Opportunity favors you when Zhang Baotong 2018.6.25

There are many accidents and inevitabilities in this life, but you don't know which ones are accidental and which ones are inevitable, in fact, accidents and inevitability exist in a kind of microsecond relationship and connection like time, geography, and people. It often unexpectedly helps you and puts you on the road to success.

Yesterday and the day before yesterday, I participated in the Xi'an Table Tennis Tournament and won the fourth place in the second competition. This result made me feel a little incredible, and it also made me feel that the opportunity of this competition was particularly attractive to me, and I never even thought about it. It may not be surprising to say that we unexpectedly got a good result in a race, but I want to tell you about the process of this race to reveal a phenomenon that makes us feel familiar, and that is the favor of chance.

The competition is divided into five levels. Level 5 is a professional team member of colleges and universities and provincial team just retired athletes, the number of applicants has about 40 people, the fourth level is a professional athlete who has retired from the provincial team for many years and a municipal table tennis master, the number of applicants has more than 60 people, most of the third level is a district-level table tennis master, these people have almost been trained in amateur sports schools or non-professional teams in colleges and universities in the past, of course, there are some pure amateur masters, the number of applicants is more than 160 people. The second level is mostly amateurs with a relatively higher level, and the number of applicants is more than 370. Level 1 is basically a hobby, but the level of golf skills is average, and the number of applicants exceeds 730. Because this is the first large-scale level competition organized by the Xi'an Table Tennis Association, there is no very clear comparison and standard, and the level of applicants is uneven. Except for the fourth and fifth levels, no one dares to sign up casually, and the registration of the first, second and third levels is very chaotic. Not to mention the second and third levels, that is, in the list of the first level, there are at least twenty or thirty well-known masters in various districts and counties.

I played No. 2 in singles in Weiyang three years ago, but I was lucky enough to have some of the better players who either didn't come to the tournament or were eliminated. Competing in the top 40 in the district in April this year, I just barely managed to make it to the top 16. I did the math, and there were twenty people who could be defeated in the district alone. So, this time they all applied for level three, and I applied for level two, because I felt that I could only be regarded as level two and a half.

I read the list of participants in the second-level competition, because this is the list of the six districts and six suburbs of Xi'an, except for some masters in the district or city, I hardly know anyone else. Therefore, what I was most worried about at that time was to meet a master in the group stage and knock me out of the tournament at once, because the group stage is a round robin of four people, the first place will qualify, and the last place will be relegated. I was lucky not to meet a good player and easily finished first in the group. On the contrary, there are several favorites who are favored by everyone, but they unexpectedly missed and stopped in the group stage.

In the second stage, the qualifiers from all groups were divided into groups of four to play a round-robin, and the top two qualified to enter the round of 64 to play the knockout round. At this point, I thought I had to play first so that I could meet the second place in the other group and avoid the first place in that group when I played the knockout round. I thought that these people who participated in the second stage of the competition would be the first place in the group of the first stage, and the level would be very high. However, unexpectedly, the other three were not as good as the three I met in the first stage, and I easily defeated them all.

Breaking into the knockout round, the situation began to be tense, because I had a good result in the group stage, and I had a bye in the first round, so I went directly to the second round, but I had to meet a famous master in Xi'an, I watched him play, and I felt that he played too well, and I was not an opponent at all. However, unexpectedly, he was eliminated by his opponent 3:0. And the guy who beat him we fought once in the past, and I seem to have won him. So, in the second round, I played the winner. Maybe I've beaten him in the past and he's a little bit weak about me, but he's played well, but I've played well and won two games in a row. Then, he changed his style of play and controlled not letting me pull the ball, because my style of play is mainly to pull the ball, and if I don't pull the ball or can't pull the ball, then I am doomed to lose. As a result, he won my game 5-11. In the fourth game, I thought I had to grit my teeth and win this game, otherwise it would be very bad for me to play a tiebreaker. Because playing pull-up is very physically demanding, I am 61 years old, and I have been playing for nearly two days, and if my physical strength is not good, I will basically lose. I tried my best to win the fourth game.

The third round is the top eight, and I desperately want to get into the top eight, because if you get into the top eight, you can go straight to level three. In the past two days, I have also watched the third, fourth and fifth level matches, and they all played very badly, and many well-known masters were eliminated early. There are more than 20 masters in our Weiyang District who reported the third level, but only one or two people broke through from the group stage, and then they didn't even enter the top eight. There is a clear difference between me and them. Because they've all trained in amateur sports schools and college amateur teams in the past, and I'm just an amateur. They lost so badly that I was even more eager to finish in the top eight.

The quarterfinals are scheduled for 12 noon sharp. However, when I came to the venue, the opponent didn't come, so I had to wait. Arriving 15 minutes late as per the rules of the match will be considered a forfeiture. At 12:15, I told the referee that the opponent had not yet arrived and should have abstained. But the referee told me to wait another 5 minutes. I really didn't want to wait any longer, but I couldn't refuse, for fear that the referee would say that I was too calculating, and I had heard from others that the opponent might not be able to beat me. Even so, I would love to win without a fight, because the opponent who can make it to the quarterfinals will definitely not be too weak, and it will be difficult to determine the outcome of the fight. Moreover, playing one game will consume a lot of physical strength, which will be detrimental to the next game. In the semifinals of the men's team at the 46th World Table Tennis Championships, Liu Guozheng and Kim Taek-so saved seven match points in the game and became a miracle in the world table tennis world. At that time, it was because Kim Taek-so's physical strength was a little unbearable. In the singles final of the World Championships in Sagrab, Ma Lin was ahead of Wang Liqin with a big score of 3-1 and a small score of 7-1, but because of physical exhaustion, Wang Liqin turned the tables. Because the straight shot arc circle is very effective, but it is too physically demanding, so whether you have enough physical strength often determines the performance and victory of the game.

