhaps Team Two's Feihong Liu. Let's all go find Dai Li together!"

...

Dai Li was shocked by the spectacle. Not only were Zhizhong Gu and Bin Wang present, but the core coaches in the national ping-pong team were all there as well. They all came for his Warming Up Square Dance.

Dai Li was embarrassed, as those people standing in front of him were "old coaches", who had been coaching for years, with sufficient experience and techniques, and who often participated in foreign games, so they wouldn't be fooled easily. Those coaches gazed at Dai Li with different facial expressions. Some looked at him curiously, some were waiting to poke fun at what they assumed would be Dai Li's upcoming misfortune.

"The square dance I developed indeed has positive warming up effect," Dai Li introduced, remaining thick-skinned. "Square dance is a series of coherent holistic actions, to my understanding, and in my square dance, I incorporate different warming up movements that are coordinated together as a whole. Activities like traditional muscle stretching and joint activation could be performed in the square dance, too."

Dai Li covered a lot of information, while secretly observing the others' facial expressions. Seeing that no one disagreed with his words, he continued more bravely, "I use square dance as a warm up, and actually, I'm taking athletes as a whole group also. To adopt a series of coherent warming up exercise into a coherent group, we can gain two-fold results, with half the effort."

He continued, "Moreover, I found that square dance music can easily stimulate the human cerebral cortex, and instantly activate human vitality. Meanwhile, such mental excitement could also stimulate Hormone secretion faster, thus signifying the warming up effect."

Dai Li forcibly explained for a while, realizing that he was about to convince even himself, and he admired his "make things up as he goes" ability. To be honest, Dai Li didn't want to talk nonsense. Knowledge about Warming Up Square Dance had already spread in the national ping-pong team, plus, Zhizhong Gu came here with a group of professional experienced coaches, so he must find a reasonable excuse to convince them about the dance's positive effect.

Luckily, the Dai Li at present was no longer who he had been several years ago. He was more knowledgeable now, and more experienced, which was why he was able to make up a "Square Dance can Warm Up" theory confidently, and without shame.

But the coaches present were all men with experience, and although Dai Li spoke in seeming earnestness and sounded theoretical, none of them were fooled. It was only due to the fact that they were not willing to disappoint him, since he was young a newcomer, that they didn't say it out loud. However, in their hearts, they took Dai Li's theory as only a joke.

Dai Li could sense the embarrassment in the air, as he took off his coat and said, "If you are interested, dance with me for a while, so that you can examine the effect."

The coaches stared at each other, none willing to participate. They were all famous ping-pong coaches, and had gained much fame in the Ping-Pong arena, so how could they put away pride to do square dance? The atmosphere grew even more embarrassing.

As the one who had experienced square dance, Bin Wang had faith in Dai Li. He looked around, noticing that nobody was willing to dance, and so he volunteered to be the first one.

"Let me have a try!" As he said this, Bin Wang pulled Team Two chief coach Feihong Liu out of the crowd.

"I...don't want to..." Feihong Liu stuttered, ready to refuse, but was shot a look by Bin Wang, whose eyes were clearly warning him: You must support me!

Feihong Liu sighed helplessly, and was pulled out by Bin Wang stiffly. He looked at the crowd with a "SOS" expression in his eyes.

"Alright then, I will have a try, too!" Zhizhong Gu stepped out at last.

As the chief coach, Zhizhong Gu's participation was basically his announcing that he supported Dai Li. After all, Dai Li was recruited to the national ping-pong team by Zhizhong Gu himself. Therefore, when necessary, Zhizhong Gu should show his support.

"Then I will have some exercise!" Seeing that Zhizhong Gu clarified his position, and mentality, two more coaches stepped out.

...

Square dance's magical music rang out, as Zhizhong Gu and the other coaches learned to dance after Dai Li, but their facial expressions were still embarrassed.

However, after a few minutes, the dancers felt the warming up effect being delivered throughout their bodies.

This square dance can indeed warm up! Zhizhong Gu's face gradually became serious. He could sense that his body was subconsciously dancing with the beats.

Except for Dai Li, the others were all retired professional ping-pong players, including the world's top ones. As such, they had much more practical experience than Dai Li. Therefore, they were more sensitive towards warm up effects.

"Old Chu, old Zhou, come join us." Zhizhong Gu waved to the coaches observing on the side.

This time, Zhizhong Gu instructed them himself, so the others dared not refuse. Although they were reluctant to dance, they still joined in.

...

"I have been a coach for more than ten years, and this is my first time to see that square dance cam warm up"

"This square dance is incredible. I was fully activated after I danced for ten minutes. My head was sweating."

"Li is right, this square dance does have a nice effect. Besides, I'm excited now, and really want to have a competition with someone!"

"Li mentioned music could stimulate cerebral cortex something, which I didn't take seriously. Now it looks like there is something like that! We old men should communicate more with young people, otherwise we will become outdated."

The coaches exchanged experiences with each other. On their faces, in addition to astonishment, there was now a growing admiration for Dai Li.

Bin Wang approached Zhizhong Gu and asked, "How do you feel? Doesn't this square dance work? I think that we can spread this dance in the whole team. In the future, we can set a specific time period in the morning, and athletes who want to warm up can join in during this period, and do the square dance."

"Sounds good." Zhizhong Gu nodded in agreement. "But it's going to occupy much time from Li."

Bin Wang said, "There is not much difference between shepherding one sheep and a group of sheep. This square dance is different from traditional warming up exercises, in that, as long as we have enough training space, it's OK to have many people dance together."

"Actually, warming up before training indicated something. I think it will work in real competitions," Zhizhong Gu said. "When we are out for competitions, we sometimes have limited time to prepare. Maybe we arrive today and compete tomorrow. Moreover, in foreign countries, which we know nothing about, we have to adjust ourselves quickly with the various diets, living conditions, and training. Warming up is usually unguaranteed in most cases. Our athletes often warm up through formal games."

He continued his explanation, "If this square dance can be used as warm up, it will increase our competence to a large extent. Our athletes are already more competitive than their opponents, so once we are in good conditions at the beginning of the game, we will surely win."

"Furthermore, square dance doesn't require much space or equipment. As long as we have an empty room and a music player, we can dance. Truly, this is customized for us!"

Bin Wang nodded: "You are considerable. But in that case, when we go abroad for competitions, we need to add a person. You have to bring Dai Li with us."

"It's just adding a person! As long as we can win, it doesn't matter. Besides, Li is not a traveler, he is also a coach in our team," Zhizhong Gu said generously.

The national ping-pong team had a lot of rich sponsors, hence, they had better conditions and resources for going abroad. Zhizhong Gu didn't care about adding one more person's cost.

Zhizhong Gu continued, "Several days from now, there will be an Austria Open Tournament. So when you list the participants for this, add Dai Li onto the list!"

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Chapter 306: A Slow Starter

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Dai Li never expected that, as a fitness coach, one day he could get the chance to go abroad for competitions with the national team. This time, it was the Austria Table Tennis Open, which was also a vital contest in the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) circuit.

Days before the formal game started, there were several preliminary contests. The first one was the U21 level Youth contest, which was followed by a qualifying session. Athletes who were promoted in the qualifying session would be admitted to participate in a three-day formal contest with the other qualified competitors.

In Dai Li's eyes, this contest didn't occupy big venues, nor did it attract a large audience. Lots of Asian faces were found throughout the auditorium, most of whom were apparently either overseas Chinese, or Chinese students studying in Austria.

This looks cheerless, I remember that Austrians like ping-pong more than the other Europeans do. But look here, there are less audience members then I expected. It seems that ping-pong still remains unpopular in foreign countries.

Thinking about this, Dai Li sighed with disappointment. In his heart, Dai Li wished ping-pong's popularity would be better spread over the world, and that more people could join in this activity.

"What's going on? Why do you sigh?" Zhizhong Gu came up beside him without notice.

"Well, I just feel that we could have more people here." Dai Li signaled Zhizhong Gu with his eyes to look around at the auditorium.

"You mean the audience? Right, there doesn't seem to be many audience members here." Zhizhong Gu switched the topic and said, "After all, today is a working day, many Austrians are still at work. Austrians are very diligent among Europeans, and in some areas they are similar to Germans, like, they both focus on work greatly. In addition, Austrian laws permit a 12 working-hour a day. Such rules must have caused countless strikes and protests in Southern Europe."

"Moreover, right now it's just the opening of the contest, and famous players haven't showed up yet. Athletes in qualifying sessions are kind of nobodies, so how can they attract a big audience? Once the formal game starts, and after European athletes enter the arena, more audience members will come in. For instance, many Germans come here especially for that game."

"Will other foreign Opens attract lots of audience members?"Dai Li asked.

"It depends. But the certain thing is that, no matter where we are, those Chinese will come support us, since they are our most loyal audiences."

Then Zhizhong Gu asked Dai Li, "Is this your first time to be abroad for competitions?"

Dai Li nodded. "Right. Although this is not my first time to be abroad, I have never been out of the country for international contests before."

"How do you feel? Can you get used to it?" Zhizhong Gu asked.

"It's better than I thought. Before I came, I thought I might have some problems in a foreign country, but actually, it's way better than I expected. The hosts are very considerate," said Dai Li.

"The Austria Table Tennis Open has been held for years, so the hosts have gained much experience," Zhizhong Gu said, his eyes brightening with recollection. Then he said, "Back when the Austria Open was first held, I hadn't yet retired. But in that era, our national team athletes only participated in Asian circuits, so we rarely showed up in European tours. So, even though I was the world's No.1, I only had chances to visit Europe in big games, like World Championships and the World Cup."

"To be honest, we didn't come to Europe, due to the lack of funds. Europe was too far from us, so we couldn't afford the cost, therefore, we only participated in Asian contests. Later, after I became a coach, we received more and more funds, so then we began to send athletes for European Opens."

"Now you feel that the hosts are kind to us, but years ago, things were totally different. We didn't receive the same treatment. As such, what we ate, where we lived, were way worse than what we have now. I still remember that, one time, we went to Germany for competition, and those Germans could speak English, but they spoke German on purpose. We didn't have sufficient German translators, so problems emerged during intercommunication. We risked missing the playing time."

"At that time, we could clearly sense that those Europeans rousted us deliberately. They considered us as robbers, assuming that we participated in European tours, aiming at grabbing their championships and rewards. However, at present, Europeans would never show the same face to us. I think you can feel that the hosts are pretty good to us. They are very conscientious and responsible," Zhizhong Gu said, looked around, then asked Dai Li, "You know why?"

