After returning to the dorm, Lin Qumu played some games, then opened his system panel.
“System, do you have my specific stats?”
“Beep, yes, please wait, Host.”
Subsequently, the panel changed, from task progress to individual specific stats.
“Host Name: Lin Qumu”
“【Lin Qumu Headshot.JPG】”
“Gender: Clearly a young idol”
“Age: Not yet 18~”
“Occupation: China Men's Singles Badminton Player”
“Strength (Comprehensive Assessment): 75 / 120”
“Speed (Comprehensive Assessment): 78 / 120”
“Explosiveness (Comprehensive Assessment): 69 / 120”
“Smash: 77 / 120”
“Net Play: 75 / 120”
“Flat Drive: 70 / 120”
“Defense: 72 / 120”
“Offensive Awareness: 72 / 120”
“Defensive Awareness: 75 / 120”
“Judgment: 78 / 120”
“Willpower: 81 / 120”
“Pressure Resistance: 66 / 120”
“Overall Evaluation: Even grandpas and grandmas passing by the market would say: Truly so bad.”
“Overall Rating: B+ level player”
Lin Qumu's face turned black.
It was fine for the system to mess around when introducing him; he wasn't someone who couldn't take a joke. But what was this overall evaluation?
What did it mean, “Even grandpas and grandmas passing by would say: Truly so bad”? Was this system trying to cause trouble?
“Beep, Host answered correctly. This system is indeed messing with the Host's mentality to train the Host.”
“Get lost!”
Lin Qumu lay on his bed. The system's prank this time was indeed a big one, but it also objectively reflected some of his shortcomings. It seemed that besides the tasks issued by the system, he also needed some training to improve himself.
“Beep, the Host has finally seen the light. This system is deeply comforted.”
“Shut up, I'll dismantle you in a bit!”
It seemed like every time he thought something, the system had to chime in, as if it wouldn't stop until Lin Qumu was furious.
Lin Qumu pulled up his quilt and went to sleep. Only after a good night's sleep could he make further progress.
In two days, he completed the tasks issued by the system.
Soon, it was time to depart.
Some players from the National Badminton Team, those with high world rankings, were heading to New Delhi to participate in the India Open. Viktor Axelsen, the men's singles world number one, announced his withdrawal from this tournament. Shi Yuqi, already world number two, was the second seed in this event and the highest-ranked men's singles player.
In women's doubles, Jia Yifan pulled a muscle in her left arm during training and had to withdraw. Liu Shengshu/Tan Ning, Zhang Shuxian/Zheng Yu participated, along with two other Young Combination women's doubles pairs.
In mixed doubles, Zheng Siwei suddenly felt unwell and was diagnosed with the flu after treatment, announcing his withdrawal. Feng Yanzhe/Huang Dongping, Jiang Zhenbang/Wei Yaxin participated, along with another Young Combination.
In men's doubles, Liang Weikeng/Wang Chang, Liu Yuchen/Ou Xuanyi participated. This tournament was quite important for Liang Wang. The Indian pair Rankireddy/Shetty, ranked second, had a small points gap with Liang Wang. If Liang Wang were eliminated early and Rankireddy/Shetty won the championship, the world number one spot would belong to them.
In women's singles, all top-ranked players participated: Chen Yufei, He Bingjiao, Zhang Yiman, Wang Zhiyi, Han Yue. Moreover, He Bingjiao was scheduled to face Han Yue in the first round.
In men's singles, Shi Yuqi, Lu Guangzu, Li Shifeng, Weng Hongyang participated. This tournament posed a significant challenge for Shi Yuqi. Naraoka Kodai from Japan, Prannoy and Srikanth from India, Li Zhuoyao from Hong Kong, China, and Zhou Tiancheng and Wang Ziwei from Chinese Taipei were all strong opponents.
Meanwhile, Lin Qumu and other players participating in the Switzerland Open would depart for Geneva the next day.
This time, the National Badminton Team not only brought team doctors. After all, which player doesn't have injuries now? They also brought chefs, and the embassy had already prepared fresh ingredients air-freighted from China. India was notoriously known for its cleanliness and hygiene, so to ensure the safety of the players, the National Badminton Team decided to contact the chefs and the embassy in advance to have them prepare. The National Badminton Team had never done this when going to other countries, but India was different.
The next day, Lin Qumu and his teammates boarded the plane to Geneva. The first-round results of the India tournament were also out.
In men's singles, Shi Yuqi came from behind in three games to defeat Weng Hongyang, even giving Weng Hongyang a five-point thrashing in the second game. Lu Guangzu lost to Kenta Nishimoto from Japan in the first round; this performance was somewhat subdued compared to his previous match in Malaysia where he eliminated Lee Zii Jia in the first round. Li Shifeng also came from behind to defeat Wang Gaolun of Thailand, with scores of 19:21, 21:15, 21:15. However, it seemed Li Shifeng had a foot injury, as his movement was much slower.
In women's singles, He Bingjiao defeated Han Yue, and all other players defeated their opponents.
A major upset occurred in men's doubles. Liang Wang lost to an Indonesian pair and were eliminated in the first round. Liu Ou defeated his opponents and advanced to the next round, as did Chen Boyang/Liu Yi.
In women's doubles, all three Chinese pairs advanced to the next round.
The same was true for mixed doubles.
Geneva.
At this time, Geneva was bathed in bright sunshine. It was hard to imagine a city with a higher latitude than Chengdu still being so sunny. It would be understandable for Guangzhou to be sunny, but Geneva being so sunny seemed a bit illogical.
