Chapter 1285
The Competition Becomes More Intense
Now Xu Xin's return was fast and fierce. The ping-pong ball crossed the table like a white lightning and hit the opponent's corner of the table heavily!
The opponent obviously didn't expect the ball to be so tricky. He took a hasty step to save the ball, but could only watch the ball bounce out of bounds.
The coach on the sidelines slapped his thigh. The electronic scoreboard jumped - 2 to 1, the Chinese team took the lead!
Xu Xin stood on the left side of the table, gently stroking the smooth surface of the ping-pong ball with his fingers.
The spotlight on the top of the venue reflected a dazzling white light on the surface of the ball. She narrowed her eyes slightly, but her gaze was fixed on the player on the opposite side of the table like a hawk.
The opponent is now hunched over with his legs shoulder-width apart, and the way he holds the racket in his right hand shows the typical characteristics of a European horizontal racket style of play.
Xu Xin noticed that his stance was about five centimeters to the left than usual, with more of his weight on his left foot - this was the preparatory posture for defending against long balls.
"Short ball." Xu Xin muttered to himself and exchanged glances with Shaojie who was standing diagonally behind him.
Shaojie nodded imperceptibly, his body leaning forward slightly, ready to attack the third board.
The referee indicated that there were five seconds left on the serve.
Xu Xin took a deep breath and threw the ball high into the air.
At the moment the ball reached its highest point, his wrist shook slightly at a speed that was difficult to capture with the naked eye, and there was a slight "click" sound when the racket touched the ball.
The ping-pong ball drew a strange arc and fell rapidly just after passing the net.
The opponent player obviously didn't expect this change. He rushed forward with his tall body and barely managed to pick the ball up with his backhand before it was about to bounce for the second time.
The return ball was high and floating, like a carefully prepared gift.
Shaojie was already ready to go, and the force of his legs pushing against the ground made him fly into the air.
There was a loud "bang" when the racket touched the ball, and the ping-pong ball hit the opponent's table like a cannonball.
The ping-pong ball bounced back with incredible force, making a sharp whistling sound in the air.
Shaojie still maintained the posture after the smash, his pupils suddenly contracted - the ball was actually received back!
At the critical moment, the opponent player used his backhand to slice the ball.
The ping-pong ball hit the net with a strong backspin and paused strangely on the table for a moment.
"Danger!" Xu Xin shouted and instinctively rushed out.
Her racket reached the ball in the last centimeter, and with a flick of her wrist, she managed to lift the ball.
The return ball was high and slow, and it seemed like a perfect opportunity for the opponent.
The opponent's eyes flashed with brilliance, and he leaped up like a cheetah, ready to deliver a fatal blow.
In that split second, Shaojie made a jaw-dropping move - he flew sideways, with the racket almost parallel to the ground, and he miraculously completed a "moon-catching shot from the bottom of the sea"!
The ping-pong ball flew past the edge of the net, lightly touched the opponent's table, and then bounced to the side.
The opponent's smash hit the target but missed, and he almost fell down due to inertia.
3:1! The moment the scoreboard flipped, deafening cheers broke out in the stadium.
Shaojie took advantage of the situation and rolled sideways to stand up. The hair on his forehead was soaked with sweat, and it was shining brightly under the spotlight.
The opponent held onto the table to steady himself, but his eyes became sharper.
He slowly straightened up, his left hand unconsciously stroking the rubber of the racket, and the noise in the audience seats receded like the tide.
Since Shaojie scored, Shaojie was the next to issue the ball.
He threw the ball extremely high, almost touching the steel frame of the ceiling, but as it was falling, it stopped at a certain moment as if violating the laws of physics.
The opponent's pupils suddenly shrank. This was clearly the rumored "hover serve"! His body reacted before his mind did, and his sneakers made a harsh squeaking sound on the floor.
The ping-pong ball split into three afterimages the moment it touched the table.