"Because we are strong?" answered Dai Li.

"For decades, our National Ping-Pong Team has been maintaining our strong competence. Back when we were treated so poorly, we were still the No.1 in the world." Zhizhong Gu continued with a smile, "Look around, you may find some clues."

Dai Li turned around, but he didn't find anything special.

Zhizhong Gu cued him, "See those advertisements?"

At this moment, Dai Li suddenly saw the light.

"See,these advertisements are produced by our domestic companies, and they are all in Chinese." Pride arose in Zhizhong Gu's face, as he continued, "At current Ping-Pong Tours, no matter what country holds the contest, the sponsors must be companies in our country. On the other hand, if our domestic companies stopped sponsoring, they may not be able to hold the games any longer, for they would lack money to do so!"

"The sponsor is the last person the host dares to offend, so even if Europeans insist on regarding us as champion-robbers, they dare not embarrass us anymore. In fact, they even please us on purpose. These changes all were caused simply due to the fact that we can now bring sponsors."

"In fact, this is like quenching a thirst with poison. Rejecting us meant rejecting sponsors, then they would lose the financial support for holding the games, hence, embracing us could help continue the games, but it also means that their players would never get a chance to taste victory!"

Pausing here, Zhizhong Gu turned around and said, "Actually, this is also the embodiment of national strength promotion. Since you have never gone abroad for competitions before, you certainly cannot feel this. In recent years, I often led teams for foreign competitions, and I have been impressed. Sometimes, only after you go to a different country, can you sense that your own country has been growing stronger and stronger."

Pride was conveyed in Zhizhong Gu's words.

...

Neither Zhizhong Gu nor Dai Li noticed that, from afar, two men were gazing at them. The two were around forty years old, with Oriental appearance, and were in unified sport suits.

But, if one looked carefully, there was a national flag on the clothing's chest area: a red circle on a white background. They were Japanese chief coach Kimura Juichi and vice-chief coach Ikeda Tatsuo.

The Japan Ping-Pong Team was very competitive, as right now the team was right after the Chinese National Team in standing, and was the biggest opponent of the National Team.

Japanese chief coach Kimura Juichi's eyes were fixed on Zhizhong Gu coldly.

"Zhizhong Gu looks joyful," said Kimura Juichi. "The young man standing next to him is their fitness coach, isn't he? If I'm right, his name is Dai Li."

The Japan Team was good at collecting opponents' information, and they had already inquired about Dai Li's identity. By his side, Ikeda Tatsuo nodded. "I don't understand why they bring a fitness coach here. What can a fitness coach do in this contest? Besides, this coach is so young."

"Ikeda San, don't belittle your opponent, just because he is younger than you. In our team, Harimoto Hisashi is only fifteen, but he defeated the player who was way older than him, didn't he?" said Kimura Juichi.

"You are right, Coach Kimura." Ikeda Tatsuo nodded with obedience, then said, "But in the next round, Harimoto Hisashi is going to fight against Pengfei Cui, and it looks like he will not be in the Top Eight."

"After all, Pengfei Cui used to be the world's No.1, although his condition has been declining in the recent two years due to his injury. What we cannot deny is that, currently, he is still ranked as one of the world's top five players. Based on Harimoto San's ability, he is definitely not Pengfei Cui's opponent."

Kimura Juichi turned around and said, "But the future is ours, and belongs to Harimoto San. He is only 15 years old, so his career has just started. At the time when his competence reaches peak, Pengfei Cui, Anshan Wang, they will be old! What we can do right now, is to help Harimoto San mature as quickly as possible."

Kimura Juichi's eyes were shining with enthusiasm, as he continued, "In domestic contests, Harimoto San has defeated a lot of opponents, including the best player in our team, Hasegawa Xiuyoshi. While in international competitions, Harimoto San has defeated several famous European players. But he has never fought any World Top Three players."

"Therefore, in tomorrow's contest, Pengfei Cui will be perfect. I won't request Harimoto San to win the whole game, but I do hope that he could win one or two rounds. Acquiring some points for one or two rounds from Pengfei Cui, to Harimoto San, it must be stimulating! It will make him feel that, even world's best players lose games, showing him that they are not infallible."

Ikeda Tatsuo immediately nodded. "I agree. To Harimoto San, this is indeed a valuable experience."

Kimura Juichi sounded excited, and said, "We have been studying Pengfei Cui for six to seven years, and already know his characteristics. The vital point is, he is always a slow starter in the games, and usually loses the first round."

"Harimoto San is exactly the opposite. He can immediately get into the state soon after the game starts. Therefore, it would not be very challenging for Harimoto San to win one or two rounds." Kimura Juichi smiled. "If Harimoto San met Anshan Wang, or Xiangxian Zuo, I would definitely not set this goal for him. But his opponent is the Slow Starter Pengfei Cui, and as such, he is meant to be Harimoto San's stepping stone!"

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Chapter 307: Young and Frivolous

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

"Pengfei, your opponent for the Top Eight Promotion Event is that "Gifted Boy" Harimoto Hisashi," Zhizhong Gu smiled.

Pengfei Cui curled his lip with scorn. "I know him. Japanese media has been puffing him up as being a bright young star, and they give him titles like The Youngest Men's Singles Champion, The Youngest Youth World Championships Champion, The Youngest Open Top Eight Player, etc. Was his mother a National Ping-Pong Team player?"

Zhizhong Gu nodded. "Harimoto Hisashi's parents changed their family name from Zhang to Harimoto after they immigrated to Japan. His mother and I used to be teammates, but at that time, his mother was not outstanding in our team. After she retired, she went back her hometown, and we lost contact since then. Later, I heard she immigrated to a foreign country. It was not until years ago, when the media reported Harimoto Hisashi's news, that I discovered that my previous teammate went to Japan."

"Don't look down upon your opponent simply because of his young age. His playing style and yours are alike, both fierce. Moreover, Japan focuses on cultivating him, and these years he has participated in many international events, and has gained much experience," Zhizhong Gu said, then took out a file and browsed it, before continuing, "Not long ago, Harimoto Hisashi defeated Japanese Big Brother Hasegawa Xiuyoshi with a 4:2 score. Current him is in a nice condition. Although he is only fifteen, and is not a threat to us now, in four or five years, he might become our vigorous opponent."

Pausing here, cruelty flashed in Zhizhong Gu's eyes, and he lowered his voice, "Therefore, in tomorrow's contest, I want you to win, and I want you to win big. Smash him, destroy his confidence. Bring him fear and horror, and make us national team players a terrifying threat in his eyes! I want you to be his nightmare!

"Don't worry, I'm quite good at this!" Pengfei Cui also smiled. He was a player with a distinct personality, and apparently, he felt no guilt about whacking a kid.

"In addition, change your old slow-start weakness," said Zhizhong Gu. "I have instructed Dai Li to warm you up in advance tomorrow, so that you can get into status quickly."

...

Athlete Lounge.

Harimoto Hisashi's hands began to tremble involuntarily, his heart was beating with extreme excitement. Although Harimoto Hisashi gained much fame, most of it was puffed up by the media. It was like an unknown star, if he appeared on media coverage everyday, then one day he must be well-known by the public.

Another example was, when some actors didn't have any presentable movie, nor did they have any valuable awards, or might even have a "box office flop". But after they walked the red carpet in a bizarre outfit several times while at foreign film festivals, foreigners who knew nothing about this guy before, would then label him an international movie star.

Harimoto Hisashi was in such a situation. He attended some international competitions with the title "The Youngest Participant", although he was always whacked by those adult players, until finally, he gained fame for himself. Of course, Harimoto Hisashi did have some competence. He was born in a sport family, both his parents played sports, especially his mother, who used to be a Chinese National Ping-Pong Team player. Hence, among foreign peers, Harimoto Hisashi was indeed the most outstanding one.

Harimoto Hisashi was famous when he was young, but he had never fought with the world's best players. Here, the "world's best players" didn't mean "Japan's No.1", "Germany's No.1", "Korea's No.1", nor ordinary international tour champions, but champions in World Championships, World Cup, Olympics, and other heavyweight tournaments. Championships of these important tournaments were always undertaken by China National Ping-Pong Team.

In other words, Harimoto Hisashi had not fought against any major force in the national team. But today, Harimoto Hisashi was going to face his first ever Hell-Difficulty copy in his career, in which his opponent was the Dark Lord Pengfei Cui.

Harimoto Hisashi was aware of the fact that, even though Pengfie Cui was affected by his injury and was not was competitive as he used to be, he was still undefeated. He would surely fail in the Hell-Difficulty challenge.

I must win Pengfei Cui at least one round1! Harimoto Hisashi told himself.

Winning a round was not only the goal that Coach Kimura Juichi set for Harimoto Hisashi, but was also Harimoto's own goal for himself. Kimura Juichi considered that winning a round could inspire Harimoto Hisashi's growth, and thus, would enhance his confidence. But Harimoto Hisashi hoped that he could rectify his name by this victory.

Comparing with the other athletes, in regards to youth and fame, Harimoto Hisashi did receive much doubt, scorn, and even unprovoked abuse. There were too many people who thought that Harimoto Hisashi was just a flash in the pan. But all those unfair treatments became his driving force.

Thinking about Pengfei Cui, a sense of complex feeling raised in Haimoto Hisashi's heart. He had already heard about Pengfei Cui at the time when he had just entered into primary school.

Later, when Pengfei Cui became the World No.1, he regarded Pengfei Cui as his idol, even mimicking Pengfei Cui's playing style on purpose. Now at this moment, Harimoto Hisashi finally got the chance to challenge Pengfei Cui face to face.

I have observed all the records of Pengfei Cui's competitions, I know that his slow-start weakness is my chance, and I must catch it!I will win at least one round, or even two rounds! Harimoto Hisashi thought confidently.

Pengfei Cui always started slow in competitions, which was well-known around the world. When he was fighting top ping-pong players, a 3:1 score often occurred, and he usually failed the first round in the game, while rallying to come back and whack his opponents in the rest three rounds.

Harimoto Hisashi felt that, if he did fail in a 3:1 situation, then it at least proved that he did have something, and that he had reached the world top level, rather than being boosted by the media without merit. While Harimoto Hisashi was full of bright hope, in another lounge, Pengfei Cui was doing Warming Up Square Dance, with background music...

...

