Chapter 18

Coach Yu held the group draw for the semi-finals in his hand, his expression somewhat serious.

"The semi-final group draw is not very favorable. Chen Jian is in the same group as Japan's Suehiro Shinji. Suehiro Shinji ran a 10.03 seconds in the 100 meters at the World Athletics Championships last month and won a bronze medal, which is the fastest time by an Asian athlete in the past two years. I think Suehiro Shinji is in good form, and he will definitely be the group leader. Chen Jian, you should aim for the second place to advance. Shen Bao's group doesn't have any particularly strong competitors, so I think you should have no problem advancing."

Coach Yu then turned to look at Zhang Guan: "Zhang Guan, your group is not easy. It can be called the 'Group of Death' in the semi-finals. Japan's Tsuchikawa Kengo, Kazakhstan's Chernev, Thailand's Songdee, and Afghanistan's Ayaz are all in this group. The competition level in this group is on par with the semi-finals. Zhang Guan, you must not be complacent in the semi-finals this afternoon."

"Don't worry, Coach Yu, I'll definitely run first," Zhang Guan replied cheerfully.

Seeing Zhang Guan's carefree attitude, Shen Bao leaned in and asked, "Zhang, you agreed so easily. Do you know the people Coach Yu just mentioned?"

Zhang Guan shook his head: "I heard about Tsuchikawa Kengo from Brother Yang (Yang Yao) on the plane yesterday, but I haven't heard of the others at all!"

"I don't know whether to say you're fearless like a young bull or ignorant and fearless!" Shen Bao had to introduce the foreign athletes to Zhang Guan: "Tsuchikawa Kengo, although he specializes in the 200 meters, has already reached the Olympic A standard in the 100 meters. The Japanese call him the next Itō Kyōji, who will dominate the 200 meters. Kazakhstan's Chernev ran a 10.18 seconds last year, also reaching the Olympic A standard, and he will likely participate in the Athens Olympics next year. Thailand's short-distance running has improved significantly in recent years, and Songdee is their strongest athlete. I don't know much about Afghanistan's Ayaz, but I know his speed is close to the Olympic A standard. You know, Afghanistan has been unstable since the Americans invaded, so it's already a significant achievement for them to send athletes to this competition. If these people were in weaker groups, they would almost certainly advance to the semi-finals. So your group is definitely the 'Group of Death' in the semi-finals."

At this moment, Chen Jian walked over, patted Zhang Guan on the shoulder, and encouraged him: "What 'Group of Death'? Just remember, running first will get you through. This afternoon, run like you're breaking the national record, and don't think about anything else!"

...

In the afternoon semi-finals, Chen Jian advanced as the second-place finisher in his group, while the first place was Japan's Suehiro Shinji.

"Shinji, well done!" Japan's head coach, Kobayashi Keiwa, encouraged him.

"Yes, I will continue to work hard!" Suehiro Shinji immediately showed humility and obedience to Coach Kobayashi Keiwa.

"Go back and rest. You have the 200 meters preliminaries tomorrow morning," Coach Kobayashi Keiwa said.

At this moment, Takano Shin ran over from a distance: "Coach, Miss Fuji TV's Fujimine Seiko is waiting for you in the athletes' lounge."

"I remember, I have an interview scheduled. I'll go over there right away," Coach Kobayashi Keiwa turned to Takano Shin and said, "Takano, Tsuchikawa Kengo is up next. I might not be back in time after the interview, so you stay here and wait for me."

"Yes, Coach," Takano Shin immediately agreed.

Coach Kobayashi Keiwa hurried off to the interview, and Tsuchikawa Kengo, who was about to compete, also came to the track.

Takano Shin called Tsuchikawa Kengo over and instructed him: "Tsuchikawa, although several of your opponents in this group have the potential to advance to the semi-finals, they are still at the level of Asian athletes! We Japanese athletes are world-class. I believe you can advance easily, but I hope you can also aim for first place like Suehiro Shinji, to show the other Asian countries the gap between them and us, and to let them know that the Yamato people are the best in Asia!"

"Yes, please rest assured, Coach Takano. I will take Suehiro as my role model, aim for first place, and defend the honor of our Japanese team." Tsuchikawa Kengo finished speaking and walked onto the track.

On the other side, Zhang Guan, who was about to compete, walked over to Chen Jian and asked in a low voice, "Brother Chen, is that Japanese guy very fast?"

Chen Jian nodded helplessly: "The Japanese team is indeed at an international level in short-distance running. That Suehiro Shinji, even though I gave it my all, he still pulled ahead of me. The gap between us and the Japanese team is still significant!"

"Don't worry, Brother Chen. I have a Japanese guy in my group too. I'll take revenge for you!" Zhang Guan said and strode onto the track.

...

An Indian starter with a strong curry accent said in English, "On your marks... set..."

He raised the starting pistol, and when all the athletes were still, he pulled the trigger.

The quick reaction skill activated, and Zhang Guan immediately dashed out, but three people were even faster than him: Japan's Tsuchikawa Kengo, Kazakhstan's Chernev, and Afghanistan's Ayaz. The screen then displayed each athlete's reaction time, with the fastest being Afghanistan's Ayaz at an astonishing 0.132 seconds!

"Truly worthy of an Afghan. He must have practiced dodging bullets a lot in recent years, which is why his reaction time is so quick," Coach Yu joked from a distance, then looked at Zhang Guan's reaction time.

"0.153, that's also very fast!" Coach Yu glanced at the data screen again to confirm he hadn't made a mistake.

While Coach Yu was staring at the reaction time display, the athletes on the track had already run past the 50-meter mark. At this point, Zhang Guan and Tsuchikawa Kengo were leading, almost neck and neck, while Kazakhstan's Chernev and Afghanistan's Ayaz were in the second tier, fighting for third and fourth places.

Tsuchikawa Kengo's mind was in turmoil. He had not held back at the start and had tried his best to establish a significant lead in the first half of the race, intending to dominate with his absolute strength and secure first place. According to his original plan, he should have been far ahead of the others by now. But today's script was different. A young Chinese athlete was running neck and neck with him, and despite his best efforts, he could not gain any advantage.

"Who is he, and why is he so fast? I'm giving it my all, but I can't shake him off. The coach didn't mention that the Chinese team had such a fast athlete!" Tsuchikawa Kengo couldn't help but glance at Zhang Guan, who had a faint smirk on his face.

"Tsuchikawa Kengo, is this your limit? I'm not even at my full strength yet. I'm about to kick it up a notch. Let's see how strong this purple skill is!"

In the next moment, Zhang Guan finally unleashed his full power.

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