People in Tokyo, the world is clear

But he once participated in a tryout for the industry's top professional club. As a veteran player who said, "It's not that I don't want to play, but there is no team or club," he competed for a position with a bunch of young people who were only 17 or 18 years old.

I felt good about the game and always thought I had it, but in the end, I was unexpectedly eliminated.

It wasn't some shady deal, because there was evidence of this, from the scoring sheet for the entire tryout.

The more difficult part is the content recorded on the evaluation form:

Technical score: High.

Game comprehension: Level A.

Communication points: zero.

Translation: You played well, but isn't it a bit abnormal for professional players in team games to play without saying a word?

It seems that growth in life has nothing to do with age. So from that day on, Lin Sen understood a truth.

Sometimes, not everyone understands something that he takes for granted.

You may even suffer a small loss by omitting some communications that you think are unnecessary.

It's a small lesson, but it seems to be of no use.

That was the end of my career, and after that, I traveled the world alone, and most of my life experience was no longer useful.

Lin Sen would never have thought at that time that many years later, when facing the table tennis coach in the training hall, he would clearly recall the afternoon when he was kicked out of the club.

So, the young man now put his hand on the shoulder of the college coach who was already chatting and laughing with him, and started using the technique of talking nonsense.

"So, from my perspective as a table tennis enthusiast, I personally think that the decline of Japanese table tennis in recent years, especially the repeated desperate defeats in team competitions, is actually due to the neglect of some seemingly unimportant but actually crucial details."

There was a certainty in his voice, and it sounded a bit like the later live broadcast platforms where cloud players comment on the progress of professional game competitions.

It is certainly not pleasant to the ears of those who claim to be professionals.

However, when the young man calmly stated this conclusion, the middle-aged senior table tennis coach beside him did not show any displeasure in his heart.

Coach's name: Ogimura Sanming

# Personality Assessment: Kind, Enthusiastic, Reasonable (+30 Criticism Acceptance)

#Relationship judgment: Lin Sen's recent dinner friend (+30 criticism acceptance)

#Current Status Judgment: Arouse the love for Niwa Yuzuru (+30 Criticism Acceptance)

# Macroeconomic Assessment: Japanese table tennis is declining. (+10 Criticism Acceptance)

#Judgment result, humble and willing to learn!

The coach named Ogimura turned his head and looked at Lin Sen, staring with some surprise at this young man who, in his opinion, had a good understanding of table tennis and could even occasionally express some ideas that seemed a bit advanced.

Take in his confident performance:

"Oh? Kobayashi-san, why don't you elaborate?"

"Coach Ogimura, don't you think I'm being outrageous?"

"That's not true. I can see that you have some basic knowledge, Xiaolin, and you have some ideas. I'm not some old man clinging to dignity, so just speak freely about your understanding."

"Then it's better to be respectful than to obey."

So Lin Sen glanced at Miss Ito, who was standing beside him with her hands folded and staring intently at the exciting and intense game between Niwa and her opponent, and temporarily gave up paying attention to the tense game on the field and pulled the table tennis coach to another empty table tennis table.

He asked for an old score sheet, turned it over, and took out a pen from his pocket.

"In theory. Although Japanese table tennis has naturally and rightfully fallen from the top tier over the years due to various factors, at least the foundation is still there, and it should be somewhat competitive. The individual international records of several top players are also acceptable. I vaguely remember two top players winning consecutive titles at the World Championships seven and nine years ago. Back then, the country was thriving, full of vitality and a sense of thriving development."

Having said that, Lin Sen caught a glimpse of the slightly complacent smile on Coach Ogimura's lips.

Then, he suddenly changed the subject, his tone became cold, and he reached out to write the number "1971" on the paper, which startled Ogimura Sanming so much that his body trembled.

"But. Fifteen years ago, in Showa 46, that final glorious year, when the women's table tennis team triumphed at home in Nagoya, how many years, how many tournaments, have passed since then? Have we seen any further achievements as a team?"

"Coach Ogimura, do you remember those dreamlike fifteen years from Showa 29 to Showa 44? Starting in Wembley, England, and ending in Munich, Germany. Ten editions, seven championships! Unparalleled glory. Why, just a few years later, while the core group of athletes were still in their prime, from that period on, a dismal performance began. Neither men nor women won a single championship in the team events. How could the same fifteen years have produced such a huge difference?"

