People in Tokyo, the world is clear

However, it's understandable. Since setting his sights on becoming a professional, Niwa hasn't managed to win a single match against any serious athlete besides Lin Sen, an amateur.

This time, perhaps because I had been losing for too long, as soon as I saw the dawn of victory, I followed my inertia and pushed too hard.

豝燱4903 navel nine

But, the attack was too ruthless. He was hitting with all his might, directly beating the child who might not have reached his peak age and physical condition yet to tears.

Perhaps, when the little Chiyo behind was fighting so hard that her moves were deformed, it was time to give her two or three small points.

Lin Sen was about to give a subtle hint, but was interrupted by a deep, powerful voice beside him:

"No! It should be said that during the tryout, you should give it your all."

Turning around, I found that the tall and thin coach was standing with his arms folded across his chest, staring at me straight.

"Besides, athletes of this age are expected to compete at this level of intensity. Um... Niwa, Yuzuru, right? Please stand a little closer to me. I have some questions."

"I."

Although high school students were certainly at an age where they could understand the ways of the world, they couldn't quite fathom the coach's expression. So they pursed their lips and glanced at Lin Sen, their eyes hinting at an awkward plea for help.

Then, Niwa Yuzuru felt a gentle tap on her shoulder. Then, a reassuring force slowly pushed her toward her coach.

Yu Guangzhong, the young man nodded at her, conveying encouragement.

Do you want me to open up and talk, and seize the opportunity?

Yuzuru Niwa understood the body language, took a deep breath, and then boldly looked up at the youth training coach in front of him, who was no longer the kind coach he had been when they first met.

Listen to him:

"My name is Toshiaki Watanabe. You can just call me Coach Watanabe. Let me ask you, have you ever experienced systematic training before?"

"Yes. I... am an orphan. No one wanted me since I was little, and no one taught me about table tennis."

The frank and honest words made Coach Watanabe's pupils shrink.

The look in his eyes changed:

"When and how did you realize your table tennis skills?"

"In my second year of junior high, a senior girl from the same class gave me an old pair of ping-pong rackets that I wasn't using anymore, so I started looking for places with tables nearby to play. But then, people started to feel like they couldn't even return my serves, and they stopped playing with me. In my first year of high school, my Chinese teacher, Ms. Tachibana, noticed my table tennis skills and my desire to go to college, so she gave me a new pair of rackets and recommended that I go the sports specialization route. Then, I met Mr. Kobayashi, and things became...what we are today."

"Let me ask you. How can you use the same technique for hitting a backspin ball to hit a topspin ball that is the exact opposite of the backspin?"

"Stand up the paddle and push it forward. Then, pretend to raise your arm and hook it so it looks like you're spinning downwards. It's almost the same in reverse."

"..."

Coach Watanabe gasped.

Many movements sound simple, but being able to perform them beautifully, smoothly, and even casually in actual combat is an amazing ability.

What's even more terrifying is that without any professional guidance or instruction, I have to rely solely on my own understanding...

"I heard that during your amateur training, you were competing against male athletes because you mistook their genders?"

"Yes."

"I saw you used the retreat strategy in the first few games. This style of play is a huge test of your physical strength and footwork. Why would you want to use this style of play? Obviously, your physical fitness is a big disadvantage in the field of male athletes."

"My previous opponents had more control and experience on the table than I did. Once the offensive phase was over and the game was close to the table, I was doomed. So, I had to fight. I bet on fake moves, on the first three shots, and on the chaos after retreating. I didn't want to lose, I wanted to win."

Yuzuru Niwa narrated calmly.

But he was frightened by the loud and powerful shout that suddenly rang out in the arena and took a step back:

"it is good!"

This is Coach Watanabe's roar.

By the time everyone present reacted, he had already rolled up his sleeves, put his hands on his hips, and gave a speech like a loudspeaker.

