No, his statements are contradictory, sometimes it's training, sometimes it's a friendly match, and there are many suspicious points.
Xie Shi'an wanted to ask more questions, but Wan Jing walked towards him.
"The match is about to start, who should I call?"
Xie Shi'an had no choice but to suppress his doubts for the time being.
"Coach Liang, I'll hang up now. The finals are about to begin. Please tell Coach Yan to take care of himself."
"Wait for us to go back."
Her last words were extremely heavy.
Looking at Yan Xinyuan, who was unconscious and covered in tubes in the ICU, he turned his back, covered the stethoscope with his hand, and barely managed to control his emotions. With red eyes, he said, "Well, good, Lao Yan... is also looking forward to your return."
The critical condition notice has been issued, and the provincial team leaders rushed to the hospital upon hearing the news.
The ventilator was already on, and the doctor came out and said, "The patient's condition is not good. You should be prepared. He has late-stage lung cancer. There's not much point in trying to save him now; it will only cause him more suffering."
Coach Liang held his hand and pleaded.
"No matter what, please save him, let him... let him hold on a little longer!"
"Don't worry, we will do our best. We've used all available treatments. Now it mainly depends on the patient's will to live. If they can get through tonight, they'll have survived." After saying that, the doctor pulled up his mask again and went back inside to work.
Seeing him lying on the bed with his eyes closed, completely unconscious, Coach Liang thought for a moment, took out his phone, opened the game video, and even though he knew the man couldn't hear him, he still turned the volume up to the maximum, pressed it against the glass, and looked at him, hoping to give him some fighting spirit.
"Good afternoon, viewers. Welcome to today's final. I'm commentator Zhao Zhao, and I'm Jiang Yunli."
"It's an honor to have Mr. Jiang as our guest in the studio again today to commentate on today's match with me. Mr. Jiang, could you predict the score for today's match?"
Jiang Yunli thought for a moment.
"It will be very close. It's unlikely that there will be another overwhelming score like in the semi-finals. I have a feeling it will be around 2-1."
"Who's 2 and who's 1?"
Jiang Yunli laughed.
"It's hard to say now. Although we all hope Xie Shi'an can win, the arena is the arena, full of unknown possibilities. The two sides are evenly matched, so it mainly depends on the players' performance on the field."
"From the National Championships to the World Championships and now to the Olympics, these two are old friends and old rivals. When two strong teams meet, who will prevail? The venue is ready and the match is about to begin. Let's wait and see!"
As the referee's whistle blew.
Xie Shi'an served first. Wearing a red and white Chinese team uniform, she rushed to the net like lightning, her posture as slender as a pine tree.
Kim Nam-ji was quick to follow, keeping up closely behind.
Wan Jing stood outside the field for a while, then suddenly received a phone call. His expression instantly turned grim, filled with worry.
He glanced at Xie Shi'an, turned his back, and quietly left through the athletes' tunnel, walking to the empty corridor outside the stadium.
While everyone's attention was focused on the game, Park Min-heon keenly noticed that the Chinese team's head coach had disappeared.
He gave the assistant coach a wink, who nodded, looked around, and then left through the athletes' tunnel.
"What?! He's already critically ill?! Wasn't he still..." When he called me to entrust his children to me, he could at least sit up and say a complete sentence. I never expected his condition to deteriorate so quickly.
He advised him to come to Beijing for treatment as soon as possible, and that he would find the best hospital for him no matter how much it cost.
But Yan Xinyuan just smiled and said, "Forget it, there's no need. I know my own body. Once I'm on the operating table, I might not be able to get off. Why suffer like that? I'd rather have a whole body."
"There are only two things in my life that I regret for the rest of my life: one is not winning a Grand Slam, and the other is being too strict with Niu Niu, placing all my hopes on her, which led to an accident during her training and her passing away."
"Old Wan, I only have one last thing to ask of you. Please... for the sake of our years of brotherhood, take care of those two children for me. Don't let them be left without anyone to rely on."
Thinking of this, Wan Jing was filled with remorse. He slammed his fist against the wall, his eyes red, and asked in a low voice, "How is the situation now?"
"The doctors are doing everything they can to save him, but it's hard to say whether he'll make it through the night..."
"Great! Beautiful! Xie Shi'an's decisive shot has ended the game, giving us a 1-0 lead!"
Hearing the cheers coming from inside the stadium, Wan Jing turned around and said urgently as he walked in, "I have to hang up now. Shi An is still competing. If anything happens, you must contact me immediately."
Someone hurried past him, wearing a mask and a baseball cap, heading in the opposite direction. He was completely focused on the game and Yan Xinyuan, and didn't notice at all that this person was wearing the South Korean team uniform.
After the call ended, the commentator's voice came from the phone. Coach Liang was stunned for a moment, then suddenly stood up, walked to the glass door, raised the phone, and pounded on the glass with red eyes.
"Old Yan! Look! Shi'an won! She won the first game! She'll definitely be fine in the rest of the matches. She'll be back soon. Hang in there, do you hear me?! Old Yan!"
Even though his voice couldn't be heard, at that moment, although his eyes were closed, his eyeballs still moved slightly.
The readings on the monitor rose slightly again, and the medical staff surrounding him breathed a sigh of relief.
Coach Liang stood outside the door, and he too burst into tears of joy.
After the first set ended, Wan Jingcai returned, and Jian Changnian kept saying, "Coach Wan, where were you? You didn't see the last few balls. Shi An completely annihilated Kim Namji."
