Chapter 202: Hang On (1/2)
Chapter 202: Hang On
Translator: Nyoi-Bo StudioEditor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
According to the diagnosis of the team doctor, Haiquan Fang had not hurt his bone or joint. The worst case scenario would be a ligament strain; it could also just be a muscle strain. Therefore, Dai Li had volunteered to give a massage to Haiquan Fang. If Haiquan Fang's injury had been very serious, Dai Li would not have had the guts to stand up.
Dai Li's rehabilitative massage could not cure traumatic injuries, but it was very helpful for injury recovery. Regardless of if it was a ligament strain or a normal muscle strain, the rehabilitative massage would be effective. At the very least, it could alleviate Haiquan Fang's pain. Together with the effect of low-temperature analgesic spray, Haiquan Fang should be able to handle a trial jump.
Li Xue also knew Dai Li's massage was very effective. Before, Dai Li had given massage treatments to the athletes of the national team who had suffered from sprains. The alleviation effect of his treatments was very obvious.
”Dai Li, do we have enough time for the massage? What are the odds of recovery?” Li Xue couldn't help asking.
”I'm uncertain about the odds, but I can at least give it a try.” As Dai Li said this, he squatted beside Haiquan Fang and said to Li Xue, ”Coach, please buy me as much time as you can.”
Without any hesitation, Li Xue took out his cell phone and dialed a number.
”Director Chen, I am Li Xue of the Track and Field Team. We need your help for an urgent incident. We need some extra time before the long jump final. Yes, just postpone the game! We are the host, so it shouldn't be very difficult to postpone the match for a bit, right?”
A moment later, Li Xue hung up and said to Dai Li, ”The third trial jump has just finished. The appearing sequence of the athletes will be reset according to the results. I bought you fifteen minutes in this period, and that's as much as you're going to get; don't expect more.”
...
After three trial jumps, some were happy with the results, while others were sad. The happy ones were the top eight players, naturally, while the sad ones were the bottom four athletes, who had already been knocked out.
Three players of the national team had entered the top eight. Besides them, three players from the Saudi Arabian team had also entered the top eight. Therefore, the last three trial jumps would be a competition between the players from these two countries.
In the athletes' preparation area, Sardo, a Saudi-Arabian player, was quite anxious.
”Why hasn't the fourth trial jump started? They only need to reset the appearing sequence according to the results; why do they need such a long time?” Sardo complained.
The head coach of the Saudi-Arabian team besides him consoled him immediately, saying, ”Sardo, take it easy. The game should start soon.”
”I have been waiting for more than ten minutes! Now I am only second. I will surpass the guy in first place in the next three trial jumps. How could I be defeated by a nobody?”
As an immigrant athlete, Sardo's ancestral home was in Morocco, Africa, which was a country dominated by Arabians. Because of an identical religion and culture, many middle-east countries recruited immigrant athletes from Morocco.
Sardo was one of the best immigrant athletes. In the last Asian Games, he had won a long jump gold medal for the Saudi-Arabian team. This time, he was determined to defend his championship. From a performance perspective, Sardo was indeed strong enough to win the championship. The threshold result of eight meters was not a difficult task for Sardo.
Perhaps because of his eagerness of win, Sardo had chosen the risky technique for his first three trial jumps, among which only one jump had been successful; the other two jumps had failed. However, the result of his successful jump was 7.85 meters, which ranked 2nd among all participants.
Of course, Sardo was not satisfied with 2nd place; he wanted to win the championship by sweeping the other players. What he had not expected, however, was the emergence of Haiquan Fang, who had ruined his plan. More importantly, Haiquan Fang was an unknown newbie in the international matches. How could Sardo tolerate being defeated by a novice athlete?
Because of this, Sardo eagerly hoped the match would start immediately. He planned to obtain a score that would be enough to win the championship. He hated being in 2nd place, especially behind Haiquan Fang.
Beside him, the coach of the Saudi-Arabian team said, ”Sardo, take your time. Sooner or later the championship will be yours. The guy who ranks 1st now was injured in the second trial jump. He has forfeited his third trial jump, which means his injury is too serious, and he cannot return to the match. I think he will continue to forfeit his last three trial jumps.”
”The match didn't start until now; it's possible that they postponed the match to buy time for his treatment!” Sardo had seen a lot of things in his time, so he realized what was going on.
”I have spoken with the judge, and the judge told me the match has to be postponed for fifteen minutes to cooperate with the TV broadcast,” the coach of the Saudi-Arabian team said, ”It is quite normal. The matches broadcasted on TV always consider their sponsors. Even the Super Bowl has commercial breaks! Besides, it's only fifteen minutes. Do you really think they could help the injured guy return to the match in fifteen minutes? If they could, this guy wouldn't have forfeited his third jump!”
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