"Hear that, athletes? On the field, you need this same drive to win! Competition isn't training. When facing a formidable foe you can't defeat normally, you have to gamble, you have to fight, you have to proactively drag both you and your opponent into the same uncharted territory! I really admire this style."

The next second, Toshiaki Watanabe waved to call assistant coach Sato, took the racket himself, took out a new ball, and threw it into Yuzuru Niwa's arms.

Even his eyes became sharp.

"Next, use all your strength and play a round with me. If you win by ten points against me, I will make the decision and keep you. If you can beat me, I will personally take you to the main team tomorrow and ask for a position for you."

Those who are knowledgeable here know this very well.

The high school student named Yuzuru Niwa is quite old for a table tennis player.

Moreover, she has already achieved a level that is worthy of attention in the evaluation system for female athletes.

To be honest, it's already a bit late for youth training. In fact, wasting too much time will waste the rapid growth period and even the peak period.

What she should do is to get involved in professional competitions as early as possible, compete with real masters, use competitions as training, and see where her limit is.

But this is against the rules. In this country where seniority and promotion are paramount, starting young, progressing through the children's team, youth training, and finally professional careers is an unspoken path. Those who break the rules are the very few.

However, judging from Coach Watanabe's attitude, he seems willing to make this exception for Niwa.

Maybe some fantasy or even unreasonable.

But, perhaps, this is sports, this is competition. There is always that inexplicable sense of passion.

There are always miracles and tears.

The atmosphere in the museum suddenly became lively.

Even Chiyo, who was in a depressed mood and had just recovered from a crushing defeat, wiped away her tears and gathered behind Coach Watanabe, surrounded by her teammates. She looked with complicated eyes at the short-haired high school girl who had taken a serving stance, lowered her head and stared at the table while doing her final pre-match thinking.

She was still wearing a clean, slightly worn short-sleeved school uniform and a pair of shorts that looked like they had been worn for a long time.

Only the sneakers on his feet were slightly new, and it seemed that they were replaced recently.

His focused expression gives him a strange, tomboyish coolness.

Complex emotions arose in my heart.

At this moment, Chiyo was in a very strange mood.

She hoped that Coach Watanabe could teach this strange sister who had hit her so hard a lesson on her behalf, but she also had a strange hope.

If she could beat the coach, it would seem like a comfort?

No one cared about the girl's thoughts at this time.

All attention is focused on the field.

In this era when the rules of blocked serves were still imperfect, Yuzuru Niwa slowly tossed the ball upwards and then served it covertly - it was a high-speed spinning fastball!

This is it, this is it...

Chiyo's heart was lifted up, and she felt as if she were in the familiar feeling of despair, which made her body feel a little weak.

However, the next second.

"Watch carefully, how to deal with this kind of ball!"

Coach Watanabe's reassuring voice echoed through the ears of the young women on the field. He, his gaze fixed on the wrist of the high school girl before him, took a slight step back and concisely parried the cunning serve.

Then came the two and three boards...

Then, the next moment when the rotation gradually became controllable, Coach Watanabe took another step back, placing his center in the middle of the table, while deliberately relaxing his arms, legs, and even his waist and abdomen.

A clean cut from a great distance foreshadowed a more intense spin confrontation—he was actually a slicer!

The long 21-game confrontation, which was extremely demanding on physical strength, technical skills and energy, began.

It was indeed very exciting. So much so that even the service personnel who were resting at the side of the venue came over and joined in the discussion with Lin Sen.

"I don't quite understand it, but... that kid doesn't seem to be very good at dealing with Coach Watanabe's style of play. It feels like the ball isn't spinning as much as before."

"Because the chop is the forefather of spin. It's primarily defensive, using spin-free and spin-free slices and varying the placement of the ball to reduce the quality of the opponent's returns and even smashes. At the same time, like a cunning venomous snake, it curls up, pretending to be harmless. But once it finds an opponent's weakness, it can strike like a venomous snake, using close slices and aggressive counterattacks, rapidly changing the rhythm, catching the opponent off guard and even scoring directly."

