Love is as simple as badminton.

Chapter 57 Time is almost up

"Welcome back, everyone! I'm your beloved host, Xu Yue."

With the mixed doubles finals coming to a close, the highly anticipated men's singles showdown is finally about to begin!

Will the underdog from the small, run-down school continue their dark horse run, or will the reigning champions of the school team successfully defend their lead? Let's wait and see!

As Xu Yue's passionate voice rang out, all the lights in the arena were turned off, leaving only two spotlights shining on the two contestants, creating a truly electrifying atmosphere.

The badminton hall at Xiangda University was designed to meet the needs of major competitions, and the lighting also has corresponding changing functions. As the two players walked onto the court simultaneously, the lights around the court turned on one by one.

"Should I guard the pass...?"

Upon hearing Xu Yue's commentary, Wang Luo smiled, a smile that seemed both tense and strained.

Is it possible that he was the one causing the disruption?

But this is good too. Compared to being impacted by others and feeling anxious, it's better to challenge others to better demonstrate one's abilities.

He had made thorough preparations against Lin Xiang, and the two sides were not evenly exhausted during the advancement process, so the outcome of the final was actually tilted from the very beginning.

I remember the last time I played against Lin Xiang, he was already scoring over ten points. Judging from Liu Jingle's performance in the semifinals, he has a good chance of winning the game if he takes advantage of his current form.

As long as you can win the first game, give up the next game, and fight hard in the last game, you might be able to win!

Great, this time the advantage should be in my hands.

As Wang Luo stepped onto the court, he was unusually confident.

"0-0, Wang Luo serves!"

"despair"

Faced with Lin Xiang's push and pull, Wang Luo changed his usual rhythm of continuous attacks and instead focused on soft pressure in the middle lane.

When Lin Xiang blocked the net, Wang Luo stopped fighting at the net and instead used a high, well-arc lob to toss the ball.

Its height even exceeds the limit that a camera lens can cover!

Such a shot cannot be hit in a well-maintained home with a low ceiling; it is only possible in a spacious stadium.

At the same time, its speed was not slow either. When Lin Xiang retreated to the vicinity of the baseline, he did not have a good opportunity to attack and could only maintain a continuous downward pressure.

"Okay, Xiao Wang has learned his lesson."

In a secluded corner of the audience, Wang Tianmao nodded leisurely.

"He played with such patience! I thought he'd speed things up in the finals!"

Shi Yuqi seemed thoughtful. "I didn't expect him to slow down and play more rallies on his own initiative? It can't be that he's competing with his junior in basic skills..."

"The 'pull-and-drop' tactic is just the surface; all tactics serve to achieve a specific goal, and ultimately, all goals must be aimed at scoring points."

Wang Tianmao changed his position and crossed his legs.

"Look, although Xiao Wang has significantly reduced the frequency of his attacking runs, he still maintains a downward trajectory overall, and he hasn't relinquished the initiative."

Compared to a direct attack, this type of soft pressure, which uses less force, is actually harder to return the ball to because it cannot be used to propel it back to the backcourt. To get the ball to the backcourt, you have to actively generate power, which means the chance of making a mistake increases.

Xiao Wang's returns were mostly to the middle, which is the center line of the court. The advantage of doing this is that the pressure on all directions of running is evenly distributed, and he won't be pulled at large angles like he was in previous matches.

When Lin Xiang returned the ball to the net, Wang repeatedly tossed it high to the backcourt, which was actually a feint. His focus remained on the small area in front of the net.

As soon as Wang Tianmao finished speaking, Wang Luo seized the opportunity and chopped the ball.

The shot was of extremely high quality, falling close to the net; even Lin Xiang couldn't reach it. Wang Luo decisively stepped back and jumped, securing the first point with a clean and powerful smash.

"roar!"

Wang Luo clenched his fist to encourage himself.

In the audience, students from the School of Physics were also enthusiastically cheering.

So far, Wang Luo is the only player who has managed to gain the upper hand against Lin Xiang! The hope of the entire Physics Department truly lives up to his name!