As the Austria Open went into the Top Eight Promotion session, the amount of people in the audience had obviously increased, now filling the auditorium. Pengfei Cui walked onto the field, and from his appearance, he looked just the same as in previous games, eyelids drooped as usual, as if he was still asleep.

Harimoto Hisashi observed this, and smelled the odor of "hope". The game started, Pengfei Cui serving a ball first.

For the first ball, I should utilize Pengfei Cui's slow-start characteristic to grab one point! Harimoto Hisashi had already made his strategy in his mind.

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Chapter 308: A Slow-Starter?

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Pengfei Cui held the ball in hand, glanced at Harimoto Hisashi with a poker-face, then served his first ball. Since this was the first serve in this contest, Pengfei Cui didn't choose to make a limit erupting serve, hence, it only brought a regular effect.

Of course, such a "regular serve" was regular only in top professional players' eyes. If it was an ordinary person who caught the ball, he would probably lose the "regular serve". Harimoto Hisashi had already made a sound-attack strategy. Without hesitation, he waved a return to attack Pengfei Cui's backhand.

Harimoto Hisashi's serve was shot at Pengfei Cui in a threatening manner, sending up the war-cry!

Pengfei Cui is always a slow-starter. The game just started, the first ball he is going to receive is so fierce, he can hardly catch it safely. Thinking about this, Kimura Juichi curled his lip and showed an elated smile.

Unexpectedly, Pengfei Cui reacted immediately with a backhand screw pull, and hit the ball to the across corner. It was not a tricky attack, but it happened all of a sudden, which was out of Harimoto Hisashi's expectation. He hesitated for a half beat, unfortunately, so he missed the ball.

The score was now 1:0, as Pengfei Cui got the first ball.

Was I too impatient? The last ball was fierce, maybe I should calm down a little bit and play it safe. Hatimoto Hisashi thought.

Pengfei Cui began another serve, which was, just like the first ball, regularly served. Harimoto Hisashi again chose to give a fierce attack. Pengfei Cui reacted just like what he did in the last ball, using a backhand screw pull to hit the ball to the opposite corner.

Since he lost the first ball, Harimoto Hisashi was mentally prepared. He had predicted that there was a high potential that Pengfei Cui would make another backhand screw pull, so this time, he didn't lose the ball, but instead, he successfully rushed to the right position and made a catching movement.

However, Harimoto Hisashi underestimated Pengfei Cui, whose backhand screw pull skill was definitely the best in the world. In other words, such skill brought him fame. Even in the National Ping-Pong Team, Pengfei Cui's backhand screw pull skill could be written in the textbook and mimicked by the other team members.

Pengfei Cui's backhand screw pull contained special angles and fast speed, and the most important thing was, the ball produced a strong rotation. Many of his opponents might be able to catch the ball, but they could not deal with that strong rotation. Hence, when they hit the ball back, they made unavoidable mistakes.

It was the first time Harimoto Hisashi fought against Pengfei Cui, so he had no idea how terrifying Pengfei Cui's backhand-screw-pull ball would be like. He used the previous way to catch it. Therefore, undoubtedly, this ball brought another sad ending to Harimoto Hisashi.

At the time when Harimoto Hisashi's bat touched the ball, he immediately realized that he was going to lose this ball, too.

Such a strong rotation!

Harimoto Hisashi tried hard to press the bat in order to control the route of ball, to have it not fly out of bounds. Unfortunately, it was too late. The ping-pong ball flew directly out of bounds.

In fact, even though Harimoto Hisashi could press the bat, he would lose one point. He was not prepared for catching a loop drive at all. Even if the ball could successfully fall on the table, it would not have a high quality. When fighting a world's best ping-pong player like Pengfei Cui, returning such a low-quality ball was like offering points to him.

The score changed into 2:0, the audience clapped. This was not out of their expectation. In all matters, including fame and competence, Pengfei Cui was several levels higher than Harimoto Hisashi, so he was supposed to lead the game.

However, what happened made Kimura Juichi nervous. It was too late for him to defend himself.

It's probably because that the game just started, Harimoto is a little nervous. It's OK, now Harimoto San is going to serve. Calm down, and get points back by two serves!

Serve right switched into Harimoto Hisashi's hand.

I must play it more actively! Thinking about this, Harimoto Hisashi served a top spinning ball.

Crack! Pengfei Cui stepped forward with a rush. A white shadow flashed across Harimoto Hisashi. It was Pengfei Cui's lightning return, which was followed up by the judge's shout: "0-3!"

I lost another ball! Harimoto Hisashi's face turned cloudy at once.

Harimoto Hisashi knew that Pengfei Cui had a fierce playing style, so he chose to take evasive action, making a shorter ball instead. Normally, when receiving such a kind of ball, players tried to pick a short play, then form a stalemate situation, hoping for a chance in such a situation.

The previous opponents Harimoto Hisashi met all chose to pick a short play when dealing with such a kind of serve. Therefore, Harimoto Hisashi took it for granted that Pengfei Cui would do the same thing.

However, what was out of Harimoto Hisashi's expectation was that, Pengfei Cui didn't make a short play, but offered a direct backhand forward instead. Backhand punching ball was a vital training program technique in the National Ping-Pong Team. This method was quite challenging, and was even more difficult to complete with a high quality.

Pengfei Cui's backhand punching also existed in the textbook. Especially when Pengfei Cui was in a good situation, his backhand punching was a nightmare to his opponent.

After losing three balls, Harimoto Hisashi was anxious. He chose fierce playing method again on the fourth ball, but lost another point due to return ball error. Then it was Pengfei Cui's turn. Since there was a huge gap between the two's abilities, Pengfei Cui caught the right of serve and won another two points. The score changed into 6:0.

...

"This score of 6:0 is not of our expectations. Harimoto Hisashi is only 15 years old, so on competence, he is surely several levels lower than Pengfei Cui."

"Right. Moreover, Pengfei Cui seems to be in quite a nice condition today. No matter whether in his serve or return, they all have high finishing qualities."

"Yeah, according to my past experience, Pengfei Cui usually starts slow. But today, apparently, he has corrected this defect."

The two commentators spouted eloquent speeches. In their eyes, there was no need to explain this contest anymore, as the result was transparent: Pengfei Cui was whacking a kid.

Even commentators could see that Pengfei Cui was in a very good status, so how could Kimura Juichi turn a blind eye to this as Harimoto Hisashi's coach?

What's going on here? Isn't Pengfei Cui a forever slow-starter? How is he in such a good condition so soon after the game starts?! If he keeps this up, Harimoto San will be smashed!

Kimura Juichi stared at the two players blankly. Reality was totally different from the plan. Digressing on the opposite side, Kimura Juichi had already predicted the final result.

Does this mean that Pengfei Cui has corrected his defect? Right, this sounds possible. After all, the Chinese team's chief coach is Zhizhong Gu!

Kimura Juichi looked around the coach seats, and happened to see that Zhizhong Gu was calmly clapping his hands for Pengfei Cui with a smile. Zhizhong Gu had gained much weight in recent years, so his smile looked simple and honest.

However, in Kimura Juichi's eyes, was the devil's smile.

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Chapter 309: Concede Points

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Why is this happening?! Isn't Pengfei Cui a slow starter? Harimoto Hisashi stared at the 10-0 score, and was totally bewildered. Pengfei Cui was about to win the first round, while Harimoto Hisashi hadn't gotten any points yet.

To Harimoto Hisashi, the plot had completely digressed. Pengfei Cui didn't start slow, but on the contrary, had been in an extremely good condition since the game began, and had performed several high-difficulty technical moves with ease.

There were levels in 10-0 score, but the audience was not surprised by the result. In their eyes, it was the embodiment of the normal competence of both sides.

It was Pengfei Cui's serve again. At this moment, Pengfei Cui remained wearing a sleepy poker face, with his eyelids dropped.

"Ahem!" Sitting in the coach seat, Zhizhong Gu suddenly cleared his throat loudly. However, it was done in such a deliberate way that everyone could tell that he merely pretended to cough. Television cameras turned to Zhizhong Gu right at this moment, successfully catching him coughing.

He is ordering to concede points! The audience witnessed Zhizhong Gu's action, and so they all knew what was going to happen, too.

It was the Chinese National Ping-Pong Team's traditional to concede points to the opponent, especially in embarrassing moments like a score of 10:0. They did this so that the opponents could save some face.

Zhizhong Gu was worrying that Pengfei Cui was so over-enjoyed in the game, that he had forgotten to show mercy, so he cleared throat loudly as a reminder. Pengfei Cui hated facade project, as in his mind, people who were inferior to him deserved an egg. But his coach ordered him to "show mercy", so he had to obey the command.

Therefore, he casually served a ball into the net, which changed the score into 10:1. Finally, Harimoto Hisahsi received his first point!

"Uh, Pengfei Cui finally conceded a point after the score reached 10:0."

"Yeah, but isn't it humiliating? Such a casual serve into the net, even a fool could tell he did so on purpose."

"Right. Although conceding points is a facade project, he should at least make several rounds, rather than just a serve. Such an obvious fake."

The audience whispered to one another. The crowd even applauded. The applause might have been celebrating Harimoto Hisashi's first point in this game, or Pengfei Cui's concession. However, when the claps came into Harimoto Hisashi's ears, they sounded like deliberate mockery.

Although he had gained his first point, Harimoto Hisashi's face flushed. Things had developed unexpectedly, which was totally different than what he had imagined before the game started. He came here with confidence, hoping to win the first round, to prove that he indeed obtained top-level professional competence. Unfortunately, life was so cruel, and it slapped him so hard that it threw him into endless pain.

Concession? How come I received a concession?! Am I not even able to win one point? How poor I am, to win a point through his almsgiving!

The concession came as a heavy hammer, which directly smashed Harimoto Hisashi's confidence. At this moment, Harimoto Hisashi was unbalanced. He made a stupid mistake in his next serve.

Harimoto Hisashi's serve into the net ended the first round with 11:1. However, Harimoto Hisashi was not conceding a point to Pengfei Cui, as he had made a real mistake.

...

Zhizhong Gu looked relaxed, he didn't even give Pengfei Cui any instruction during the interval. But Kimura Juichi's face was cloudy. Although he had predicted Harimoto Hisashi's failure, he never expected such a fiasco.

Moreover, Pengfei Cui's high-enthusiasm immediately messed up Kimura Juichi's strategies soon after the game began. Kimura Juichi's plans were all useless. In fact, the gap between the two players was huge, and even the best strategy could not make it up.