The opponent player immediately drew a silver arc with his racket, but suddenly changed direction when he was about to touch the ball. He used a seemingly suicidal slice!
The opponent's dunk was frozen in mid-air, and the ball rolled down the net post as if under a spell.
Xu Xin and Shao Jie cooperated well, and the ping-pong ball hit the target directly with a bang!
It was obvious when the ball was hit that they were almost losing, but the two of them were already powerful players and they were completely disdainful of this kind of ball. Instead, they waited for the moment when the ping-pong ball fell steadily on the table before swinging the ping-pong rackets in their hands forward!
The opposing players also realized the importance of this goal. They had just lost two goals in a row. If they continued to lose like this, the score gap would definitely widen. So now they could not just sit there and wait for death. Instead, they should cheer up!
Prepare to resist Xu Xin and Shao Jie.
At this time, Xu Xin and Shao Jie cooperated very well, and Xu Xin used his signature skill "hitting the ball from behind".
While running at high speed to save the ball, she suddenly turned around, and the racket drew a graceful arc from behind. The ping-pong ball seemed to be cast under a magic spell, drawing an incredible curve and landing steadily on the opponent's table.
The opposing players were obviously shocked when the ball came at them, but after the shock they still had to face it positively!
Especially when the ping-pong ball fell on the table, they immediately exerted all their strength and hit the ping-pong ball directly onto Xu Xin's table with a bang. When this ball was hit, they were full of confidence in themselves!
Similarly, when Xu Xin saw such a ball, he couldn't help but frown a little bit. He clearly hit the ball to the opponent's table, but at this time, it was hit back by the two of them. He couldn't help but frown, and even wondered if he had made a mistake in the previous shot? !
If this is the case, then Xu Xin must make some changes immediately in the future, so as not to let the two opposing players see through his flaws! However, after playing a few more rounds, the opponent's player hit it by mistake, which directly made Xu Xin completely relieved!
Even when the ball was hit, he could clearly feel the opponent's strength slowly weakening, which gave him a great opportunity to hit the ball directly onto the opponent's table!
Just when everyone thought that the opponent player had no time to react, he forced to turn back again at this moment. This made Xu Xin admire the opponent, and the player was really good at playing!
But to be honest, anyone who can get to this point today must have certain abilities. It is impossible to make it to the end with just his mediocre skills. So now Xu Xin is aware of the danger and is approaching it step by step!
The sound of the ping-pong ball rang out in front of him. At the same time, Shaojie also felt the power of the ping-pong ball. He immediately cooperated with Xu Xin. When Xu Xin hit the ping-pong ball, he immediately made way for Xu Xin to feel comfortable!
After a few rounds of this, they found that the opponent always wanted to restrain them, and even wanted to take the initiative. This made Shaojie frown. This was not the time for the two of them to dominate. Now it was about who had the ability to take the ball at the right time!
The play on the stage was so exciting, and the audiences below were watching every move carefully, and even when it came to the exciting playing parts, they couldn't help but cheer loudly!
This uncontrollable shouting directly reached the ears of Xu Xin and Shao Jie. They could truly feel that their teammates in the national team were cheering for them. With this hope, Xu Xin and Shao Jie started again.
The sound of ping-pong continued to ring loudly among the four people!
The sound was sometimes deep, sometimes shallow, and sometimes, it was deafening again among the four of them. In a word, no one would give in to anyone else, no one would let themselves suffer a loss at this moment, and no one would give the other side any chance!
Especially at the moment when Xu Xin hit the ping-pong ball just now, he directly questioned the opponent's player to death, but the opponent refused to admit defeat or give up at this time, so that when the ball was hit over, there was some resistance!
This is how playing ping-pong is. When you think you might win, the ping-pong ball suddenly becomes unobedient and the opponent player directly counterattacks!
This abnormal action made Xu Xin anxious. He thought that the opponent was trying to test them. If so, they would be in trouble next time!
Because just now, all their tricks were displayed, giving the opposing players spare time to analyze their playing style, which is very disadvantageous for Xu Xin and Shao Jie!