"It's good that you won. Let's do our best in the next game and try to finish it quickly so we can go home as soon as possible."
On the South Korean side, Park Min-heon was also making tactical arrangements.
"The next game can be summed up in one word: stall."
Kim Nam-ji's smile was tinged with disdain.
"Why? It's not like I can't beat her. I lost the last game because I made a few mistakes, but I won't do that this time."
Park Min-heon patted her shoulder and lowered his voice.
"Nan Zhi, when have I ever harmed you? Just listen to me. One word: stall. Stall until she gets anxious and impatient. Only by taking the initiative will she make mistakes."
The referee blew the whistle again, and Park Min-heon shoved the man.
"Go ahead, and don't forget, we only have one goal: the gold medal."
At the start of the second game, Kim Nam-ji maintained a certain distance from her, no longer engaging in net battles, but patiently lobbing the ball, with both players exchanging shots to the backcourt, testing their stamina and endurance.
"Jin Nanzhi changed her tactics this round. She knows that she can't beat Xie Shi'an in terms of fast attacks and quick kills," Jiang Yunli said.
"Of course, Xie Shi'an is currently the world record holder for the highest shuttlecock speed in women's singles badminton."
"The two sides exchanged shots for more than one beat."
20.
30.
50.
"70!"
"No way, they're still fighting!"
The commentator's expression was also somewhat shocked.
Jiang Yunli's expression gradually became serious.
"These long rallies with back-and-forth exchanges are extremely physically demanding for athletes. There's still another game to go, so Xie Shi'an needs to find a way to break the deadlock quickly and not let her keep leading him by the nose like this."
In competitive sports, there are basically no all-around heroes. Everyone has their strengths and weaknesses. Everyone has different strengths and weaknesses, and their playing styles are also different. For example, Kim Nam-ji is good at playing with her left hand, but her right backhand is her fatal weakness.
Xie Shi'an excels at fast breaks and quick kills, possessing explosive power. However, the longer the game drags on, the more her stamina is depleted, much like how sprinters are not suited for long-distance running. Moreover, and most importantly, she hasn't had a break since the Asian Cup.
Kim Nam-ji's off-season is long, giving her ample time to adjust her form, improve her stamina, and study strategies to counter her.
"Xie Shi'an doesn't want to give up this ball! It's already been 88 shots, we can't wait any longer, Xie Shi'an!"
The moment the commentator finished speaking, Xie Shi'an looked at the badminton shuttlecock flying towards him, gritted his teeth, and jumped up to smash it under pressure.
She wanted to use her speed, which she was so proud of, to end this long tug-of-war, but unexpectedly, the ball was blocked again.
Kim Nam-ji sent the ball over the net, a sarcastic smile playing on his lips.
"Is your appendicitis fully cured? You must be feeling terrible after all that exertion. Why don't you just let me have a go?"
Xie Shi'an gritted his teeth and breathed heavily.
"Shut up, it's not time to admit defeat yet."
"Yeah?"
She suddenly stopped smiling, seemingly about to hit a flat shot, but then made a feint with her right hand in front of her. Xie Shi'an subconsciously followed her movement to find the ball's landing point, and after a moment, he realized something was wrong.
However, it was too late.
The ball landed in the left half of the court, where she couldn't get back to defend in time.
Xie Shi'an leaped to snatch it, but to no avail.
"Congratulations to Kim Nam-ji on winning the second game! The score is now tied 1-1, and we've reached match point!"
Kim Namji straightened up, looked at her panting with her knees on her hands, and slightly curled the corners of her lips.
"I didn't expect you to have a weakness too."
Xie Shi'an gave her a cold look, and returned to the rest area surrounded by the crowd. Wan Jing handed her a bottle of water.
"Don't rush. Let go of the balls you should let go of. Conserving energy is the most important thing. Play to your strengths and avoid your weaknesses. How can you go head-to-head?"
Xie Shi'an knew he had been a bit too hasty in this round, wanting to take the game 2-0 in one go, but he didn't expect Jin Nanzhi to be so resilient. Once she stuck to him, it was like a piece of chewing gum, and the score difference was impossible to widen.
"I know, I just don't want to give up any ball, and I just want to finish the game as soon as possible."
Jian Changnian looked at the jubilant South Korean team and felt a surge of anger: "It was the same during the World Championships. If Shi An throws the ball, will they complain that you're playing passively? You don't play well, but you're full of tricks."
Distracted by her like that, Xie Shi'an slightly curved the corners of his lips.
Wan Jing patted her shoulder, glanced at his phone, and saw that the call had come in. He had no choice but to speak hastily.
"It's okay, there's still a third game. You should rest and get in shape. Keep it up in the decisive game. I'm going out to take this call."
Xie Shi'an nodded: "Okay."
During halftime, staff were cleaning the floor; it looked like it would take a while.
Jian Changnian rummaged through her bag and pulled out some cookies and chocolates, handing them to her: "Shi'an, are you hungry? Do you want to replenish your energy?"
"Why are you bringing food to the competition?"
"Isn't this prepared for you?"
Xie Shi'an thought for a moment, then took a chocolate bar from her hand: "Then I'll try this one."
On the Korean team's side, Park Min-heon patted Kim Nam-ji on the shoulder and praised her: "Nam-ji played really well in this game. Did you see that? As long as you drag it out, Xie Shi-an will definitely be furious with you now."
He spoke with great certainty, but Kim Nam-ji didn't think too much about it. Before the competition started, she got up and walked outside.