The first match of Chapter 4

Wang Kai smiled and shook his head: "The level of our country's 100 meters has not yet reached the standard to participate in the World Championships. In racing events, the national team's true strengths lie in race walking and women's long-distance events. In terms of sprinting events, only the 110 meters hurdles qualifies for the World Championships, right"

When old friends meet, it is natural to reminisce, and the other coaches, aware of the identities of the two, tactfully stepped aside to allow them to chat freely. However, it soon became apparent to Coach Yu that today, Old Chen's mind was clearly not on reminiscing; instead, his attention was consistently focused on the competition field.

Sprinting has traditionally been the event with the lowest technical threshold. In the men's 100-meter event, teams from various provinces have unanimously sent four athletes to participate in the selection competition, primarily featuring younger competitors, clearly aimed at training newcomers. Excluding Taiwan, a total of 35 representative teams, comprising 22 provinces, 5 autonomous regions, 4 municipalities directly under the central government, along with the 81st Team from the military system, the Vanguard Team from the public security system, the Locomotive Team from the railway system, and the Communication Team from the postal system, with 140 athletes participating in the competition, will require 18 preliminary rounds to be held.

"Do you see the one over there with glasses?" Wang Kai pointed to the athlete from the Mountain City team

"Alright, Old Chen, stop watching. Let's go to the lounge and have a cup of tea. The first match is just a bunch of cannon fodder, their abilities are quite mediocre, there's nothing worth watching," Director Yu said with a smile.

However, the undercard group also has its advantages, which is that the athletes' abilities are relatively low. The organizers of the competition will not allow well-known players to serve as undercard participants. Therefore, the undercard group that appears first consists either of some new athletes or of those who usually have few opportunities to compete.

He did not come this time. The current Asian Athletics Championships conflict in timing with the 9th World Athletics Championships, so Liu Feifei will not participate in the 110-meter hurdles at this Asian Championships, and thus will not take part in the selection trials. Two weeks ago, the selection trials for the outdoor athletics championships were held in Huangpu, and anyone who qualified for the World Championships will not compete this time.

In many competitions, the first group can also be regarded as the sacrificial group, because when the first group competes, the corresponding timing or monitoring equipment has just been activated, making it prone to malfunctions or other unexpected situations. In the event of any sudden issues during the competition, it is naturally the lesser-known sacrificial players who bear the consequences, and only after the equipment is fully operational are the well-known players allowed to compete.

According to the understanding of Director Yu regarding Elder Chen, the fact that Elder Chen places such great importance on it indicates that the so-called "good seedling" he refers to is certainly not ordinary. This immediately piqued Director Yu's curiosity, and he couldn't help but ask, "Which one?"

In the men's 100-meter event, there are 140 competitors, and the preliminary rounds will consist of 18 heats. The top two from each heat will advance to the semifinals, and additionally, the top four from the remaining athletes will also qualify for the semifinals, totaling 40 competitors. This means that 100 competitors will be eliminated during the preliminary rounds

Athletes with a bit of experience certainly do not wish to compete in the underdog group, but Mr. Chen is quite satisfied with this grouping. In Mr. Chen's view, what Zhang Guan needs most at the moment is to adapt to the competitive atmosphere, and being placed in this group with a lower level of competition is beneficial for Zhang Guan to advance.

"You still remember to come see this old man!" Old Chen said with a smile

Another point is that since the competition has just begun, the atmosphere of the event has not yet developed, making it difficult for the athletes in the first round to enter the competitive state, and thus they find it challenging to achieve satisfactory results. As the competition progresses, the competitive atmosphere in the arena becomes increasingly intense, and the athletes' emotions will also become more exuberant. If accompanied by the enthusiastic cheers of the surrounding audience, it becomes easier to stimulate the athletes' performance on the spot, leading to better results. It is precisely for this reason that the organizers of major competitions often schedule strong competitors to compete in the middle to later rounds.

For this reason, when Zhang Guan arrived at the competition venue, the stadium was already crowded with people, and the athletes could only take a cursory glance at their surroundings, having no opportunity to practice running on the field

Many athletes from each team are familiar with one another, and after meeting, they naturally engage in a few conversations. However, Zhang Guan is a newcomer to this venue and can only obediently follow his roommate Wang Kai. At this moment, Wang Kai also takes on the role of a teacher, introducing the nearby athletes to Zhang Guan.

Due to the tight schedule of the event, the first day mainly consisted of various preliminary rounds. The skill levels among the participants in the preliminaries were uneven, which naturally diminished the spectacle, and there were not many people paying attention. Even the journalists present were reluctant to pick up their cameras to take photos, and they seemed to be sparing with their words when it came to writing their articles.

