Chapter 88: Team Pickup Game (1/2)

Chapter 88: Team Pickup Game

Translator: Nyoi-Bo StudioEditor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

In the Beikou Training Center, the meeting room was bustling again.

The meeting had been called by Coach Zhao, the chief coach of the national team. Compared to just days ago, however, he did not look well.

”What is he doing, does he have any idea what is going on? How dare he brag in front of the crowds about how he wants to go to Qatar! Doesn't he know that if he fails we are going to lose?!” Filled with anger, Coach Zhao slammed on the table.

”Coach Zhao, please calm down. I guess Feixiang Lin was unhappy because he did not get the selection.” Coach Fang was trying to comfort Coach Zhao.

”Unhappy? He thinks he can say anything he wants simply because he is unhappy?He must have done it on purpose! He went to the media to put pressure on me, so that we have to let him go! He is trying to intimidate me! This afternoon I received a phone call from Qatar asking about Feixiang Lin's appearance fee requirement! Even the leader from the general department asked me for detailed information. What am I supposed to say?!” Coach Zhao exclaimed, pointing at his phone with anger.

”The media had already spread the news, it is too late. Moreover, the entire nation is anxiously awaiting Feixiang Lin's comeback. We will be in great trouble if we reject him now. Once the nation knows that we refused his application, they will blame on us. They do not care about how and why it is happening,” said a respectful coach.

”Then what do you think? Should we really send Lin to Qatar?” asked Coach Zhao. He turned to Coach Ding. He looked at him seriously and said, ”Coach Ding, Feixiang Lin is your student. This opportunity belongs to your hurdles team. What do you think we should do?”

Coach Ding knew that if he could not offer a reasonable solution that satisfied them he would be in trouble. He cleared his throat and said, ”How about this: we follow our tradition and have a team pickup game that the young athletes can participate in. We select the final participant through this fair competition. Whoever has the best performance will go. This way, we can give the public an answer they can be satisfied with.”

In athletics, people were judged by their abilities. It was common to have a team selection before a big competition. Take American Athletics Teams, for example: they sometimes had news that the last American world champion had been rejected from participating in the next Olympics simply because the champion had not passed the team selection.

If Feixiang Lin failed in the selection game, then the national team would have a convincing reason as to why they had not chosen him.

Coach Zhao's eyes had suddenly brightened. He was too anxious to think about this. He scratched his head and said, ”A team selection game is a good idea. Let's do it!”

...

Feixiang Lin was the brightest star on the team; his every action attracted a lot of attention. Because of this, his application was soon widespread.

The person who had been affected most was Teng Dong.

Teng Dong was one year younger than Feixiang Lin, and was right behind him. He was the second-best competitive hurdler in the country. But to tell the truth, there was still a gap between Feixiang Lin and Teng Dong. Feixiang Lin had won the world championship several times, and was also a world record holder. Teng Dong's greatest achievement was bronze in the International Athletics Championships. He had only entered the final competition in the Athletics World Champions, and had not even taken part in the final competition in the Olympics.

But undeniably, Teng Dong was the second best Asian 110m hurdler after Feixiang Lin. Especially since Feixiang Lin's decline, Teng Dong had taken the number one spot, and the national team had been concentrating on his training. He was hard-working, and in two years he had made a lot of progress. He still might not be as good as Feixiang Lin, but he was capable of putting up a fight against some of the world's best hurdlers.

By this point, Teng Dong had already heard about Feixiang Lin's application. He was also aware of the team selection that would be taking place.

...

”Teng Dong, you must win. Feixiang Lin has been declining for years. He did not even go to our highland training. Even I could defeat him easily.”