In the second round, soon the score changed into 8:0. Now, Pengfei Cui was a little bit loose, and Harimoto Hisashi caught the chance to gain his second point.

Finally the second round ended at 11:2, then the gap remained impossible to cross.

After the third round started, Pengfei Cui took a lead again, with a 5:0 score.

Harimoto Hisashi stood still with eyes glazing. He was about to cry.

Is there indeed a huge gap between Pengfei Cui and I? I'm right here facing him, but I can't fight back. There's not even a chance!

Helplessness raised from his heart, then gradually spread over his body, like a dandelion being blown away by a breeze, its seeds dancing in the air and spreading all over the land.

At this moment, Harimoto Hisashi even distrusted himself. He began to doubt whether he was the right person for playing ping-pong or not.

Because of his parents, Harimoto Hisashi started practicing ping-pong since he was two years old. When he was seven, he showed up prominently, not only among his peers, but among seniors as well.

No one his age could defeat him, even seniors were often beaten by him. At that time, he was called "The Gifted Child" by Japanese media, and was predicted as being the hope of Japanese ping-pong.

With a title of so-called genius, he stood at the international stage when he was only twelve, and was praised as the youngest player in the ITTF open. In the next couple of years, Harimoto Hisashi kept participating in various kinds of contests, defeating adult opponents one by another. Meanwhile, his world rank gradually raised, and finally, he was listed in the Top 50 ping-pong players in the world.

The rank convinced Harimoto Hisashi himself that he was capable to challenge the world's best ping-pong players. However, from today's scores, he awakened to the realization that he was not only one step away from being the world's best, but instead, there was a huge chasm blocking his way.

At the end of the third round, again, Harimoto Hisashi lost many points. Such hopelessness brought Harimoto Hisashi much pain, that he even began to shrink back, for he feared being in the field facing Pengfei Cui.

He prayed that the game could finish as soon as possible. To make it worse, deep in his heart, he had an impulse to run away from here.

However, in international ping-pong contests, individual singles knockouts usually had four-wins out of seven games, which meant that Harimoto Hisashi must complete the fourth round before he left. But in his eyes, the fourth round was only a torment of pain!

Harimoto Hisashi never had such a miserable loss before. When standing against Pengfei Cui, who had already been on the pitch, fighting back was an extravagant hope.

At last, in the fourth round, after losing three rounds, Harimoto Hisashi was completely unbalanced. He even performed technical deformation in the basic serve actions.

Harimoto Hisashi is having a breakdown.

Zhizhong Gu's face lit up with a satisfying smile. That was what he wanted.

For young athletes like Harimoto Hisashi, their biggest defect was not technical problems, but psychological immaturity. A fourteen to fifteen year old teenager was definitely not as mentally mature as adults.

Especially when they suffered setbacks, adults were able to bear a certain degree of frustration, while teenagers might have a shadow remaining from the bad experience. At this moment, the hormones produced by puberty were also disastrous substances.

What we called psychological shadows, were produced in adolescence. TV shows often displayed similar plots, like an individual who turned out to be a psycho killer after going through a miserable childhood.

Being whacked in today's match apparently left an enormous psychological shadow in Harimoto Hisashi's heart. He was only fifteen, so he might probably need a long time to get rid of the shadow, or in the worst case scenario, he might live under the shadow for the rest of his life.

Perhaps from the very beginning, if Harimoto Hisashi set a rather low goal for himself to achieve, things would be better. But he thought highly of himself, and the goal was set too high, which brought the reverse effects.

Puny boy! What gifted child? I was way stronger than him when I was fifteen.

Pengfei Cui curled his lip with disappointment in his eyes. Actually, when Pengfei Cui was fifteen, he was already recruited into the National Team One, and had defeated the team's main force several times. By contrast, the current Harimoto Hisashi barely met the standard of getting into the National Team Two.

...

The fourth round was ongoing. Standing in the field, gazing at the 10:0 score, tears fell from Harimoto Hisashi's eyes involuntarily. The current situation exceeded Harimoto Hisashi's mental summit.

Argh, why he is crying? Did I do anything wrong?

Pengfei Cui finally felt a sense of guilt about bullying a boy. "I'd better concede another point to calm him down!" Pengfei Cui told himself.

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Chapter 310: Always the Second

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

The Austrian Open's results were predictable, as foreign players were not capable threats to Chinese brave warriors, and the National Team came home loaded with honors.

Dai Li again enjoyed experience rewards. After all, the Ping-Pong Austrian Open was an international contest, so the experience rewards were pretty high. Dai Li involuntarily sighed, deciding that, it was indeed a right choice to join in the National Ping-Pong Team.

With the blink of an eye, the year had come to an end. As the ITTF Tour Annual Final ended, the whole year's ping-pong games finished. Both players and coaches were sighing in relief. Athletes adjusted their conditions, or received medical treatments, since training intensity had apparently decreased.

But Zhizhong Gu was busier than usual. It was the end of the year, which was a good season for finding bargains on sponsorship fees.

Although General Admission of Sports offered a large amount of annual funds to the Ping-Pong Team, nobody disliked more money. Science, educational, and other social undertakings were bottomless holes, so no matter how much money one owned, it could be all spent.

Comparatively speaking, putting money on athletics could receive quicker results. As for the other undertakings, such as science, it was not rare to hear that people spent billions in research fees, but received nothing in return, sometimes even seeing the success rate be as low as winning a lottery.

As for education, even if one threw billions into it, results wouldn't show until many years later. As the saying goes, "It takes ten years to grow trees, but a hundred years to rear people".

No need to even introduce public health. If focusing simply on the medical aspect, which received annual funds of about five or six thousand billions, people still found it more difficult and expensive than common medical treatment.

In the sporting industry, the return of investment was pretty high and rapid. Even in advanced professional sport events, as long as a team was getting a good coach, some nice equipment, and reliable logistics service, soon the results would come.

As for game hosts, once they set a rather high reward, they could attract the world's best players, who could immediately raise the game level several tiers higher than before, and thus, get instant results.

At a National Team's level, anything cost money. Even though the team spent money without hesitation, they still put every cent into good use. Moreover, sponsor fees that they received would not all go into their own wallets, as a portion should always be submitted as a development fee for the ping-pong association.

What had to be admitted was that, in regards to the running of the ping-pong team's business, Zhizhong Gu really had something. At least in recent years, while it had been led by him, the team was never stressed for money.

These years, in addition to original fixed sponsors, new big sponsors joined in every year. Their comings brought sufficient benefits to the National Ping-Pong Team. Then, after tasting the sweetness of profits, every year at the end of the year, sponsorship negotiations became Zhizhon Gu's major work.

Furthermore, next year was the Olympic year, so the National Ping-Pong Team would definitely gain attention in the Olympic field. Thus, sponsorship should be higher than usual.

...

In the meeting room, Zhizhong Gu was holding a notebook in his hand, pouring out words.

"Recently several media outlets asked me to have exclusive interviews, not only for our players, but for coaches as well. You guys make some preparations for that, as this is not the first time you face reporters, you don't need me to emphasize any dos and don'ts again."

Zhizhong Gu turned to another page and said, "Moreover, a direct seeding software app wants to sponsor us, and they offer a good price. But the thing is, they want our main forces to make live broadcasts eight hours per month. I'd like to hear about your ideas."

"Live broadcast? Then our athletes will become internet celebrities, won't they?"

"I say it's doable. The key point is to give those wild boys something to do. They are only twenty years old, full of passion, and they don't lack money. If we leave them alone for a while, they would probably find some trouble. Then it would be better to let live broadcasts chain them up."

"But we should set rules for them beforehand, and make everything clear. Such as, what they can say, what they cannot. Otherwise, if they do whatever they want in the live broadcasts, they will cause negative effects to our team."

The crowd expressed their opinions, one by another, and soon the decision was made.

...

To National Ping-Pong Team players, being anchors in live broadcasts was a fresh thing to do. At the very beginning, the players were shy in the shows, but as time went by, they gradually got used to it.

Players in the National Ping-Pong Team, especially the main forces, had already gained sufficient experience in interviews. They even had experienced many nationwide live shows. Therefore, when facing audiences, they were quite open, and reacted naturally.

The live broadcasts had nice effects, especially when popular players like Pengfei Cui and Anshan Wang were in the show, they attracted a lot of attention from fans, and received generous gifts from the audience. Their popularity easily exceeded those internet celebrities.

Players occasionally broadcast for an hour, which didn't affect their training and competitions. Besides, in the Olympic Year, contests in the first half of the year were more important. Those competitions were like monthly tests before a college entrance exam, so players needed those contests to adjust their conditions.

In fact, at this time, the team had already decided participants for the Olympics. As time was fast approaching, it was impossible to change players right before the games. Therefore, the main forces showed up in the international arena frequently.

Dai Li was happy to see his trainees busy engaging in competitions. Once the National Ping-Pong Team's main force participated in international opens, winning the championship was a sure thing. Hence, Dai Li had gained plenty experience rewards, and was approaching an upgrade.

...

In the training field, the main force players stood in a line, listening to Zhizhong Gu's instruction: "Now let's talk about the love broadcast. The effect is good, and I noticed that you have attracted many fans, which means that more and more people will start paying attention to our team and ping-pong events. However, I have to point out some individuals' behaviors."

As he said this, Zhizhong Gu turned to Pengfei Cui and spoke in a serious tone, "Pengfei, you don't lack money, so why did you ask your fans for gifts? I heard that someone gave you gifts costing tens of thousands of yuan. You really think of yourself as an anchor, don't you?!"

Not only Pengfei Cui, but also the others all smiled embarrassingly. Zhizhong Gu paused, then said, "Let me emphasize the rule. Asking gifts from the audience is forbidden. You are athletes, not anchors, so you must obey strict disciplines. If the audience volunteers to buy you gifts, we are not able to stop them. But it's a totally different thing to ask for gifts from them."

Zhizhong Gu turned to now address Shuang Pang: "Pang, you were only broadcasting about five hours last month, which didn't reach the requirement. We signed on to broadcast eight hours per month. I checked your schedule for the recent two months, and you were not very busy. I have talked to the platform, and they'd like you to make up three hours this month."

Shuang Pang hesitated, struggled for a while, then finally nodded in agreement.

...

Dai Li went to pick up his package at the gate, and on his way back, he surprisingly saw that Shuang Pang stood alone on the balcony at the end of the walkway, looking bewildered.

