Chapter 91: A Challenger
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Beikou Training Center, Meeting Room.
"Feixiang Lin’s final result is 13.29 seconds. I’ve told you everything that happened in the game. This is the end of my report." coach Ding put down the doc.u.ments, then turned to the chief coach of national track team, Shuren Zhao.
"Are you saying that Feixiang Lin is recovered?" As he spoke, coach Zhao’s eyebrows raised involuntarily. Happiness appeared on his face.
"13.29 seconds. Even though it is not Lin’s best performance, it serves as good proof of his ability. He’s OK for the compet.i.tion."
"Is this result valid? Is there any problem?" coach Zhao confirmed with coach Ding.
Coach Ding knew what coach Zhao meant. He immediately replied, "After the game, we directly checked Lin’s blood rather than his urine. The results showed that everything was normal."
Coach Zhao laughed out loud. "That’s great! A prodigy who returns is more precious than gold. Lin did not give up and neither did we. Our next task is to guarantee that Lin’s training is top notch and try our best to support him! The key point is to help him return to his best status and win glory for the country! Coach Ding, you are in charge of this. Whatever you need, report to me directly."
Lin was the most famous athlete in the country, as well as the trump card for the national team. Lin was once treated as the treasure. Now that Lin was recovered, coach Zhao immediately s.h.i.+fted his att.i.tude and regarded Lin as a G.o.d.
Zhao continued, "We can’t only focus on Lin’s training. We should also take care of his personal life. Don’t let him do wrong again. Coach Ding, you talk to Lin later and see what he wants. If it is anything that is reasonable, keep him satisfied."
"Speaking of personal needs, there is one thing that Lin asked permission for. He has an a.s.sistant coach who is on secondment from the provincial team. His original plan was to stay here for three months, and now it’s coming to an end. But Lin wants the guy to stay for one more month," said coach Ding.
"Really? What’s his name? How old is he? Is he good at coaching?" asked coach Zhao.
"His name is Dai Li. He is in his early twenties, and from Hanbei Provincial Sport Team. As for his capacity, because he is young he might not be very skillful," coach Ding responded casually.
Upon hearing that Dai Li was so young, coach Zhao lost interest. He said, "This Dai Li is the same age as Lin. I guess they have found some common interests. Well, let Li stay for one more month, that is fine. Just inform the Hanbei Sport Team beforehand."
As Zhao said that, the door suddenly opened. Director Zhang rushed in, looking fl.u.s.tered.
"Coach Zhao, there is something I have to tell you," Director Zhang said frantically.
"Take your time," coach Zhao said, pointing at an empty chair.
After Director Zhang sat down, he opened a doc.u.ment and said, "We just received breaking news that in the International Grand Prix in Czech, the famous Cuban hurdler David Bose just won the champions.h.i.+p in men’s 110m hurdles. He broke Feixiang Lin’s world record with a 12.87 second performance!"
"What?" The group was suddenly thrown into a panic. Apparently n.o.body was willing to hear this bad news.
...
"David Bose got 12.87 seconds, 0.01 second clear of you. He will also be in the ‘Qatar Money Game.’" Li then asked Lin, "I remember some media source once mentioned that Bose is your old enemy. Now you are going to fight against each other again. Do you feel stressed out?"
"Pressure pushes me forward," said Lin with a calm expression. He recalled his experience, saying, "The year I got a gold medal in Olympics was the first time I had heard about him. He won second in the IAAF World Junior Champions.h.i.+ps. Two years later, we met for the first time in the same game. He was only 20. I remember it was in a Grand Prix in Paris. I wasn’t paying much attention to him, but later he gave me a head-on blow. He took the gold medal from me."
"Was it the year you broke world record?" asked Li.
"Yeah. That year in the game that I got the record, Bose was only fourth. In the later World Champions.h.i.+ps and World Cup, he got all bronze. Then while I was injured he took my place as the number one hurdler," Lin said, sighing.
"Yeah, it happened all of a sudden," said Li.
"I’ve been wasting too much time these last two years. Bose has been following in my footsteps, but now it’s my turn to catch up!" Lin looked forward, wondering about something. Then he turned to Li and said, "I requested that you stay another month. They approved it. I’m sorry I didn’t ask you before."
"I don’t care," Li said, shrugging his shoulders. "The longer I stay here, the more travel allowance I can get. It’s you who should worry. There is only one month left before the ‘Qatar Money Game.’ You still have a long way to go."
"I know." Lin looked serious. "I want to get first place! I can’t allow Bose to defeat me!"
"You wanna win the game?" Li never would have thought that Lin was such an ambitious person. If Lin didn’t have such a firm look, Li wouldn’t have taken it seriously.
"You told me that as an athlete, I belong to the field. Now that I’m standing in the place where I belong, my only goal is to be a champion!" Lin said steadfastly.
"But you are not at your top level. It might offend you, but I still want to tell you—according to your current ability, David Bose is stronger than you." Li told Lin the truth, not holding anything back.
Li knew Lin’s ability the best out of anyone. Lin’s ability was less than 800 points according to the system. With the explosive force halo he was barely able to compete against Teng Dong. David Bose had just broken the world record, which meant he must have had more than 920 points of ability. There was a 150 point gap between Lin and Bose, and no halo would make up the difference.
Hearing what Li said, Lin felt a little uncomfortable. But he still nodded. "The current me is not as good as Bose. I need more intensive training! I have wasted two years, I can’t waste time anymore."