Chapter 71

In December 2019, the final tournament of the year for the National Table Tennis Team was the "Strongest 12 on Earth" internal selection trials. The men's and women's divisions held round-robin matches to determine the top 12 players who would advance to the main draw. Those who achieved high rankings or demonstrated outstanding performance in the main draw would secure qualification for the Busan World Table Tennis Championships. Wang Chuqin was currently serving a suspension, so in theory, none of this concerned him. In his office at the General Administration of Sport, Chairman Liu sat in front of a massive screen, rewatching and carefully analyzing the performances of various players over the past half-year at major international events such as the Korean Open, the Asian Championships, the Swedish Open, the German Open, and the Austrian Open. Fatty Liu rubbed his chin and broke into an inscrutable smile. "Have Datou play in these selection trials too. Tell him that even if he wins first place in the round-robin, he still won't be allowed to play in the main draw."