"Hey Pang, what are you doing here?" Dai Li asked from afar.

"Nothing, nothing..." Shuang Pang replied awkwardly.

Dai Li walked close. He saw a phone in Shuang Pang's hands, immediately smiling: "You are going to make a live broadcast! Are you planning to make up the three hours you missed last month?"

The phone in Shuang Pang's hands was specialized for live broadcasting, as the team had bought it for the players. The phone had a big screen and a high pixel front camera, with automatic filter functions, hence, Dai Li recognized it at once.

"I..." Shuang Pang gnashed his teeth, then finally said, "Coach Li, to tell you the truth, I don't want to make a live broadcast!"

Dai Li was a little surprised, as in his mind, Shuang Pang was not a shy player. Besides, he hadn't reached age twenty yet, and most people his age tended to like live shows.

"Why?" Dai Li asked.

"In the broadcast, they all say that I'm always the second!" Shuang Pang replied painfully.

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Chapter 311: Conceal Strength in Each Final Match

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

The title "Eternal Second" was obviously not a term of commendation. Of course, only a top-notch player in the world could earn the title of "Eternal Second" in the event of the table tennis. Achieving this title was still a mission impossible for the mediocre players.

After hearing what Shuang Pang said, Dai Li also couldn't help laughing.

Shuang Pang ranked the second in the world after Anshan Wang, who had been the first in the world for three consecutive years. Shuang Pang's second place was also very stable, since his rank hadn't changed since he became second place more than a year ago.

Also, Shuang Pang's match records over the last two years could sufficiently prove his identity as the second player in the world. For more than two years, Shuang Pang had won more than ten second places in matches of different levels. Of course, he also won some championships; however, the matches in which he won the second place were more influential.

Just like the second places in the National Games, the Asian Cup, the World Table Tennis Championship, and the final of the annual ITTF Pro Tour, etc., it was correct to say Shuang Pang concealed his strength in each final match in recent years. Therefore, his title of the "Eternal Second" was not surprising.

When Shuang Pang was making his webcast, the audiences and commentators always ridiculed Shuang Pang with the title of the "Eternal Second," which quenched the Shuang Pang's enthusiasm to continue his webcast.

The thing the network anchors dreaded most was someone who deliberately made a barrage of inflammatory or disputed remarks. Even veteran anchors might be thrown into confusion by those "rhythm-creators," let alone Shuang Pang, who was not a professional network anchor but a professional athlete who was under 20. A screenful of the "Eternal Second" would lead to Shuang Pang having a breakdown.

Also because of this, Shuang Pang didn't even finish eight hours of webcast last month.

Dai Li knew that Shuang Pang was unlikely to get the second place in each final match on the ground of his strength. Although he was not as strong as Anshan Wang, the matches that had pitted Shuang Pang against Anshan Wang could be counted with one hand; therefore, he was also defeated by other players of the national team, like Pengfei Cui and Xiangxian Zuo, etc.

For most important table tennis events, the players of the national team could always enter the final match, and were strong enough to win the championship. Sometimes a lucky ball could decide the final result of the match.

Since it was not a lack of strength which caused Shuang Pang's title of the "Eternal Second," it had to be caused by a psychological problem.

Is it possible that Shuang Pang once had setbacks in a final match, which has formed a psychological shadow in him and is still influencing his performance in final matches? Dai Li couldn't help remembering Shuang Pang's performance in recent final matches.

After entering the National Table Tennis Team, Dai Li had watched all the important events that players of the national team participated in. He also discussed the matches with other coaches in the team. Of course, the so-called discussions were more of other coaches' commentaries with Dai Li as an audience. Dai Li's expertise in table tennis was no match for that of the executing coaches.

"Shuang Pang, don't you think you give up too early in the final match?" Dai Li asked. "Especially when you are playing your teammates, it seems like you don't play seriously when your teammate is taking a lead."

Shuang Pang scratched his head. "I don't? It couldn't be. I treat each ball seriously."

Dai Li shook his head. "I am just a physical trainer and not a professional table tennis coach. The feeling I got could also be sensed by many people."

Shuang Pang was silent, while Dai Li continued to say, "Before the final match, you could always choose the playing style and tactics reasonably, and could strive for the victory actively, which would give the audience a feeling that you were quite surefooted, right?"

"However, during the final match, I felt your playing was too rigid, without flexibility. Your decisions for the critical balls were also not reasonable. Sometimes you were too anxious for success and lost patience. It seemed you didn't think calmly about your next moves, which gave me a feeling that you were accomplishing a task."

"Coach Li, you've got me there. I do have this kind of feeling," Shuang Pang said suddenly. "Most of the time, when I entered the final match and found my opponent was also a teammate of the national team, I felt like my mission was accomplished. Sometimes I even felt that the gold medal had been put in the pocket of the national team; whether I achieved the championship or second place was not too important for me."

"Why could you have such a feeling?" Dai Li asked.

"I don't know." Shuang Pang shook his head.

"Don't you want to win in your heart?" Dai Li continued to ask.

"Of course I want to win!" Shuang Pang nodded seriously. "I aim for victory in the matches."

"But your performance in the final match gave me the feeling that your desire to win was not that strong." Dai Li said.

Shuang Pang hesitated a bit, and finally said, "Maybe! In truth, I don't have a lot of fun playing table tennis."

Dai Li opened his eyes wide with amazement. The most gifted player in the national team, who had the incredible grade S gift and was even decided as the leader of the next generation of players in the men's national team, had just said that he didn't enjoy playing table tennis! It was hard for Dai Li to imagine that a guy who couldn't enjoy table tennis could achieve such a high competence in the table tennis events.

"You should have started learning table tennis when you were very young, right?" Dai Li asked.

Shuang Pang nodded. "I started to practice table tennis when I was 6. In my hometown, there is an elementary school which focuses on the table tennis event. All students who learned to play table tennis could enjoy a tuition waiver. My parents are ordinary workers, so my family was not well-off. Therefore, my parents sent me to that school to learn to play table tennis so that they could save some money in my tuition."

Shuang Pang continued to explain his history with table tennis. His experience was almost the same as other players of the national team—his gift for table tennis was discovered, so he was admitted to the city-level sports school, and then he entered the city team and the provincial team.

When Shuang Pang was 14, he was admitted to the national team and he stood out conspicuously soon. Then he entered the first team of the national team, and had good results in the selective trials, so he participated in the World Table Tennis Championships. His performance in other international events was also very remarkable. His continuous impressive achievements allowed him to enter the top 3 in the world when he was 18.

After hearing Shuang Pang's explanation of his past, Dai Li furrowed his brows. He realized that Shuang Pang's engagement in table tennis was more like squeezing a square peg into a round hole.

Dai Li suddenly interrupted Shuang Pang. "Are you happy when you are playing table tennis?"

"Happy?" Shuang Pang was a little dazed, for no one had asked a question like that before.

Dai Li said, "To be a professional athlete of an event, the first requirement is to enjoy it. So, my question is, do you feel happy when you are playing table tennis?"

Dai Li waited for an answer, but Shuang Pang had fallen silent.

After a long while, Shuang Pang finally said, "I don't know. I have never thought about it."

"Then that is the root of your problem. Your current achievements were gained through your gift and efforts. Your gift in table tennis is better than 99.99% of people, and your efforts in the table tennis also outweigh that of most athletes. You have earned the reward you deserve."

"But you didn't enjoy it. You have been struggling for more than 10 years, and table tennis will also be the battlefield where you will fight hard in the coming decades. What are you are fighting for with all your might?"

"I am fighting for our country, of course!" Shuang Pang blurted out.

"No need to tell me. This is the training base of the National Table Tennis Team, everyone here is fighting for our country." Dai Li shook his head. "But that is not the only answer, and also not the answer you are seeking."

"For myself?" Shuang Pang looked at Dai Li with puzzlement, then he said, "Coach Gu used to tell me that selecting this path means I will treat table tennis as my lifelong career."

"Yes. For you, table tennis is just a career, or a job." Dai Li shook his head slightly. "It is not enough, at least for you."

"I still don't understand you." Shuang Pang also shook his head.

However, Dai Li had an idea. He changed the topic and said, "Tomorrow is the weekend, how about hiking with me in the mountains? It might be helpful for you to enjoy some natural scenery."

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Chapter 312: Happy Sport

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Hiking in the mountains could also be regarded as physical training, which was good for the body in many ways. It was not only an aerobic exercise, but a component of strength and endurance training as well.

Hiking in the mountains could enhance the overall coordination of body; it was also good for people's joints, bones, muscles, blood circulation, metabolism, etc. Moreover, getting close to nature could also relieve the mental stress of daily life, which was very relaxing and helped to maintain psychological health.

Shuang Pang was a professional athlete, so hiking was not an exhausting activity; his daily training was much more intense than a simple mountain hike. As a coach, Dai Li's physical performance was also much better than an ordinary person's. Therefore, while ordinary people normally needed three or four hours to reach the mountain top, Dai Li and Shuang Pang only needed about two hours.

During the weekends, a lot of people went for an outing, including many avid mountaineers. The two of them stood on the mountain top and looked down the mountainside; they found over 10 groups of people who were hiking in the mountains.

"Look, those are people who like to go hiking in the mountains." Dai Li pointed at the mountain path. "None of them are professional mountaineers; they are more like fans of mountain hiking. Some of them are not even fans, but just like walking in the mountains. I guess most of them will be occupied in their daily lives by busywork, and only have time on the weekends to do something they like."

As Dai Li spoke, he turned around. "Actually, it is quite a special thing to do something you like as a job. The job is your hobby, and your hobby is your job. You could do something you like every day, and it would bring you income to support your family. This should be a dream job for most people, because there are not many jobs like this in real life. However, being an athlete is obviously one of these jobs."

"Someone likes basketball, and finally becomes a basketball player; someone likes soccer, so he becomes a soccer player; while someone likes playing table tennis, and finally becomes a table tennis player." Dai Li looked at Shuang Pang seriously. "So do you like table tennis?"

"I... should like it, shouldn't I?" Shuang Pang's answer was more like a question.

"If you like a sport, you should be able to have fun in it." Dai Li answered. "Think carefully. Can you remember something which made you happy in these years as a table tennis player?"

Shuang Pang hesitated a bit, then answered, "Too many. I couldn't remember them all in a moment."

"Can you not remember them, or were they just not impressive?" Dai Li asked suddenly.