The young man's voice was sonorous and vivid, accompanied by slight hand movements, which made people recall the good old days, but then the scene suddenly changed, and the tragic current situation came to mind.

It was as if he were there. Then, a mask of pain wrinkled across Ogimura Sanming's middle-aged face.

Time is like wind, life is like water. Just as the breeze blows across the water, wrinkles are the evidence of time blowing through life.

He is old now.

But, who hasn’t been a teenager before?

Once an athlete, Ogimura Miaki's active career coincided with the peak of his beloved sport in his country. Now, it seemed to be coming to a dismal end.

Who doesn’t feel a little emotional and sad?

Empathy welled up in his heart as the young man next to him told his story, and he sighed and knocked on the table.

"Yeah! How did it become like this!"

"Coach Ogimura, have you noticed something?"

The young man gradually slowed down and lowered his tone, and his somewhat magnetic voice gave people the feeling of telling a story.

"The selection of table tennis players seems to be a bit strict in recent years."

“That’s the case.”

Ogimura Sanming nodded solemnly. "I'll talk to Xiaolin openly. Due to poor results, the Table Tennis Association has been under a lot of pressure in recent years. First of all, there are frequent rumors of incompetence and dismissal, which has put a lot of pressure on the head coaches. Several of my friends in the association are also discussing daily revisions to training guidelines and adjustments to athlete recruitment standards, even delving into technical details and habits, striving to cultivate the most stable and reliable players. At the very least, we can ensure that he can win some key competitions, such as home games."

"So, Coach Ogimura, have you noticed something? In recent team competitions, while the players have proven themselves to be highly competitive in individual competitions and have given their all in team matches, they consistently display a deep sense of powerlessness when facing strong opponents. Unable to seize advantages, unable to overcome adversity, they're essentially playing in a silver age, aging and unstable."

Lin Sen's words made the middle-aged coach open his eyes in surprise.

He quickly regained his composure, and seemed to be a little impressed.

"Kobayashi-san, you're a seasoned enthusiast and a very observant person. Indeed, there is such a problem. But, could it be that... you have a solution?"

"Yes, this is the overlooked detail I mentioned before."

Lin Sen turned around and with a big stroke of his brush, he wrote the words "odd" and "positive" on the remaining blank space on the paper.

I turned sideways again, waiting for the coach to finish his thoughts as his expression changed from stunned to thoughtful.

Not a moment.

Coach Ogimura's eyes suddenly lit up, and he gave Lin Sen an obvious response, indicating that he should continue.

Lin Sen was no longer polite:

"As I wrote. In my humble opinion, a competitive team with both competitiveness and upper and lower limits must possess two elements. One is the positive element that maintains the lower limit, and the other is the unusual element that strives for the upper limit. Only with one positive and one unusual element can it be called coordinated. However, in recent years, Japanese table tennis has been obsessed with winning and afraid of losing, taking the wrong path of consolidating its foundation and shrinking its shell."

So, Ogimura Sanming frowned, showing an attitude of nonchalance, and nodded in agreement with the meaning of the words.

"Yes. Perhaps it's because I'm the one involved that's confused. When you wrote those two words just now, it was like a clue to me. I vaguely thought you were going to say that, Xiaolin. As expected, it wasn't unexpected."

The middle-aged man raised his right fist and knocked it on his open palm:

"Think about it, we've certainly made this mistake in our training and selection over the years. We've been too cautious. The seedlings we've found and the training plans we've drawn up have all been based on playing it safe. We thought we could rely on our foundation to maintain a minimum, but we didn't expect that this would actually cost us everything."

As a table tennis professional, he must have a deep understanding of the sport. Now, with Lin Sen's guidance, the subsequent theoretical explanations can be summarized naturally.

Most current Japanese table tennis players have a stable technical style, the so-called "positive." This stability may make players perform better in individual competitions, but it is not conducive to team competition.

Table tennis is about restrained style. Too much uniformity in technique and practice will greatly reduce the cost and difficulty of targeting.

