National Badminton Team, Chairman's Office.
Coach Zhang Jun was submitting player match applications to the World Badminton Federation when he heard a knock on the door.
“Come in.”
Coach Chen Qiqiu opened the door and walked in. He handed Coach Zhang Jun a file bag containing the materials and applications for the players who needed to compete.
“Alright.” Coach Zhang Jun took it and then submitted the materials to the World Badminton Federation. Coach Chen Qiqiu did not leave but pulled up a chair and sat down.
“What’s wrong? Has Liang Wang’s serve improved?” Coach Zhang Jun asked.
“Their serves are decent, I guess. All I can say is it’s good if they don’t make mistakes at critical moments,” Coach Chen Qiqiu said. Liang Wang’s strong mentality was also evident; as long as they weren’t in an absolute disadvantage, they really might be able to create a comeback miracle.
“Mistakes during normal times are also fatal, and that needs attention.”
“I know. But I’m here for something else this time.”
“Oh? Tell me.”
“Here, take a look.”
Coach Chen Qiqiu handed his phone to Coach Zhang Jun, which contained a video he recorded of Shuang Lin’s match.
At first, Coach Zhang Jun thought it was some other team playing against Liang Wang, but then he realized it was Lin Qumu and Lin Sen, who had just joined the first team.
Lin Sen’s powerful smash indeed made Coach Zhang Jun’s blood boil, but he noticed Lin Qumu.
“This… anyway, within the National Badminton Team, very few can contend with Liang Wang at the net, and for one person to do all this is incredible,” Coach Zhang Jun said, full of admiration.
“Are we just giving such a good prospect to the singles team?”
The meaning of this sentence was clear; the abacus beads had even bounced onto… Coach Sun Jun’s face, who had just entered the room.
“I saw you didn’t respond when I knocked. I thought you were watching the match so loudly that you didn’t hear me. I didn’t expect you were trying to poach my players,” Coach Sun Jun said, looking at Coach Chen Qiqiu and Coach Zhang Jun with a forced smile.
The two looked a bit awkward.
“Let me see?”
Coach Sun Jun looked at the match and said, “I can tell how A Mu is in doubles; it’s indeed not easy to contend with Little Wang at the net. But to try to poach my player just based on this is a bit unreasonable, isn’t it?”
“Ah haha…” Coach Chen Qiqiu laughed awkwardly and scratched his head.
Actually, Coach Sun Jun’s appointment as the head coach of the men’s singles team was quite sudden. The previous head coach of the men’s singles team was Coach Chen Yu, but his biggest problem was that he only had one strategy: lob and drop. No matter who he faced, Coach Chen Yu would say to lob and drop, and wait for opportunities. If he faced a player with insufficient stability like Lee Zii Jia, there might indeed be opportunities, but for players with height and arm span like Viktor Axelsen, lobbing and dropping was their most delicious snack.
Especially in the delayed Thomas Cup semi-finals in 2021, facing Kento Momota, who had previously suffered a loss and was clearly prepared this time, Coach Chen Yu still insisted on the lob and drop tactic. This was a gift for Kento Momota, who liked lob and drop. After Shi Yuqi couldn’t perform, his mentality collapsed, leading to the extremely negative incident of retiring at match point.
After this incident, Coach Chen Yu was likely criticized and then demoted to the provincial team, with Coach Sun Jun taking over as the head coach of the men’s singles team. At that time, Shi Yuqi, who had been banned for one year, had thoughts of retiring, but Coach Sun Jun made efforts to persuade Shi Yuqi to return, and he reached the quarterfinals in his comeback at the 2022 World Championships, losing to Anthony Sinisuka Ginting for the first time. Following that were two championship trophies: the Denmark Open and the Australian Open.
Everyone saw Coach Sun Jun’s dedication and efforts. Coach Sun Jun’s contribution to Shi Yuqi’s current achievements is indispensable. To actually try to poach someone in front of Coach Sun Jun, Coach Chen Qiqiu truly didn’t dare to speak up.
“How about this, so you don’t say anything about me,” Coach Sun Jun said. “I’ll call A Mu over and see what he thinks. We need to respect his choice, right?”
“Exactly.” With a way out, Coach Chen Qiqiu and Coach Zhang Jun immediately took it. Coach Sun Jun took out his phone to contact Shi Yuqi, asking him to bring Lin Qumu over.
Ten minutes later, Shi Yuqi arrived at the office with Lin Qumu. Coach Sun Jun told Shi Yuqi to go back to training and called Lin Qumu to his side.
“A Mu, the match you just played impressed these two, and now they want to poach you in front of me,” Coach Sun Jun said. “What are your thoughts? Stay in the singles team or switch to the doubles team?”
“Coach Sun, you know me, I will definitely choose singles steadfastly,” Lin Qumu said without hesitation.
Such a resolute attitude left Coach Zhang Jun and Coach Chen Qiqiu a bit disappointed. Coach Chen Qiqiu, somewhat unwilling, asked, “Are you really not considering it at all?”
“No, thank you, Coach Chen and Coach Zhang, for your kindness, but I’m really not interested in doubles and don’t want to play doubles. But if there’s a need, I can play; it’s also for the glory of the country.”
“Good.” Coach Zhang Jun nodded. “Well said. A Mu, thank you, you can go train now.”
“Okay.” Lin Qumu bowed, walked out of the office, and closed the door behind him.
Not long after, he heard Coach Sun Jun’s laughter, which couldn’t be muffled by the wall, clearly very proud.
