Playing abroad? Han Cang was stunned for a moment, he had never considered this idea, although among the first-line players in China, there are indeed people who have gone abroad to develop in European countries, and have single-handedly driven the badminton career there, and joined foreign countries, so they can take this opportunity to participate in large-scale international events such as the Sudirman Cup and the Olympic Games, and stand on the international stage. But doing so belongs to overtaking in corners, and most importantly, your reputation is not very good, and it is easy for domestic fans to call you a traitor and a traitor.

Han Cang's expression was a little complicated, Shen Lingxue seemed to see his thoughts, and then said, "You think too much, right?" I'm talking about going to a professional league, not an international tournament. Brother, although you have the strength, I don't think that with your current state, you can directly participate in international competitions, so let's start with the professional league and play your way up slowly. ”

With that, Shen Lingxue patted Han Cang's shoulder.

Han Cang fell into contemplation: the professionalization and alliance of sports, this business model has been very mature in foreign countries, but in China, the development of badminton alliances is basically in the initial stage, the nature of the club is still between semi-professional and amateur, many so-called club players, are spent money from the provincial team or abroad to invite the platform, similar to the bar singer or commercial performance platform star, the club earns advertising sponsorship and ticket money, such a professional league is difficult to become a climate, And it doesn't pay attention to the training of players, and there is no development prospect.

But the general environment abroad is indeed much better. Han Cang came back to his senses, glanced at Shen Lingxue, and said, "Even if you want to go abroad to do a job, the expenses should be very large, right?" I have given all the money I have saved by playing in the provincial team over the years to my parents, and now I am afraid that I can't even afford to pay for the journey. ”

"Cut." Shen Lingxue smiled disdainfully, and then took out a business card from his pocket, which was printed with the brand logo of Victor - Victory Badminton Racket, which is a mid-range badminton brand in China, and before that, Han Cang had not used any of its products.

Shen Lingxue explained: "This is Shengli's regional brand manager in East China, you can contact him, he should be able to help you get a sponsorship, remember to invite me to dinner when you go back." Come on. ”

After that, I saw Shen Lingxue put on her sunglasses, turned around and left with a smile.

Han Cang: "You're leaving so soon?" ”

Shen Lingxue didn't look back, but waved her hand and said, "I am relieved to see that you haven't given up your love for badminton yet." Brother, you are still young, be cruel to yourself, at least for another ten years! ”

Han Cang was stunned for a moment, looking at Shen Lingxue's back as he gradually moved away, he felt an indescribable emotion in his heart, and couldn't help but raise the corners of his mouth...

……

After a whole day of training in the gym, the intensity of the training that has never been seen made the members complain, and when it was disbanded in the evening, everyone was busy going back to take a bath, and they were exhausted and sweaty during this day's practice, and even the girls couldn't stand it, so they made an appointment to go to the hot spring together at night.

Originally, Wang Yuxuan wanted to call Han Cang to eat together, but he found an excuse and refused, after the disbandment, Han Cang went back to the dormitory directly, Ai Ze went to eat, he was alone in the house, took out the business card that Shen Lingxue gave him during the day, and dialed the phone number above:

"Hello? Who is it? Soon a deep voice rang on the other end of the phone.

Han Cang took a deep breath and said, "Hello, my name is Han Cang, a former badminton player of the Shandong Provincial Team. ”

"Oh! You are Han Cang! Oops, great! I've wanted to contact you for a long time, you know? This year, the Shandong team is sponsored by us, and they all use our rackets ......"

The manager named Zhang Wenlin said a lot on the phone, he didn't say anything Han Cang really didn't know, it turned out that the sponsor of the Shandong team this year had a victory, and the whole team from this year, whether it was a game or a training, all used the badminton rackets provided by the victory company, and this business was run down by Zhang Wenlin, so he was familiar with some high-level executives of the provincial team, and he knew Coach Shen logically, but it was a pity that Han Cang had retired, otherwise, he originally wanted to invite Han Cang to be an endorsement.

"By the way, do you have anything to do with me?" After blowing for a long time, this Manager Zhang finally remembered Han Cang on the other end of the phone.

Han Cang took a deep breath and said, "That...... I want to go abroad to play in a professional league, I heard that you can ...... here."

Before he could finish speaking, Manager Zhang interrupted him: "Oh, I understand, you want to participate in the All England Open, right?" ”

Han Cang chuckled in his heart, All England Open? He was taken aback, thinking that the other party was talking about the All England Badminton Championships, which is the oldest badminton tournament in the world! The host is the United Kingdom, where the sport originated, and although it is not the most expensive badminton tournament, if you want to make a name for yourself in the world of badminton, then winning the All England Open is definitely the best choice, because its historical status and honorary titles are enough to make people ignore the amount of prize money.

Han Cang: "Manager Zhang, are you serious?" All England Open? ”

As far as he knows, the All England Open is also a world event, and players must sign up in the name of the country, except for Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, which are special cases, players from other parts of China will not be able to participate at all, unless you are a national team.

Manager Zhang explained with a smile: "Listen to me first, here's the thing..."

It turns out that the All England Open in Zhang Wenlin's mouth is actually a branch of the All England Badminton Championships, although it is also named Open, but its full name is the All England Open Challenge, which is not limited to countries and regions, player qualifications and point rankings, and anyone can sign up to participate.

Han Cang couldn't help but be a little disappointed when he heard it, this game felt so amateurish, it was more like the kind of entertainment competition or water friend competition held by the club, he didn't understand what the meaning of the existence of this kind of competition was, could it be a copycat deception?

Manager Zhang laughed, and then said: "You don't understand, this British, I have no money in the past two years, and I can't afford to pay such a high bonus, so I ......"

Manager Zhang's situation is similar to what Han Cang himself understands, although the All England Open has a high historical status, it is not among the top events in today's badminton world, because the prize money is not high enough. The qualifying line for the top tournament is 175,000 US dollars, while the All England Open is only 120,000, the reason is that the decline of badminton in the United Kingdom has led to a decline in attention, and it is difficult to attract enough sponsorship, the largest sponsor of the All England Open in the past 20 years is actually Yonex from Japan, and the sponsorship fee is still decreasing year by year.

It is precisely because of the lack of sponsorship that the organizing committee of the All England Open has to find its own way, so there is this All England Open Challenge, hoping that by holding such a non-professional competition that is held at the same time as the Open, it can attract more British attention to badminton and attract more sponsorship.

Manager Zhang: "It just so happens that the company intends to develop overseas business, but the Renjia Open is exclusively sponsored by Yonex, and other brands can't squeeze in if they want to, but this open challenge gives a chance, so ......."

Later, Manager Zhang said a lot more, and Han Cang remembered one of them: winning the championship of the Open Challenge, he will have the opportunity to interact with the winner of the All England Open - this is definitely a very attractive condition for Han Cang, assuming that he wins the championship of the men's singles group of the challenger, then wouldn't he have the opportunity to have direct contact with the national team?

It's really overtaking in a corner.

Han Cang took a deep breath: "I understand, since this is the case, I hope to sign up for this open challenge." I don't know ......."

Manager Zhang: "You want to participate too?" That... That's great! Great, great! Seriously, I'm your fan! Last year......"

Manager Zhang is really able to talk, and then with Han Cangkan for more than ten minutes, and finally finalized the time and place of the meeting, at the end of this month, there is a meeting at the headquarters of Nanjing Shengli Company, when all the candidates who want to participate in the competition will compete in the same field, to determine two places, to participate in the All England Open offline challenge that will be held in Manchester, England in two months.