At this critical moment, the opponent player hit the ping-pong ball directly with a bang, and the score changed at this time.
"4 to 1!" the referee announced loudly.
Xu Xin and Shao Jie had won several consecutive goals against the opponent, but when the opponent saw the score, they were dumbfounded and even stood there in a daze!
And the coach of the opposing player also started to get anxious at this time!
Decisively called a technical timeout.
At this moment, two opposing players walked to the sidelines and took the towels handed over by their teammates. Sweat had soaked their backs, and the cloth stuck to their skin, bringing a cool feeling.
"Pay attention to his backhand," the coach lowered his voice and quickly moved his fingers on the tactical board. "Although his backhand is powerful, his ability to change direction is poor. Next, give him more short forehand balls to force him to turn sideways."
However, Xu Xin could see this excitement, and it was obvious that the excited gestures of the opposing coach showed that they were also adjusting their tactics.
If this is as they guessed, then they must be careful next time!
After a brief break, Xu Xin and Shao Jie returned to the table.
The noisy cheers in the stadium gradually quieted down, and I could clearly hear my own strong heartbeat.
Next is the crucial point. Whoever gets this point will have a psychological advantage.
Xu Xin decided to take a risk. She chose a serving method that she rarely uses - "ghost serve".
The ball was thrown high into the air, and on its way down, his racket gently rubbed the bottom of the ball at a nearly vertical angle.
After the ping-pong ball passed the net, it had almost no forward momentum. It jumped lightly on the opponent's table as if it was cast by magic, and then bounced back strangely.
Thunderous applause broke out from the sidelines. Xu Xin heard her coach excitedly shouting "good shot", but she forced herself to stay calm. This unexpected move only temporarily disrupted the opponent's rhythm, and the real battle was still to come.
The opposing player was obviously irritated by this serve.
In the following attacks, the power of his return shots became stronger and stronger, and the speed of the balls was so fast that they left afterimages in the air.
Xu Xin felt his wrist starting to ache, but he gritted his teeth and tried to make every return shot as accurate as possible.
The atmosphere in the venue was so tense that it almost froze, and the cheers from the audience formed a rhythmic wave of sound.
When the ping-pong ball was hit, Xu Xin chose a seemingly ordinary side spin, but the subtle change of his wrist at the moment of touching the ball caused the ball to produce irregular rotation.
The opponent player returned the ball to the table, giving Xu Xin and his partner an excellent attacking opportunity.
With a clean forehand burst, the ping-pong ball hit the opponent's table hard.
When the opponent player saw such a ball coming towards him, he immediately swung the table tennis racket in his hand and hit it directly!
When the ball was hit, Xu Xin and Shao Jie were dumbfounded. They never expected that the opponent player could actually catch such a sudden ball from them!
And just now, they saw that the opponent player seemed to be risking everything, and every board was thrown with amazing power.
But at this moment, Xu Xin and Shao Jie looked at each other and quickly adjusted their state. The following duel became more intense, and the table tennis ball drew a dazzling trajectory on the table.
Xu Xin felt her palms sweating slightly, and the "crackling" sound of the rubber and the ball rubbing against each other vibrated on her eardrums. She saw Shaojie bending over, ready to pounce at any time like a cheetah.
The opponent player suddenly used a rare reverse spin shot.
The ping-pong ball flew towards him in a strange arc. Xu Xin's pupils shrank, but his body reacted faster than his brain.
With a deft flick of the wrist, the racket subtly tilted fifteen degrees the moment it touched the ball.
"Snapped!"
The ball brushed the net and bounced lightly on the opponent's table, like a ballerina turning on tiptoe. The opponent's racket was almost empty!
Fortunately, he reacted in time and hit the ping-pong ball directly over, which also served as a reminder to Xu Xin and Shao Jie.
Those are the two opposing players. They are not just two athletes, but a battle of life and death with them!
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(End of this chapter)