Shuang Pang was tongue-tied immediately. He really didn't know how to answer Dai Li's question.

"I guess this is the crux of your problem. You just treat table tennis as a job you have to accomplish, not as your hobby. So you can't have fun and enjoy it."

"Coach Gu keeps pounding the idea of fighting for our country into you; therefore, each match for you is a mission. The ultimate mission for athletes is to strive to be the champion; so until you accomplish your task, you are always in a working state. However, when you enter the final match and fight against one of your teammates, you realize that the national team has already taken possession of the championship, so you lose your working state. You slack off in the match and even don't play seriously. Therefore, you will always have all kinds of problems in final matches. "

"And the root reason for all of this is that you don't enjoy table tennis. You have stayed in the stage of 'striving for our country,' and you don't aspire for a championship for yourself!"

"No, I want to be a champion!" Shuang Pang retorted immediately.

"No, you don't! Unless you are requested to win the championship, otherwise you are not very eager to be a champion. My judgment is not groundless." Dai Li paused a bit. "I have watched all your final matches from the last few years. I think you did your best in the final match of the National Games. Although you lost at the score of 3:4, the score of the last round was 13:15. I could sense your eagerness to win; you really wanted to win the championship of the National Games."

"The reason you wanted to win was to help your provincial team get a gold medal of the National Games. You thought it was your mission, and a task you had to accomplish; so you strived very hard in that match. If your opponent in the final match had been a teammate of your provincial team, could you still have done your best in the match?"

"I…" Shuang Pang was faltering, but he didn't answer the question.

Dai Li paused for a few seconds, so that Shuang Pang think about what he had said, then he continued his enlightenment. "Last night I asked you what were you fighting for, right? Your answer was to fight for our country, but I told you that wasn't the only answer. Now you should understand my meaning, right?"

"When you participated in the international events by representing the national team, you were indeed fighting for our country; when you participated in the National Games by representing your provincial team, you were fighting for your provincial team; however, when you are representing yourself, you should fight for yourself. The key is your attitude. You have to adjust your attitude and know when you are fighting for yourself!"

"You mean in those matches which I lost, I should have fought for myself?" Shuang Pang realized that, but finally he shook his head. "Maybe it is impossible for me, for I have never thought about it."

"No, you have thought about it, but you haven't realized that." Dai Li smiled and said, "Try to remember those internal upgrading matches in the national team; didn't you fight for yourself? When you were promoted to the first team from the second team, you defeated many teammates; didn't you fight for yourself at that time? Now what you need to do is get back that feeling. Especially when you are in the final match, you have to get back that feeling and tell yourself that your mission hasn't been accomplished yet; a championship is still waiting for you."

Shuang Pang nodded as if he agreed with Dai Li. However, in his eyes, Dai Li didn't find any resolution, but more puzzlement.

Shuang Pang's reaction made Dai Li feel quite helpless, so he had to say, "I have told you what to do, do you still have the feeling that it is very difficult for you to do as I said?"

Shuang Pang nodded, but he said, "I will try it in my next match."

Dai Li shook his head. "You still don't understand the meaning of fighting for yourself, for your cognition of table tennis hasn't been changed yet. The first thing you need to do is to be fond of table tennis, and make table tennis your hobby instead of a job."

"A job is different than a hobby. Workaholics can gain a sense of satisfaction from their work and a sense of accomplishment from their success; however, they might not have fun in their work. A hobby, on the other hand, could not only provide you with a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment, but also could let you have a lot of fun."

As Dai Li spoke, he pointed at the mountain hiking fans who were hiking strenuously, and said, "Just like them. They might only have one day off in several weeks to hike in the mountains, but they are happy, and enjoying the mountain hike, because they like hiking in the mountains."

"I also hope you can enjoy table tennis. I hope one day when you are standing in front of the table with a bat in your hand, you are cheerful; when you are playing table tennis, you feel happiness in your heart. I hope you gain real enjoyment from table tennis, and enjoy the matches, even enjoy every score and fumble in the match."

Shuang Pang nodded, and asked, "Then what should I do?"

"For this, I can't help you. You have to sense it yourself. As a professional athlete, you have been playing table tennis for so many years; you should be able to find the enjoyment in it." Dai Li smiled. "The competitive sports are designed to bring happiness to people, not only to the audiences, but to the professional athletes as well. The fun of challenging opponents, the fun of challenging yourself, and the fun of creating miracles—you should enjoy that more than the audience does. Maybe it will be a long process, but I believe you will be able to sense it as long as you try to feel it with your heart."

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Chapter 313: A Famous Coach

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Dai Li was not a psychologist, so that was all Dai Li could do to help Shuang Pang adjust his mindset.

Actually, Shuang Pang should have understood many things by himself. After all, he was still under 20, and his career life had just begun. An athlete at this age had tremendous room for growth. Shuang Pang had just come across the problem of the "Eternal Second"; more setbacks awaited him in the future, so he had to acquire the ability to overcome difficulties by himself.

Dai Li also had his own work to do. He needed to prepare for the Olympic Games.

As a quadrennial event, the Olympic Games was the most important event for most sports. During the preparation period of the Olympic Games, all coaches of the National Table Tennis Team stayed in the training base; sometimes they couldn't go home for a whole week.

This was acceptable for bachelors like Dai Li, who had gotten used to living in dormitories. Most of the rest of the coaches had families; therefore, they really sacrificed a lot by staying with the team every day and leaving their family members at home.

The players who would participate in the Olympic Games had been decided internally at the beginning of the Olympic year.

The players who had not been selected to participate in the Olympic Games also had tasks. They acted as the training partners of the contestants by simulating the playing style and techniques of their opponents.

This kind of training was quite monotonous and dull, but the monotony was an efficient time-killer.

In a blink, August had come, and the quadrennial Olympic Games successfully attracted the attention of the world.

...

The experience award for a champion of the Olympic Games is really good! Dai Li couldn't help showing a delighted expression on his face. The national team had obtained 3 gold medals so far; with the awarded experience, Dai Li had upgraded again. Now he had successfully moved beyond the threshold of the top-level coach and had been upgraded to a famous coach.

This time, Dai Li hadn't had to wait long for the upgrade. The main reason was that players of the National Table Tennis Team could always win championships, so Dai Li was awarded more experience than before. Moreover, the experience he gained in this quadrennial Olympic Games was many times more than his experience accumulation in normal days.

After all, this is the Olympic Games, which is held every four years. The gold content of a champion of the Olympic Games is quite high. The experience award is also several times that of open tournaments and championships. In addition, the experience award of the team champion is also much higher than that of an individual champion.

The table tennis event of the Olympic Games had four gold medals for the men's singles, the women's singles, the men's team, and the women's team respectively. It was certain that the National Table Tennis Team would take all four gold medals. Now the gold medals for the women's singles, the men's singles, and the women's group had been obtained by the national team, among which, the most experience gained by Dai Li came from the gold medal of the women's team.

In the award identification of the system, the team events are more important than those individual events, as expected, Dai Li thought.

"It is more than that," the system said. "The experience award is also dependent on the importance of the match, the popularity of the event, and the distinctiveness of the award."

"I could understand the importance of the match; for example, the Olympic Games is definitely more important than ordinary international events, so the award for the Olympic Games is more. What is the meaning of the popularity of the event? Does it mean the award for events which are more popular is greater?" Dai Li asked immediately.

"Right, the experience award for champions of football or basketball in the Olympic Games is certainly more than the experience award of the champion of table tennis. If you could help a team to win the FIFA World Cup one day, you would get an astronomical sum of experience," the system answered.

"Then what is the meaning of the distinctiveness of the award?" Dai Li continued to ask.

"Some sports events and sports leagues set up special awards, such as the player of the week, player of the month, MVP, and rookie of the year of the NBA, the Golden Shoe Award of the World Cup, the Golden Ball Award of FIFA, the Laureus World Sports Awards, etc. If the players coached by you win these awards, you will also get an experience reward. Of course, the more influential the award and the honor is, the higher your experience reward will be," the system explained.

Dai Li said, "The awards you mentioned only exist in large professional leagues, such as basketball and soccer, right? In ordinary competitive sports, these special awards are quite rare."

"Yes. So if there is a chance, I suggest you try to participate in those large professional leagues. You are now in the stage of the famous coach. The experience accumulated through table tennis could still help you upgrade rapidly. When you are upgraded to a renowned coach or even a star coach, you will need huge amounts of experience for your upgrade, and even the frequent table tennis championship will be far from enough. After all, you are just a physical trainer, not a head coach," the system said.

"I got it. In the future, if I want to keep upgrading, a physical trainer is not enough, even the physical trainer of the National Table Tennis Team." Dai Li continued, "Okay, let's stop talking about this. What about checking the bonus items of my upgrade?"

The bonus package appeared in the system. Dai Li opened the package and found two items in it. One was a skill book which he was familiar with, and the other one was a card.

This card looks familiar, just like that top-level coach trial card at the very beginning. Dai Li hesitated for a few seconds, but he finally picked up the skill book.

Let me check the skill book first. In any case, it is a skill. That card might be another useless item like the athlete illustrated handbook. Dai Li lowered his expectations to avoid great disappointment.

Stamina Long-Distance Walking? Is this new skill related to physical training? And the training should be realized through walking. After reading the name of the skill, Dai Li had a rough idea of it in his mind.

Long distance walking was quite a popular outdoor sport in recent years. In cities, many middle-aged women who used to be avid square dancers had been turned into long-distance walkers. Some of them were even injured in car accidents because of their walking in the motorways.

The popularity of long distance walking was mainly caused by insufficient sport venues for citizens in the cities. In foreign countries, communities provided a lot of sport venues and open spaces for citizens to do exercises. However, most of the open spaces in this country were used to build more apartments. The citizens couldn't find a place to do exercises, so they chose to be long-distance walkers instead.

At this moment, the system explained, "This 'Stamina Long-Distance Walking' could help athletes to enhance their physical performance, which doesn't mean the athletic ability and endurance of the body merely, but also the cardio-respiratory fitness, muscular strength, muscular endurance, flexibility, etc."

"I know. The physical performance mentioned in competitive sports mainly refers to the athletic ability of people. Strictly speaking, it should be called the athletic physical performance, which is defined in kinematics as the general term of all athletic abilities necessary for athletes to enhance their technique levels and create excellent results. Actually, the broadly defined 'physical performance' was more than that. The cardiovascular endurance, the muscular strength and endurance, flexibility, agility, and balance should also be included in physical performance," Dai Li said.