The organizer of this competition is the National Athletics Association, and the guidance is provided by the deputy chief coach of the national athletics team, who also holds a position in the association, so he will definitely be present at the venue in person

... ...

After Wang Kai's introduction, Zhang Guan could hardly remember a few details. As the sky darkened, he followed the large group back to their accommodation. After having dinner and freshening up, he fell into a deep sleep until dawn.

This bald man is the deputy head coach of the national athletics team, as well as the head coach of the sprint events.

Huangpu team?'' Zhang Guan searched carefully for a long time, then asked, ''Why haven't I seen Liu Feifei?''

"Young man, this group is so weak; if you put in some effort, you can advance to the next round," Elder Chen murmured as he looked at Zhang Guan, who was already standing on the track in the distance.

Old Chen and Coach Yu share a deep friendship, both hailing from Sichuan Province. The year when Old Chen recorded a time of 10 seconds, Coach Yu was selected for the national team. After retiring, Old Chen became a coach for the national team, coinciding with Coach Yu's peak as an athlete. Later, after Coach Yu's retirement, he also became a coach for the national team. Their friendship spans nearly forty years, and they affectionately refer to each other as "Old Chen" and "Little Yu".

That over there is the Huangpu team

The next day, after having breakfast, Zhang Guan went to the competition venue together with the athletics team

Old Chen

At this moment, Wang Kai pointed to another team of athletes

"Cannon fodder? In this, there are good seedlings that I have painstakingly searched for!" Old Chen said earnestly

Athletics is not a strong suit for the country, and therefore domestic selection competitions are not given much attention. Consequently, the registration restrictions are relatively lenient. Generally, in formal competitions, a representative team can only send three athletes to compete in the same event, but for this competition, the Athletics Association has relaxed the quota for participating athletes from each team to four.

Zhang Guan nodded in agreement. At this time, Hu Kai had not yet gained fame, and the nickname "Glasses Hero" was only used by some in the capital team to refer to him. It was not until two years later, when he consecutively won championships on the Asian stage, that the nickname "Glasses Hero" became widely recognized.

Wang Kai pointed to a handsome young man in the distance and said, "That over there is Yin Hanzhao, the veteran from Eastern Guangdong, who was the runner-up in the 100 meters at the National Games two years ago and finished fourth at last year's National Athletics Championships; next to him is his teammate Liu Yang, who won the bronze medal at the National Games two years ago. Additionally, their team has another member, Chen Jian, whom you must know, the current top sprinter in the country. He is sure to secure a spot for the upcoming Asian Athletics Championships! But I wonder why I haven't seen him..."

"That over there is the Donghai team," Wang Kai continued, pointing to another group of athletes. "That crew-cut guy is Shen Bao, who can reach world-class standards in the domestic indoor 60-meter event. His level in the 100 meters is also second only to Chen Jian. I estimate he will also secure a spot for the upcoming Asian Games."

The provincial capital is not far from Tianjin, as it takes only four hours by train. If the high-speed rail is completed in a few years, the travel time will be further reduced to one hour

Two months later, the provincial athletics team boarded the train to Tianjin

After the athletes arranged their accommodation, they proceeded to the competition venue to acclimatize to the environment

Upon closer inspection of Zhang Guan in the distance, the instructor remarked, "He is a young competitor. Does he have great potential?"

At that moment, someone behind suddenly slapped Old Chen on the shoulder

"Who is going for the 100-meter event? Is it Chen Jian?" Zhang Guan asked.

It is the second one.

"You will know just by looking." Old Chen said with a smile

Zhang Guanshun followed Wang Kai's指向 and then said: "I know this person, it's the Glasses Hero Hu Kai!"

Guiding is eight years younger than Chen Lao and also comes from a background in sprinting, specializing in the 200 meters during his youth, having broken the national 200-meter record multiple times

Zhang Guan was assigned to the second lane of the first group.

Do you, as a newcomer, know Hu Kai? The Glasses Hero? That nickname is quite fitting. However, to be fair, he is the only athlete in the sprint events who wears glasses. This Hu Kai has only emerged in the past two years; he is originally from our province and was later specially recruited to Tsinghua University, and now he competes representing the Mountain City team. The one next to him is called He Jun, who also competes for the Mountain City team.

Old Chen turned his head and saw a bald man standing behind him, grinning at him. The man appeared to be around 60 years old, with a large nose and a big mouth, and a slightly plump body, resembling a guardian deity that had just emerged from a temple at first glance