"Great shot! Very clear thinking."

Chen Zaiyou, who was a guest, also nodded in approval.

He didn't speak much in the previous doubles finals, but now the men's singles is finally in his area of ​​expertise.

"Wang Luo is the champion of the South China Youth Badminton Championships and a high-level athlete specially recruited by our university. Currently, the school team is also grooming him as a key player for next year's high school badminton league!"

Chen Bing praised with a smile.

"His skill level is indeed very high. I feel that I might not have played better than him at his age."

Chen Zaiyou nodded in deep agreement.

However, as he said this, his gaze was fixed on Lin Xiang.

Wang Luo did demonstrate a very good level of technical and tactical skill, but based on my intuition as a professional men's singles player, the two sides were not evenly matched, and Wang Luo played more like a challenger.

Chen Zaiyou is now even more curious about Lin Xiang...

"Snapped!"

Wang Luo broke through Lin Xiang's defense with a precise sideline smash, taking a one-point lead and bringing the score to 8-7.

On the next ball, Wang Luo continued to press softly down the middle, but this time Lin Xiang did not lift the ball. Instead, he quickly flicked the ball to the opposite corner at the net, sending it to Wang Luo's backhand area.

Wang Luo was slightly surprised and chose to use an overhead flick to open up the shot. Unexpectedly, Lin Xiang quickly rotated his hips and jumped to smash the ball, which landed directly on the forehand sideline.

"Snapped!"

Wang Luo made a diving save, but the ball unexpectedly rolled into the net, preventing Lin Xiang from connecting the next shot.

The score reached 9-7, and the audience cheered even louder, but Wang Luo secretly wiped away a bead of sweat.

If the ball hadn't rolled into the net, the score would have been tied.

We must not be careless when facing Lin Xiang. Even if we have a lead, we must always be ready to give it our all!

Starting from the next point, Wang Luo decisively increased the speed and incorporated a lot of attacks into his ball movements.

Lin Xiang's defense was excellent, but it was still breached by Wang Luo's relentless attacks, resulting in two points being lost.

Of course, speeding up also leads to mistakes, and Wang Luo lost a point by hitting the net during the game.

The score was now 11-8, with Wang Luo leading by 3 points going into the technical break.

"call!"

Calming his wildly beating heart, Wang Luo couldn't help but wipe away his sweat.

I didn't expect to be seen through so quickly. Fortunately, he didn't expend much energy in the last game and still has plenty of stamina to use for speeding up.

Although he personally felt that winning the game in this way was somewhat aesthetically unappealing, winning was more important than being handsome.

"The last 30 seconds!"

The referee's voice sounded like a death knell. Wang Luo took a quick sip of his drink and headed towards the field.

As the sport with the highest intensity per unit of time, badminton breaks are less than two minutes long, which can be considered somewhat inhumane.

However, this has become an advantage for him at this moment: Lin Xiang has consumed a lot of energy to advance all the way, so his combat power will probably be reduced, and it will be more difficult for him to keep up with his speed.

Competitive sports are different from numerical comparisons in games. When physical strength declines, it affects not only endurance, but also strength, speed and even concentration.

As long as they can capitalize on Lin Xiang's period of fatigue and downtime...

"Smack!!!"

My train of thought came to an abrupt halt at that moment.

Faced with his attempt to push the ball away, Lin Xiang took two quick steps and flew to the backhand area, intercepting the ball with a smash.

Although Wang Luo had guessed that he would press down, he hadn't expected it to be so forceful and swift, resulting in the return arc being slightly shorter.

Seeing this, Lin Xiang jumped up a second time as if he were pulling himself up from the ground, his wrist flicking rapidly.

"Smack!!!"

Wang Luo didn't even touch the ball this time, until a dull thud came from beside his feet, which snapped him out of his daze.

At that moment, he finally saw Lin Xiang's focused and passionate gaze and couldn't help but shiver.

Wait, is this right?

Why is Lin Xiang even more excited than me?

·

·