"Your answer is correct. This 'Stamina Long-Distance Walking' is designed to enhance all physical qualities. The endurance halo and the flexibility yoga you have obtained could only enhance a certain quality. The Stamina Long-Distance Walking might not be as effective as those skills in enhancing a certain physical quality, but its effect in the comprehensive enhancement of all physical performance indicators is definitely the best," the system said.

This skill doesn't have many restrictions upon the sport events; it could be used in almost all events, so it is really a practical skill. Fortunately, I have gotten at least one useful item from this bonus.

Then Dai Li looked at the second bonus item anxiously.

A Duplicate Card? What is it?

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Chapter 314: Howl of the Mighty Wind

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Three cards were placed in front of Dai Li. They had a golden framework and a wooden texture, but the central area of the cards was blank.

"This item is called duplicate card. What is it used for?" Dai Li asked.

"You still remember the athlete illustrated handbook you obtained last time, right? With this duplicate card, you could spend 10,000 points of experience to duplicate any athlete into the card," the system explained.

Now Dai Li realized that his duplicate card and the athlete illustrated handbook he obtained before were in one kit, which should be used together.

"After duplicating an athlete, what can the card be used for?" Dai Li continued to ask.

"Then you could use the duplicate card to get 70% of the capabilities of the duplicated athlete for 12 hours," the system said.

"Now I only have Anshan Wang in my athlete illustrated handbook. If I duplicate the capability of Anshan Wang with the card and use it for me, in the next 12 hours, I could be a 70% Anshan Wang, right?" Dai Li continued to ask.

"Exactly! The stronger the athlete you duplicate, the stronger effect you will have," the system said.

Dai Li reckoned a bit in his mind. On the ground of Anshan Wang's strength, 70% of his capability would be enough to participate in the matches of the Olympic Games. With the duplicate card, he could be turned into a top-notch table tennis player at any time, though of course, only for 12 hours. Also he would have to spend 10,000 points of experience.

I am a coach, not an athlete. I don't need to participate in the match personally. Dai Li shook his head. Although he didn't figure out the detailed function of the duplicate card, he still felt it was something incredible.

I only have Anshan Wang, who is a top-level athlete, in my athlete illustrated handbook. If I could use the duplicate card after collecting more athletes of other events, couldn't I become an almighty athlete? 70% of the level of the best athletes in the world is still unattainable for many professional athletes in their whole life. After thinking of this, Dai Li was a little bit delighted.

However, when he realized he only had three cards, he was a little bit disappointed.

It's a pity that I only got duplicate cards, and each of them can only be used for 12 hours, Dai Li thought ruefully.

The system immediately started its introduction. "Although you only have three cards, you could benefit from two features of the card. First, it can be used repeatedly. One card can be used for 12 hours. After 12 hours, the card will be turned into a blank card again, and you need to duplicate the athlete in your handbook again."

"Oh, then I don't need to worry about using up the cards," Dai Li said. "In this way, one card is enough, it's not necessary to give me three cards."

"The reason that you get three cards lies in the second feature of the duplicate card. The cards can be used together. You could use two cards or three cards together, and the effects would be superimposed," the system explained.

"That is to say, I could use three duplicate cards to duplicate three athletes, and use all three cards on me, then I could have 70% of the capabilities of the three athletes simultaneously, right?"

"Right, but with one condition. The athletes duplicated by you should be athletes of different sports. For example, if you have duplicated one table tennis player with one card, the athletes you duplicate for the second and the third card should not be table tennis players anymore. You have to duplicate athletes of other sports."

...

The Olympic Games were over. The National Table Tennis Team returned with four gold medals, which was not surprising to anyone.

After their return, a lot of activities were waiting for the athletes of the National Table Tennis Team. The meritorious staff members behind the scenes, like Dai Li, were also awarded accordingly.

As the national sport, table tennis was quite popular among the people in China. Along with the rising of the webcast and We Media, TV broadcasting was not the only way to watch the matches anymore. More and more people started to enjoy table tennis matches in different through various media, which made table tennis more popular.

Moreover, the marketing of the athletes had been drastically improved. Star players were widely publicized, which had cultivated a lot of young fans.

A few years ago, the main audiences of table tennis were middle-aged and elderly people. Now more and more young fans had rejuvenated the table tennis event in China.

The atmosphere of table tennis in China was improving, and more and more people started to pay attention to table tennis. For table tennis itself, everything was developing in the right direction.

...

One day, during lunch, many coaches were caught in a discussion in the canteen of the National Table Tennis Team.

"Have you heard about it? The Table Tennis Association said a reform is coming."

"A reform? We have reforms every year, but our table tennis team is still number one in the world. Don't worry, the table tennis teams of other countries won't be any threat to us."

"I've heard that this time is different. This time the high level management wants to reform the management mode and try to implement the so-called 'flat management.'"

"What does that mean?"

"I don't know. However, according to the hearsay, the position of the General Coach and the Head Coach might be cancelled. The team will only have a coach of the men's team and a coach of the women's team, who are of the same level and under the direct management of higher staff."

"That can't be possible! If the General Coach is cancelled, where should Coach Gu go? He couldn't be the coach of the men's team, could he? That's a demotion! What's more, Coach Gu is the backbone of the National Table Tennis Team. He has borne hardship without complaint for so many years, and has made remarkable contributions to our team. His efforts are crucial to the current achievements of our team."

"I also hope this is not for real. After so many years, the National Table Tennis Team finally established a mature framework. We have our own standards for player selection, training, team-building, scientific research, and match preparation. A sudden reform might change all of that."

Everyone was talking about the issue, but many of them didn't take it seriously or realize the severity of what was about to happen.

...

One week later, the key players went to Rongzhou to participate in the open tournament of the International Table Tennis Federation.

While the matches were ongoing, the Table Tennis Association suddenly declared that Zhizhong Gu was no longer the General Coach of the National Table Tennis Team, and he was transferred to the Table Tennis Association to act as a Vice Chairman.

This could be regarded as changing horse mid-race.

The reform of the National Table Tennis Team was also unveiled at this point.

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Chapter 315: An Outstanding Tree in the Woods

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Zhizhong Gu stepped down too suddenly for the National Table Tennis Team, and the effect of it was like an earthquake. Everyone on the team was informed of this news without any mental preparation.

"What's going on? Coach Gu's work is flawless, how could he be relieved of his office?"

"If Coach Gu leaves the team, what should we do? Who will be the General Coach in the future?"

"According to the notification, we will not have a General Coach from now on. A National Team Coach Group will be established for the men's team and the women's team respectively, which will be responsible for the training and management of our team. This is the so-called flat management."

"Isn't it the same as before? I remember over 10 years ago, we also had coach groups for the men's and women's teams. This reform just takes us back more than a decade!"

"I wonder who will be the coaches of the men's team and the women's team in the future. Do you think Coach Gu could have a chance to come back to us?"

"Won't Coach Gu act as the Vice Chairman of the Table Tennis Association? This could be regarded as a promotion, right?"

"Promotion? Are you out of your mind? This is apparently an Irish promotion! The Table Tennis Association has over 10 Vice Chairmen, whose main work is nothing but drinking tea and attending meetings. The Vice Chairman is a leisure job for people who are about to retire. Coach Gu is only in his early forties, which is the prime of his life, but he is assigned to do some leisure work to wait for his retirement. I really can't understand the intention of the high-level management."

Beside them, Dai Li didn't speak, but he could clearly sense the incomprehension of the others upon this decision, as well as their uncertainty about the future.

Dai Li was also bewildered. Zhizhong Gu had left, and the overall framework of the National Table Tennis Team would be changed enormously. He was also not clear about his own future, and whether his work in the national team would be changed after the reform.

The unknown was terrifying. A notification from the high-level management made everyone in the National Table Tennis Team anxious and bewildered, for none of them knew the future work arrangement for them.

That night, no one got very much sleep.

The next day, the disturbed feeling still permeated the national team. The media also got the news, and then all kinds of comments on the internet came one after another.

The whole team was dominated by the feeling of fear. Dai Li called Li Xue during dinner. Dai Li thought Li Xue should have more inside information than he did.

On the phone, Dai Li asked if he knew anything about the reform, and Li Xue let out a long sigh.

"There are a lot of things you don't understand. The root problem is the national sports system in this country, which has been denounced by many people for a long time. This system is controversial among ordinary people, and even the management isn't settled on the topic. The focal point of the controversy is whether we should continue this national system or carry out a market-oriented reform of the complete sports industry."

"For now, the idea of the market-oriented reform of the sports industry has apparently gained the upper hand. In the high-level management of the sport administrative organization, someone used to say unequivocally that the problems in the sports industry of our country are mainly caused by this national system, which can also be regarded as the planning system of the sports. Although the high-level management didn't deny the national system publicly, their reform strategy is designed to promote the marketization of the sport industry."

"Once all problems were attributed to the system, the judgment criteria and logic of some people became weird and simple. They deem that the planning system is wrong, and needs to be corrected, even though it could allow us many achievements. While the marketization is ongoing, no matter how many problems have been caused during the process, they will continue to promote it. They will say that all the problems are because we haven't taken the marketization far enough."

"The National Table Tennis Team is a good representative of the national system; therefore, for those people who want to promote the marketization of the sports industry, the National Table Tennis Team must be reformed to provide a template for the reform of the sports industry as a whole. They just don't care how magnificent the National Table Tennis Team is."

"However, during the implementation of the reform, the main issues are still related to two words—power and interest. Actually, power and interest could be regarded as one thing. With power, you could pursue your interests; to defend your interest, you needed to strive for more power."

Dai Li frowned. He really didn't like the two words.

Li Xue continued to say, "This reform in the National Table Tennis Team looks more like the repatriation of powers from the sports administration centers by the General Administration of Sports. As a matter of fact, the General Administration of Sports has been trying to take power back from the administration centers in recent years."

"I've heard that Zhizhong Gu got an Irish promotion, is it true?" Dai Li continued to ask.

"Zhizhong Gu is a pretty good young man. In his early forties, he is still energetic and competent. It's really a pity for him," Li Xue said. "The head coach responsibility system, which has been established for several decades, has been implemented in all teams in our system. In a team, most of the powers are concentrated in the hand of the head coach, who is responsible not only for the management and training, but also the real powers of human resources, finance and purchase, etc. Just like your entry of the national team only needed the oral approval of Zhizhong Gu."

