Of course, only by competing with the national players who simulate the Olympic state can we achieve greater improvement.

It is precisely because this is a good way to increase performance and gain experience, so the competition for the sparring quota of the Olympic training team every year is no less fierce than the competition for the Olympic quota.

In addition to relying on hard power, Kong Zhendong is also ready to ask coach Yin Xiao to help fight for it.

Finding Coach Yin Xiao, before Kong Zhendong could speak, Coach Yin Xiao said first: "Zhendong, I was about to call someone to find you, you played well in the Championships this time, and the coach in the finals has watched it, praising you for your excellent performance." ”

Kong Zhendong was overjoyed, and even Mi Shuai praised me, so the quota for the training team was easy to get.

Kong Zhendong said: "Coach Yin, I came to you this time to tell you that the national team is selecting the Olympic training team, and I hope to enter the sparring team." ”

"Intensive sparring?" Coach Yin Xiao said with a strange face: "Your sparring quota has been completed, and a coach will take you to Zhengding to report tomorrow." ”

As soon as Kong Zhendong heard that he had entered the Olympic training list, he was so excited that he didn't pay attention to Coach Yin Xiao's expression that he wanted to laugh or not.

After pondering for a while, Kong Zhendong immediately puzzled: "Coach Yin, is it a mistake?" Isn't the men's team's Olympic closed training base in Gusu City, Jiangbei Province, or Stone Town, Jiangbei Province? Why do you report to Zhengding? ”

Coach Yin Xiao finally couldn't help laughing and said: "Who told you that it was the men's team sparring, the head coach of the women's team Zhang Xilin personally ordered your general, Mi Shuai has agreed, in the next two months, you will be the sparring partner of the women's table tennis Olympic training team, and the closed training base of women's table tennis is in Zhengding, Hebei Province." ”

Women's team sparring?

Kong Zhendong was a little unacceptable for a moment, but after thinking about it carefully, he could only accept his fate.

As the name suggests, all training, including the intensity of confrontation, tempo, and even the time of the competition, is simulated in the Olympic competition.

Although Kong Zhendong defeated many national players in the best-of-three team competition one day at a time. However, the Olympics are a four-day competition day in which two gold medals in singles and doubles are decided.

The main singles of the national team are all two-line battles, and they are best-of-five games.

In the initial stages of the qualifiers, a player plays four to six matches a day in singles and doubles.

Simulation training at this intensity, Kong Zhendong can't bear it at all. Therefore, in the intensive Olympic simulation competition, the national players only need to bite to the death and exert force, and the style of play of physical strength, Kong Zhendong's exquisite tactics are all in vain.

On the contrary, with his current physical strength and strength, it is just right to fight against the female senior players. Combined with his subtle tactical changes, he is the most suitable candidate for women's sparring.

Coach Yin Xiao was worried that Kong Zhendong would not be able to turn around because of the women's team's sparring matter, and enlightened: "At this stage, the men's team's training team has not yet been established, and the women's team said that it would borrow you for two months, but the men's team needs you then, and I will call you back." And,"

Coach Yin Xiao whispered to Kong Zhendong: "Coach Zhang Xilin gave a promise, you are different from other sparring partners. You're a tactical sparring partner, and he'll apply for a spot and take you to Barcelona. ”

What's the tactical sparring? Don't play with the female players? Kong Zhendong was unhappy for a while, but when he heard that he could go to Barcelona, he suddenly felt refreshed.

Why is the sparring partner known as the hero behind the scenes? Because you are the hardest to practice, you don't have a part in the game, and I won't take you abroad.

Each time they go out, the men's and women's teams only have one or two sparring places, which is also an opportunity for young players to break their heads and fight for training.

As a member of the team, experiencing the Olympics in person is definitely different from watching the video of the game and analyzing the tactics.

On May 14, Kong Zhendong, accompanied by coach Zhang Chuan of the women's team, took a long-distance bus to Zhengding.

Zhengding, the land of Longxing.

As a suburban county of northern Hebei Province, although the urbanization rate is not high, it is surrounded by mountains and rivers and has a profound historical heritage.

When Kong Zhendong stepped into the Zhengding National Table Tennis Training Center with Zhang Chuan, a familiar and unfamiliar feeling came to his face.

After becoming the head of the female demon king in his last life, he has come to the Zhengding training base dozens of times.

However, at that time, the National Table Tennis Center had covered an area of several hundred acres, with various sports facilities and training programs.

But at this time, the 92-year-old Zhengding training center has a slightly stronger equipment strength than a county sports school.

Feeling the take-off and evolution of the Zhengding training base is not the rebirth of the nirvana of the development of Chinese table tennis.

Zhang Chuan's introduction interrupted Kong Zhendong's thoughts: "This year's arrangement is different from that of previous years, in addition to the ten members of the national team preparing for the Olympics, Coach Zhang also selected a few good seedlings from the provincial teams, saying that this time in Zhengding for a month of trial, the potential is good, and next year to participate in the national team selection." ”

Coach Zhang Chuan looked at Kong Zhendong and said with a smile: "It's said that it's a little seedling, but it's actually as big as you!" ”

Trying out a young player in his early teens at a national training base? This is a situation that has not been seen in more than a decade.

The only explanation is that Coach Zhang Xilin keenly feels the bottleneck and crisis of the development of women's table tennis technology, and hopes to cultivate a good reserve echelon and make a smooth transition.

Kong Zhendong couldn't help but sigh that it was Coach Zhang Xilin's long-term vision of being prepared for danger in times of peace that he was able to cultivate from Ge Xinai in the 70s, to Cao Yanhua in the 80s, to Jiao Zhimin, to Chen Jing, and then to Deng Yalin today.

In contrast, since the 80s of the Chinese men's team, there has been a fault line among the top players, in addition to the outdated technical play, the instability of the coaching level is the core factor. Every manager suffers from constraints and has a short tenure. The orders of the superiors who produce results in a short period of time have also forced them to implement many one-size-fits-all reforms, resulting in a fault crisis in which good seedlings are abolished, resulting in a negative cycle of worse grades and shorter tenure.

On the contrary, under the guidance of Zhang Xilin of the women's team, the consistent coaching ideas, and the long-term vision of being prepared for danger in times of peace, have cultivated a good talent echelon, and the competition results will naturally always be at the peak, and the tenure will be longer and longer, forming a virtuous circle.

He feels that the only thing that can change the decline of the men's team at the moment is Coach Mi. With long-term goals and the courage to break and stand up, we can forge a new Chinese men's table tennis.

If you are afraid of pressure and make some routines that produce results in one or two years, I am afraid that it will be difficult to escape the tragic ending of the previous coaches.

was pondering the similarities and differences between the head coaches of the men's and women's teams, when a voice interrupted his train of thought: "Kong boy, why did you come to the women's team training base to hang around?" ”

Kong Zhendong turned his head to look, and it was actually Deng Yalin, who was the youngest in the main force of the women's team today, but was the first sister.

Zhang Chuan said with a smile: "Yalin came just in time, Zhendong was specially recruited by Coach Zhang from the men's team to accompany your main players to prepare for the Olympics." I'm going to take him to your training place. You came just in time, I have other things, Zhendong will be handed over to you. ”