In the afternoon and evening, it was another round of grueling strength training. This time, Lin Qumu planned to complete at least two tasks.
In the gym, Lin Qumu’s breathing and low growls echoed.
In the evening, Lin Qumu opened a game, then opened the system panel.
“Task progress: Squats completed, Bicep Curls 1200/2000”
“Task progress: Backhand 3000/5000, Smash 4000/10000, Defense 2100/5000, Flat Push 2700/5000”
Still quite a bit left. I should be able to finish the strength training tomorrow, right? After finishing strength training, Lin Qumu planned to spend some time stretching to relax his muscles.
“System, are the rewards issued all at once or as each task is completed?”
“Beep, all at once. Host, please note the deadline. Your strength training deadline is less than 24 hours away.”
“Alright, alright, goodbye.”
Ending the conversation with the system, Lin Qumu spent half an hour playing games, then washed up and went to bed.
The next day, Lin Qumu spent the morning on the court and the afternoon in the gym. He hoped this would be the last time he entered the gym before completing the tasks.
“System, what are the rewards for the series tasks?”
“Beep, Host, please note, you should now focus on your series tasks. If you perform well, the system will introduce them to you at an opportune time.”
“Just tell me, as your Host, I should at least have that much authority, right?”
“Beep, detecting… Host, please note, the luxurious prizes for the series tasks are: Peak Chen Long Backhand Technique, Peak Lee Chong Wei Movement Ability, Peak Shi Yuqi Technical Collection, Peak Taufik Hidayat Forehand Smash, Peak Zhang Nan Defensive Drop Shot Technique – choose two out of five.”
“Beep, the ultimate prize for the series tasks is: Peak Lin Dan Template Fusion.”
Lin Qumu was stunned. What kind of luxurious prizes were these?! Especially that ultimate grand prize, it actually said Peak Lin Dan Template?!
Lin Qumu already had an idea for the two out of five techniques, but he was truly envious of this Peak Lin Dan Template.
How terrifying was Peak Lin Dan? Let’s put it this way: only the Peak Lee Chong Wei of that time could contend with Lin Dan, and Chen Long in his rising period couldn’t gain any advantage at all. One should know that Chen Long in his rising period could play a 4-6 or even 5-5 split with Peak Lee Chong Wei.
If Peak Lin Dan were in today’s badminton world, then the badminton world would once again be overshadowed by Lin Dan.
Many people thought that Lin Dan, as a former player, would be defeated by current players because technology progresses. But they were terribly wrong; if Lin Dan were truly in today’s badminton world, it wouldn’t be him trying to defeat others, but others racking their brains on how to lose less embarrassingly.
“System, are there templates of other people?”
“Beep, yes. If the Host is not satisfied with the ultimate prize after completing the series tasks, you can change it freely.”
“No, no, no, I’m very satisfied, I’m very satisfied.”
Lin Qumu ended his conversation with the system and immediately became energetic, dedicating himself even more to training.
Indeed, with this stimulation from the system, Lin Qumu became even more focused on training, almost training with single-minded devotion. Even when the coaches spoke to him, he ignored them. The coaches almost had to pull off Lin Qumu’s headphones and shout into his ear.
Less than two hours before the deadline, Lin Qumu finally completed his strength training. Immediately, he felt a different sensation in his body. His arms were stronger, and his leg muscles had somewhat formed; he could even feel the power contained in his thigh muscles.
Lin Qumu happily wanted to move around but was hit by a wave of soreness. It seemed that even with his good physique, completing such a large training volume in a short time was too much for Lin Qumu’s body.
After stretching for a long time, the soreness was barely relieved. At this moment, the Spain coach came to Lin Qumu with a box and a mischievous smile, saying, “Lin, let me show you something good. Go to the physical therapy room.”
Lin Qumu secretly swallowed his saliva and followed him to the physical therapy room.
Agonized wails came from the physical therapy room. Lin Qumu saw Shi Yuqi painfully clutching his ankle. That severe injury in 2019 made Shi Yuqi lose his consistency and left him with permanent, unerasable pain. Just as Shi Yuqi said in an interview at the National Games in 2021: “I can’t escape the injuries; they will always be with me, but I still have to carry the banner of China’s men’s singles.” At that time, Lin Qumu felt that these were the most romantic and resolute words a person, ravaged yet still strong, could utter. It was just a pity that his retirement from the Thomas Cup caused him much controversy.
“Lie on the bed.”
Lin Qumu nervously lay on the physical therapy bed. The coach took out the most feared item for all athletes. It gleamed coldly, appearing so ruthless under the light. It made any athlete who dared to be stubborn let out the most agonizing wails.
The fascia knife.
“Oh!!!”
“Gah—”
“Eek—”
“Oh oh oh oh oh—”
“* / & $ & 3; @ 、 $”
Successive wails and beautiful Chinese expletives echoed through the physical therapy room. Even Shi Yuqi temporarily forgot that he was undergoing physical therapy. Looking at the wailing Lin Qumu, he also recalled the pain he felt when his fascia was scraped.
That scene was no different from Lin Qumu’s current state.
After the scraping, Lin Qumu shed two tears, looking utterly dejected, like an innocent little white flower from whom something had been taken.
“Alright, don’t be like that, I’m a good person,” the Spain coach said, then packed up his tools and left.
— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
Well, I have a teacher qualification exam to take and need to study, so I’m taking three days off, hehe. Although I don’t think anyone reads my novel anyway.