"You have read the notification from the Table Tennis Association. There will be no head coach in the Table Tennis Team, instead, they have set up two coach groups for the men's team and the women's team. The head coaches of the two groups will be responsible for the training and management of their team. However, the other aspects of the team are never mentioned. So do you think the head coaches of the men's team and the women's team will also have the powers in human resources and finance like Zhizhong Gu?"

"Through this flat management reform, the General Administration of Sports has taken back all those powers. In the future, the Table Tennis Team will have to use the person assigned by the General Administration of Sports and use the equipment purchased by the General Administration of Sports. The administrative work and the training of the team have been separated. The team only needs to perform the training earnestly and strive for good achievements."

Dai Li asked immediately, "You mean a head coach in the old days was just like a general manager of an enterprise, who was responsible for the operation and development of the enterprise, and had to make the enterprise bigger and stronger. After the reform of the flat management, the head coach is turned into a workshop director, who should only be responsible for the production of the workshop, right?"

"You could understand it that way," Li Xue responded. "Actually another reason for this change is that Zhizhong Gu's work was too good. Like the old saying goes, a tree outstanding, a gale might be chasing. The achievements of the National Table Tennis Team in recent years were too conspicuous, which has established a great reputation for Zhizhong Gu in the team and among ordinary people. For some people in the management level, his 'excessive' reputation was unacceptable."

"In addition, the National Table Tennis Team is now enjoying the moment of glory. Just the advertisement endorsement could translate to hundreds of millions of yuan. Too many people want to get a slice of the cake. With Zhizhong Gu as the General Coach, other people could not touch the profit; but now the situation is totally different."

"Coach, what should I do now?" Dai Li asked.

"Nothing, just wait and see." Li Xue let out a long sigh. "This is a game for the high-level leaders. Even Zhizhong Gu has to obey the arrangement; what could you do? Just do your job steadfastly. After a while, the situation will calm down."

After ending the call with Li Xue, Dai Li still had an uneasy feeling in his heart.

Ding-dong!

The wechat application in his mobile phone made a prompt tone.

Dai Li looked down, then his facial expression changed.

"What? The players of the National Table Tennis Team withdrew from the match collectively!"

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Chapter 316: Each Sovereign Maintains His Own Courtiers

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

In the small meeting room, everyone sat in silence.

"We withdrew from the match to defend Coach Gu against the injustice. Why did they treat Coach Gu unjustly?" Shuang Pang, who was the youngest among the athletes, broke the silence.

"Shuang Pang, don't tell tales! This is the flat management, which is not against Coach Gu deliberately," said an old coach who was sitting next to the athletes.

"Is this the flat management? I've searched this term on the internet. Flat management is implemented to reduce the administrative levels. But after this flat management in our team, none of the high-level management staff is reduced; none of the executive coaches are reduced; the coaches of the men's team and the women's team are still there. Only Coach Gu is 'reduced.' Isn't it against Coach Gu deliberately?" Shuang Pang said indignantly.

"Even so, you shouldn't have withdrawn from the match. You should express your appeal rationally instead of taking this extreme action. Don't forget you are athletes of our country! You should attach most importance to the honor of our country," the old coach continued to say.

"Coach Gu's contribution is greater than ours. What did he get out of it? An Irish promotion? What were they thinking? Kill the donkey the moment it leaves the millstone, right?" Anshan Wang, who usually remained silent, suddenly said.

Everyone in the meeting room dropped into silence again, for all of them knew Zhizhong Gu's contribution to the National Table Tennis Team very well. When considering contribution, none of them could compare with Zhizhong Gu.

"I also feel you are too impetuous," Dai Li said. "I know you are defending Coach Gu, and you hope Coach Gu can come back. However, have you ever thought about how your behavior will do harm to Coach Gu instead of helping him!"

Dai Li paused a bit, then he said, "Someone doesn't want Coach Gu to go on coaching the national team, because he is competent and admired by all of us. But your withdrawal will make those people more afraid of Coach Gu; therefore, they will not dare to give any real power to Coach Gu. You think your collective withdrawal looks as if you are expressing your support for Coach Gu or defending him against the injustice, but in fact you are jeopardizing Coach Gu's future career."

After Dai Li's reminder, all the athletes realized their rashness.

Just as Dai Li said, after this collective withdrawal, everyone knew Zhizhong Gu was enjoying immense popularity and support in the National Table Tennis Team, which would make the high-level management more afraid of him. They worried that they couldn't control the National Table Tennis Team. Someone thought Zhizhong Gu set up a small clique in the team to go against the high-level management.

In this circumstance, Zhizhong Gu wouldn't be allowed to do any substantive work for a while. Nobody would dare to put him in a position with real powers, so he might have to do some leisure work till his retirement.

Athletes like Anshan Wang who had been engaged in the sports industry for years knew this truth very well. Therefore, after Dai Li's reminder, reality suddenly dawned on them.

"Sorry, we are wrong! We are harming Coach Gu." Anshan Wang lowered his head.

"Let me call Coach Gu now and tell him we didn't do it deliberately," Shuang Pang said.

"Don't contact Coach Gu now!" Dai Li stopped Shuang Pang immediately, then he said, "If you call Coach Gu now, it will be more difficult for him to get away from this issue."

"Then what should we do now?" Shuang Pang asked.

"You should admit your mistake first!" Dai Li shook his head ruefully. "I suggest we could undertake the responsibility of the withdrawal, and try our best to make a clean break with Coach Gu, which might be helpful for him."

"We will definitely be punished, right?" Shuang Pang asked timidly.

"You will be punished in all likelihood." Dai Li nodded, then he looked at other executive coaches in the meeting room, and said, "I suggest we undertake the responsibility in the name of the National Table Tennis Team, and make an apology to the public. Let's face the consequence of this withdrawal together. What say you?"

"Coach Li, you didn't participate in this withdrawal, which was a decision made by us. We shall receive any possible punishments!" Pengfei Cui said courageously.

"Pengfei, what Coach Li means is that the law can't be enforced when everyone is an offender," Anshan Wang said. He had now been restored to reason completely.

Dai Li nodded. "Right, that's what I want to say. We admit the mistake and undertake the responsibility in the name of the national team. I hope this will mitigate the punishment to each individual. Moreover, if the team is to undertake the responsibility, normally the principal of the team would bear much of the blame. But now Coach Gu has been transferred, and we don't have a principal in the team; therefore, if we are lucky, we might be able to minimize the consequence of this issue."

...

It had been three days since the withdrawal. The National Table Tennis Team admitted its mistake and apologized to the public. It seemed the issue had been quieted down.

The General Administration of Sports asked the Table Tennis Association to investigate the withdrawal strictly, but it didn't mention any punishment. Also, the coaches who would be put in charge of the men's team and the women's team were not decided.

Maybe the withdrawal made the high level management more cautious in the reform. Everyone knew the reform was supposed to solve problems instead of creating more problems.

Some in the national team thought Dai Li's trick had worked; other people thought it was just the calm before the storm. The management level was still preparing punishments, or the management level planned to settle the accounts when people had forgotten this issue.

The daily work of the national team progressed without change. However, the sense of anxiety and loss still permeated the team. Without Coach Gu to lead them, no one knew how the National Table Tennis Team would develop.

One day, Dai Li got a call from Zhizhong Gu after dinner.

"Li, I've heard your suggestion of undertaking the responsibility in the name of the national team. Thank you," Zhizhong Gu said.

"If I had known in advance of their plan to withdraw, I would have stopped them. Did this issue cause any trouble for you?" Dai Li asked.

"In my current situation, should I be afraid of more trouble? A lot of lice don't bite." Zhizhong Gu paused a bit, then said, "But I owe you an apology, for I might have brought trouble on you."

Dai Li frowned and asked, "Is this issue still not over? Is the management level still planning to give punishment?"

"The punishment is inevitable. The collective withdrawal is a big issue, which has to be answered for. The key is the degree of punishment," Zhizhong Gu said.

"Will someone be fired?" Dai Li asked immediately.

"It can't be that serious. A short-term suspension is unavoidable." Zhizhong Gu continued to say, "I don't worry about the athletes. The veteran players like Anshan Wang and Pengfei Cui have gained enough fame and wealth in these years under my leadership, which are enough for the rest of their lives, even if their career lives as athletes were to end now. Also, they also accumulated a lot of injuries in their bodies; it's time for them to have a good break and rehabilitation."

"As for the young athletes like Shuang Pang, they are the hope of the National Table Tennis Team in the future, and they are expected to accomplish great things, no matter who the future coach of the team will be. Therefore, if there is any punishment for them, it will not be very heavy. Instead of them, I am worrying about you the most."

"Me? Why?" Dai Li asked in confusion.

"When I was the head coach, I promoted several executive coaches into the core management team, including you. So you might be targeted by being treated unjustly or being marginalized for a long time." As Zhizhong Gu spoke, he let out a long sigh. "Compared to the other coaches, you are the youngest, and you also don't have the history of being a table tennis player. Therefore, what worries me is that they will get rid of you to scare the rest of the coaches."

"I don't think they will come for me… No matter who will be the next coach of the team, the team will still need me. Don't you believe in my competence?" Dai Li said with a smile.

"Your competence is indeed the best. I could say you are the best physical trainer I've met. However, I recruited you into the team, so they will treat you as an ally of mine. I wouldn't worry about you if the withdrawal hadn't happened, but now the situation is different. The management level will not allow something like this to reoccur. So it is highly possible for the team to be purged," Zhizhong Gu said.

Dai Li fell silent. If Zhizhong Gu was warning him of this, then it was very likely to occur. Although Zhizhong Gu had been demoted, his relationship network was still there. He must have heard some news before calling Dai Li.

It was not hard to understand what had happened. As an old saying goes, each sovereign maintains his own courtiers. The new boss would eagerly replace all previous underlings with his trusted followers, while the followers of the previous boss would be purged.

Moreover, the collective withdrawal had strengthened their determination to get rid of Zhizhong Gu's followers. Those people were apparently deemed dispensable and given priority to be eliminated.

In the National Table Tennis Team, a young and junior physical trainer without the background of an athlete was obviously the best object for elimination.

...

Two days later.

"Li, I've just received a notification. You are required to go to the HR Department of the Table Tennis Association at 10 a.m. tomorrow. They want to talk with you."

Dai Li nodded silently. He had already been prepared for that.

If it's doomed to come, it will come eventually…

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