I kept looking at the time with my phone, and I can say that these 5 minutes are extremely long. Thankfully, though, despite the incessant call on the radio, the man didn't come. I finally waited until 12:20, and I told the referee that I couldn't wait any longer because I had already waited 5 more minutes. The referee said that she did not have the authority to rule that the other party abstained from voting, and that it was up to the president to make the decision, so I followed her to the president. The president asked the referee to call people on the radio again. Wait until the radio calls the opponent's buddy, who says they misread the time and thought it was a 2pm match. So, he went and called someone. However, it was 12:30 a.m. As soon as I saw that they had called someone to go, I immediately said to the referee, "You guys are so unruly in doing this, and it is clearly stipulated that 15 minutes late is a waiver, but you see that half an hour has passed now, so I am not playing this game, I am going to eat." With that, he left in a rage. The referee saw that I was angry and hurriedly chased after me and asked me to sign it. And just like that, I made it to the top eight.

After dinner, I went back to the arena and met an acquaintance who told me that we would play a game in a while. As soon as I saw that it was him, I was a little discouraged, because I knew that he was a celebrity in the western suburbs, and I was not his opponent at all. Then, I watched him practice with the Northwest Ball King, and he played very well, and there were many onlookers next to him. Seeing how well they played, I thought I was already in the top eight anyway, and I had already overfulfilled my task.

At 2 o'clock in the afternoon, the quarterfinals were played, and the acquaintance used raw rubber rubber, because I don't usually play against people who play this kind of rubber, and the fight is very awkward. And he hit it accurately and hard, and I hit the ball as soon as I blocked it. I had to rely on the serve and grab the hand. As a result, we went from 10 to 15 draws, and later, I took the opportunity to grab two boards and win the first game. However, in the second and third games, he pressed my backhand and controlled it to prevent me from grabbing and pulling, but if I didn't pull the ball, I would die, and when I pulled the ball, I didn't grasp the opportunity well, so I either made a mistake in pulling the ball or let him block it. So, lose two games in a row. In the fourth game, I figured I had to find a way to break through his control, otherwise, I would lose. So, I leaned sideways and gently pulled his backhand serve. Although the ball I pulled was not of high quality, he didn't dare to attack boldly, so I waited for him to slow down and then rushed at his forehand and sent him some half-spin long balls to his backhand. As soon as he pushed, he went down the net, and as soon as he rubbed it and went high, I pulled a straight line at his forehand. As a result, he played two games in a row and turned defeat into victory. Finished in the top four.

The first time I cheered, I shouted, "That's great!", and when I finished in the top four, I thought that if I went any further, I would be the first and second place. However, I was happy too early, and when I actually played the semi-finals, I realized that the opponent's level was not a little bit higher than me, but a lot higher than me. He controlled the ball very well, basically didn't give me a chance to grab a pull, and even if I grabbed a board, he could suck a board and seal it. Therefore, I pulled the ball either by mistake or by letting the family block it. The game is like that, once you feel like you can't do anything, you have already lost the game from the heart. The actual game is just to cope with the fight, don't let yourself lose too ugly.

Although he won one game in the third game, he did not have the slightest hope of winning. In the fourth game, they took it down with two of three clicks. I was expecting to tie for third place, but the referee told me to play the third place. I don't think I can make it to the final, but it's good to finish third, so I have to fight hard. However, the opponent was no worse than the opponent just now, and at this time, I had no physical strength, and I was defeated in three straight games.

But I'm still very happy because this is a level competition in Xi'an, and it is not easy to stand out from more than 370 people and finish in the top four. Looking back, among the top eight and top sixteen, there are a large number of masters and celebrities that I fear. And in the top four of grades 1 to 5, most of them are young people, and I am the only one who is over 60 years old.

Before the award, the acquaintance who played the quarterfinals with me was very annoyed and told me that he had made an appointment with his lover to take her to the hospital, so he wanted to finish the game early so that he could go back to his daughter-in-law. I knew he meant to show that he was supposed to win me. I also believe that he could have beaten me, but the game is like that, sometimes a small change in mentality can affect the outcome of the whole game. Luckily luck was on my side, and I took advantage of it.

Life is the same as competition, unless you have 100% strength, you don't have to think about any factors, and you can defeat your opponent directly by strength. However, in many cases, you are facing opponents who are equal to you, or stronger or weaker than you, in which case, how do you take advantage of the game? Some masters and strong players overturn in the gutter because of overconfidence. And those opponents who have lost to you will also be afraid of you in their hearts and dare not play boldly. And I'm not complacent when I'm a weaker player than me, even if I hit 10:1. For opponents who are stronger than me, I always watch their games beforehand, find out their weaknesses and strengths, and find a way to deal with them. As long as it's not a one-sided situation, I'll always fight with all my might.

People say that opportunities are reserved only for those who are prepared. In fact, every game is an opportunity, but whether an opportunity can be turned into an opportunity often requires some luck to help. If you're lucky, you can avoid some strong opponents and make it to the finals and even win the championship all the way. However, I was unlucky, and I met a master in the first round and was eliminated. Of course, strength is the most important, without strength, no matter how good your luck is, it is impossible to play well. It's just that I'm not very strong, so I need some luck when I play. This kind of luck doesn't happen often, but as soon as it happens, it should be taken care of. It's not just the game, it's the whole of our lives.