The team leader for this trip was Coach Xia Xuanze, the head coach of men's singles and vice-chairman of the National Badminton Association, with the rest being young coaches. They arrived in Switzerland one day early for this Switzerland Open, both to rest and to allow the players to adjust quickly.
As they lined up at the airport, Lin Qumu noticed a team not far away whose members looked almost identical to his own.
It was the Japanese team.
Standing at the front was a figure almost everyone in Badminton knew: Kento Momota.
Kento Momota, a player from the same era as Shi Yuqi, and like Shi Yuqi, a tragic figure.
Kento Momota debuted earlier than Shi Yuqi. He first emerged in 2014, defeating Du Pengyu of China in the Thomas Cup semifinals, helping Japan reach the Thomas Cup final. In the final, he played as the second singles and defeated his opponent, earning a valuable point for Japan and helping Japan win the Thomas Cup that year. Incidentally, 2014 was also the year Chen Long's reputation suffered.
In 2015, he defeated Viktor Axelsen, who had recently defeated Chen Long, in the World Tour Finals to win the championship. People recognized that this player was bound to be one of the strongest players in the Rio cycle.
Unfortunately, his professional career suffered a super truncation.
According to Japanese media, Tago Kenichi, Japan's top men's singles player, took his junior Kento Momota to illegal casinos. This incident caused a huge stir.
At the press conference, Tago Kenichi took all responsibility upon himself, pleading with the public and the Japanese Badminton Team to give Kento Momota a chance. However, the Japanese Badminton Team gave both of them very severe punishments: Tago Kenichi and Kento Momota were expelled, Tago Kenichi retired, and both were indefinitely suspended. At this time, the only Japanese men's singles player who could compete was the 38-pound true man Sho Sasaki. Sho Sasaki was already 38 years old then, and his competitive state had severely declined.
In 2017, Kento Momota's suspension was lifted by the Japanese Badminton Association, and he participated in tournaments. At this time, he changed his playing style, no longer relying on reckless aggression as in his youth, but adopting a control-based game. What was terrifying was that his follow-up, defense, and attack capabilities were not weak at all; even players like Viktor Axelsen found it completely difficult to gain an advantage against Kento Momota.
2018 and 2019 were the two years Kento Momota dominated the Badminton world. In 2018, he defeated Chen Long, who had fought hard against Anthony Sinisuka Ginting in the semifinals, in the Thomas Cup final. But in the next three matches: Zhang Nan/Liu Cheng defeated Takuto Inoue/Yuki Kaneko, Shi Yuqi defeated Kenta Nishimoto, Li Junhui/Liu Yuchen defeated Keigo Sonoda/Yuta Watanabe, China defeated Japan 3:1 to regain the Thomas Cup.
However, Kento Momota also performed excellently in individual events. In 2018, Kento Momota defeated Shi Yuqi in the final of the Nanjing World Championships to win the World Championships title. However, Shi Yuqi successfully avenged himself against Kento Momota in the World Tour Finals to win the overall championship.
2019 was Kento Momota's peak period, with eleven titles in one year, which was no joke, and he also achieved fourteen consecutive wins against Viktor Axelsen. However, he lost to Shi Yuqi in the Sudirman Cup final, and was even thrashed by five points in the second game.
However, the global pandemic that swept the world almost destroyed everyone's efforts.
In the 2020 Malaysia Masters, after Kento Momota won the championship, he was involved in a very serious car accident on the way to Kuala Lumpur airport. The driver died on the spot, and Kento Momota suffered an orbital bone fracture, receiving treatment in Malaysia before returning to Japan.
At the Olympics held in 2021, Kento Momota surprisingly lost to the Korean men's singles player Heo Kwang-hee, suffering a first-round exit. In the Sudirman Cup final the same year, he was again defeated by a 'burning-life' Shi Yuqi. However, in the Thomas Cup semifinals that followed, there was Shi Yuqi's highly controversial withdrawal, but Japan was still eliminated by China.
Kento Momota's strength was still present in 2021. He reached the final of the Denmark Open, but lost to Viktor Axelsen in three games. Then, in 2022, Kento Momota's strength suddenly plummeted, with several first-round exits. Even if he reached the Malaysia Masters final, he was handed an eleven-point thrashing by Viktor Axelsen, only scoring eleven points in two games. In 2023, he was almost non-existent, but in the second half of the year, Kento Momota suddenly resurged, winning the Korea Masters title, though he later lost to Shi Yuqi in the quarterfinals of the Japan Kumamoto tournament.
Many people felt incredibly sad about Kento Momota's experience. Compared to the not-so-stable Shi Yuqi, Kento Momota truly dominated the Badminton world for two years, and at that time, only a handful of players could defeat him. But injuries destroyed his confidence and pride. The Kento Momota who once required a 'burning-life' Shi Yuqi to defeat him now needed to 'burn his life' just to reach the current Shi Yuqi.
“Those are the Japanese players,” Lin Qumu said to Lin Yusheng.
Lin Yusheng looked, then nodded: “It's Kento Momota.”
“Hmm, but Kento Momota has to play the Indonesia Masters after this round. Can he manage the turnaround?”
“Alright, instead of worrying about that, you should worry about the tournament calendar. The calendar will be sent to your phone soon, remember to check it.”
“Alright, alright.”
Under the leadership of Coach Xia Xuanze, everyone proceeded to the hotel booked by the event organizers.