This was especially evident when facing a strong enemy. Their skills were not advanced to begin with, and they blindly pursued stability, which resulted in the enemy being able to defeat them with just a slight move.

At this time, it is necessary for players with radical technical styles to stand out, the so-called "odd" players who are different from the "normal". To put it simply, it is a fight, a gamble, and a bicycle becomes a motorcycle.

With a gambling-style attack and a style of play that emphasizes on-the-spot changes, you can stimulate your opponent's forced errors. This way, when facing a strong enemy, you will have the strength to fight.

It's a very simple game theory. If a team only has "positive players," they will be easily defeated by the "odd players" of the weaker team, and then be manipulated by the "positive players" of the stronger team. They are in a difficult situation.

Perhaps this is the fundamental reason why Japanese table tennis has declined so quickly in recent years?

When one thought is enlightened, the world will open up.

At that moment, Ogimura Sanming made up his mind. For the sake of table tennis, he must discover more talented players with unique styles, recommend them to the association, and contribute to the talent pool of Japanese table tennis!

But, at this point, there is another problem.

Japan's overall table tennis training system has almost taken shape in recent years. Most talented players are taught techniques, tactics, and styles by their coaches from a very young age, solidifying their fundamental skills. This has become particularly evident in recent years.

It is not impossible to make some minor adjustments, but it will take quite some time.

However, there are only two years left until the 88 Olympic Games, when table tennis will be included in the Olympics for the first time.

The association is determined to win and vow to achieve results that are worthy of accountability.

Two years! Two years to win the Olympics!

However, after realizing the key issues in current talent selection, I had an urgent problem:

"Where can we find some talented youngsters with radical styles and the ability to adapt on the spot?"

The middle-aged coach went through all the students he and several good coaches had taught in his mind, but he had no idea at all and could only frown and look distressed.

"Yeah, yeah. Probably, it's not that easy to find."

The young man in front of him also pretended to look sad, but his tone sounded wrong.

奺50180909

Just as he was feeling strange, Ogimura Sanming suddenly heard a clear and pleasant voice coming from his ear.

Clear, uplifting, and simple.

The emotions were even more excited, mixed with jumping, almost like cheering.

"Wow!"

I couldn't help but turn my head to look.

For some reason, I subconsciously ignored the cute girl who was about to jump up, and only focused on the competition.

I saw a rare long-range game taking place at another table not far away where a practice match was being held.

The one who stepped back farther from the stage was a somewhat thin high school student, who seemed to have done so on his own initiative.

He was panting heavily, seemed to be a little exhausted, but was quite bold and retreated almost far away from the stage, adopting a nearly suicidal and persistent defensive posture.

The spinning white ball landed on the table across from Niwa Yuzuru, bouncing high in front of his opponent, a college student wearing a headband.

Then, take a clean hit and dash back.

Yuzuru Niwa almost ran as fast as he could to receive this powerful smash, and looked shaky.

However, the white ball went over the line and landed on the table on the opposite side - another chance to score!

Surprisingly, the college golfer showed a confused expression for a moment.

too weird.

He had never faced an opponent like this.

Actively adopting this suicidal retreat. Logically speaking, if the attackers keep dunking like this, the defenders will always suffer greater losses as long as they don't make mistakes.

If we continue to fight, we will die.

Besides, aren't you afraid that if you just gently push it close to the table? At this distance, I'm afraid this guy won't be able to catch it.

I was thinking so, but when I glanced at the white ball spinning rapidly in the air, I was stunned and my hands suddenly hesitated.

Wait...

Rotate...cannot confirm.

If you get close to the table and don't handle the rotation properly, won't it be a waste?

So, the trap was here! Was this the intention behind deliberately retreating far away and exposing his weakness?

Choose the more stable smash! If this continues, I will definitely win!

The moment he figured it out, the college student shook his wrist and made the smash again.

However, because of the hesitation and thinking at the moment of attack, he was unable to exert his full strength.

A low-quality smash. But it doesn't matter, as long as the next shot is good.

He had never faced such an opponent with such a style of play, and for a moment he was a little contemptuous.

Moreover, the opponent was indeed exhausted.

Even if it was a low-quality smash, this high school student could barely receive it.