"I never thought... there would be so much hidden secrets in a tiny ping-pong ball..."

"Chopping is a style of play that tests the opponent's overall strength. If you're not up to par, you'll be dragged into the mire, slowly strangled by the chopper, and lose helplessly."

“I see…Ah!”

Halfway through his response, the attendant who had been watching the game with wide eyes immediately stood up, crossed his arms and exclaimed at the sudden situation on the field.

Coach Watanabe seized a low-quality return shot that was short and without rotation, and with a strong forward attack, he hit a high-speed smash that landed in the middle of the table.

The high school students on the other side were constantly entangled and had no time to adjust their standing position and body posture, and were not even qualified to respond to the ball.

He could only watch helplessly as this simple and unadorned smash took away the points in his hand.

As if she had never seen this kind of play before, she frowned tightly, thinking about possible solutions while turning around to pick up the falling ball.

The pressure slowly descended upon her, and everyone present also felt the ultimate sense of urgency.

“Oh no…”

The ponytailed attendant seemed completely immersed in the match, clasping her fists nervously to her chest. "No, I really don't want that kid to lose."

Such performance made Lin Sen sigh.

Unfortunately, unlike this person, it wasn’t because of the situation on the field.

Instead, he focused his attention on this guy.

He folded his hands behind his back helplessly, almost accepting his fate, and shook his head.

"You seem even more nervous than I am. So, really, this is outrageous. Why do I keep running into you everywhere? Qingshan, Xiazhi?"

"The aunt in charge of this place took a leave of absence. I happen to know her, so I came over to cover for a day and get paid."

The woman in work clothes smiled and poked Lin Sen's waist with the mop handle in her hand. "In short, I believe more and more in fate, Xiaolin-san."

"In short, it's just one word: horrible."

"This is obviously much more than just one word!"

Chapter 85: She Didn’t Let Him Down

"Hoo, ho..."

In table tennis matches, the long tug-of-war tortures both the body and the mind.

After barely returning a bad ball that ended up going out of bounds, Yuzuru Niwa grabbed the collar of his school uniform and hurriedly wiped away the sweat beads on his forehead that were almost dripping down and obscuring his vision.

"Five, fifteen! Coach Watanabe!"

I heard the announcement from assistant teacher Ms. Sato, and the invisible pressure rose again, squeezing my chest bit by bit.

Yuzuru Niwa let out another long breath and adjusted his already somewhat sluggish body.

Remember. To get it, at least ten...

However, judging from the current situation, it is far from the truth.

The coach who calls himself Toshiaki Watanabe is an extremely difficult and terrifying opponent.

Although, due to his age, his steps and movements are obviously slow, showing that he is no longer at his peak.

Not only do they possess the immense physical strength of a chopper, but they also deliberately set up some cunning psychological traps during the game. If you fall into their trap, at best you will completely lose the initiative in the tug-of-war, or at worst you will be swiftly counterattacked and lose points.

She only had six points left to make mistakes, but she had to get five.

What's worse is that after the long game just now, she could clearly feel that she was a little exhausted.

It wasn't the kind of exhaustion that made him unable to fight or run, but rather a decrease in his reaction and thinking abilities.

He had never played a game like this where every point required dozens of back and forths. In addition, he had played two large games before this one. Now, Yuzuru Niwa felt like he was commanding a body that was half a beat slower.

If we continue like this, we definitely won’t be able to get that many points.

despair...

Niwa Yuzuru subconsciously glanced at the sidelines. A young man standing next to a woman with a ponytail was staring at him intently, his arms folded.

My eyes were a little dizzy, so I couldn't see his expression clearly.

but--

If I fail to win, all the opportunities that Kobayashi-san, Ito-san, and Tachibana-sensei have worked so hard to get for me will be wasted.

Thinking of this, the girl's teeth slowly began to exert force.

“It’s so hard to get here…”