Chapter 26

Manila, Philippines.

Kano Shin ran up to Kobayashi Keiwa and handed him a paper filled with English, saying, "Coach Kobayashi, this is the test result we just received. The pre-race urine test was completely normal. Zhang Guan did not use any banned substances. Here is the test report."

"Indeed, as expected." Kobayashi Keiwa didn't even look at the test report and continued, "It would be best if we could detect the use of banned substances, but it's also normal if we can't. Ultimately, athletes on the field compete based on their strength. I still hope that our Japanese athletes can defeat Zhang Guan!"

Kano Shin could hear the faint sadness in Kobayashi Keiwa's tone, as if it was a helpless acceptance of a bleak future. At this moment, Kano Shin finally confirmed that the confident Coach Kobayashi Keiwa in public actually did not have high hopes for the future of the Japanese team.

Zhang Guan is only seventeen years old, and his short-distance running technique is quite poor. However, it can be confirmed that as he grows older and his technical skills improve, Zhang Guan will definitely run faster. He will become the future of the Chinese track and field team, but where is the future of the Japanese team?

In the 1990s, Japan also produced a batch of excellent short-distance runners, but among the young athletes under twenty years old, there are no super-level athletes. Kano Shin could already foresee that in the next four to five years, there would definitely be a talent gap in Japanese short-distance running.

Not only in Japan, but throughout Asia, the same situation exists. When Jamaican sprinter Asafa Powell continuously broke human limits, the short-distance running events in Asian track and field gradually declined. The original track and field powerhouses all faced a shortage of young talent, and the 100-meter performance continuously declined. Fortunately, the 110-meter hurdles had Liu Xiang to save face; otherwise, the short-distance events in Asian track and field would ultimately be dominated by African naturalized athletes.

Today, the media area was not as noisy as usual. All the journalists were focused on the track, eagerly awaiting the upcoming race. Especially the Filipino journalists, who were unusually quiet, but the journalists from other countries around them could clearly feel the tension before the explosion. These Filipino journalists were all holding their breath!

Previously, the Filipino media had mocked and defamed Zhang Guan, but Zhang Guan quickly responded with a 10-second performance. The media that had originally mocked and defamed him all acted like ostriches, completely ignoring the fact that Zhang Guan ran 10 seconds. However, athletes and journalists from other Asian countries all witnessed the joke, and the Filipino media lost face. Today, the Filipino journalists were all waiting and hoping for Zhang Guan to fail, so they could regain their dignity.

Ramos, who had lost 5,000 Philippine pesos, glared fiercely at Yang Zhongyi, who was not far away, but found that Yang Zhongyi was slowly taking out his phone, as he had an incoming call.

As a journalist who frequently travels abroad, Yang Zhongyi's phone had long been set up for international roaming. At this moment, the number on Yang Zhongyi's phone was from China.

Yang Zhongyi immediately answered the call, and a familiar voice came from the other end: "Is this Brother Yang? It's Xiao Liu!"

Yang Zhongyi recognized the voice as that of his junior, Xiao Liu, from university. At the time, both Yang Zhongyi and Xiao Liu were members of the student council, often organizing activities together, and they were very familiar with each other. After graduating from university, Xiao Liu joined a new online media company and frequently kept in touch with Yang Zhongyi.

"Brother Yang, I called your office, and they said you came to the Philippines to report on the Asian Track and Field Championships. Are you at the venue now?" Xiao Liu asked.

"Yes, I'm at the venue. You must have an urgent matter to call me on an international line!" Yang Zhongyi said.

"Definitely, this matter can only be helped by Brother Yang. I want to ask you about an athlete who is currently competing in the Philippines. His name is Zhang..."

"Wait a moment. Don't hang up, wait for half a minute, the race is about to start." Yang Zhongyi interrupted Xiao Liu, seeing that the starter had already raised the starting pistol.

...

"On your marks... set..." the starter called out.

Before the gun went off, Asahara Nobuharu suddenly dashed out. Habib, who was next to him, thought the race had started and also rushed out, followed by Zhang Guan, who lacked race experience, and even Chen Jian and Shen Bao slightly moved their bodies. Only the other two Japanese athletes, Mutsuji Shingo and Tsuchikawa Kengo, did not move.

The whistle blew, indicating a false start. Asahara Nobuharu immediately raised his hand, admitting his foul, and slowly walked back to the starting line to prepare for the next start.

The coaches from various countries watching from a distance all saw through the tactic. Although the level of Asian track and field short-distance running is not high, and the coaching level is also average, the basic tactical false start could not be hidden from their eyes.

"The Japanese actually used a tactical false start. It seems they are targeting the young Chinese athlete," a foreign coach said.

"Yes, the tall Chinese athlete runs fast, but his race experience is definitely lacking. If I were the Japanese team, I would also choose a tactical false start. And I feel that the Saudi naturalized athlete was also affected," another foreign coach said, looking at the coaches from China and Japan. Kobayashi Keiwa showed no joy from the successful tactic, and Coach Yu also had a serious expression.

...

In the media area, Yang Zhongyi raised the phone to his ear again. The race would likely need some time to restart, giving Yang Zhongyi enough time to talk to Xiao Liu.

"Xiao Liu, the race just started, but someone false started. It will probably take some time to prepare again," Yang Zhongyi paused, then asked, "What did you want to ask me just now?"

"Brother Yang, I want to ask you about someone named Zhang Guan. Have you heard of him?" Xiao Liu asked.

"Zhang Guan? The male 100-meter sprinter Zhang Guan?" Yang Zhongyi asked.

"Yes, that's the Zhang Guan," Xiao Liu replied happily upon hearing that Yang Zhongyi knew Zhang Guan.

"Are you going to do an interview with him? I can try to help you, but I can't guarantee it," Yang Zhongyi said, thinking that Zhang Guan's 10-second performance must have caused a stir in China, and Xiao Liu was hoping to get an interview through him.

"Interview? What interview? It's not an interview!" Xiao Liu was confused.

"Not an interview with Zhang Guan...?" Yang Zhongyi realized he had misunderstood and asked, "Then what is it?"

Xiao Liu didn't waste time and got straight to the point: "Brother Yang, I'm asking you privately. Did Zhang Guan enter the national team through backdoor connections?"

"Backdoor connections? Why?" Yang Zhongyi was puzzled.

"Backdoor connections mean he's not good enough, Brother Yang. You know what I mean..." Xiao Liu said softly.

"Not good enough? Zhang Guan not good enough? Hahaha..." Yang Zhongyi laughed uncontrollably, as if he had heard a joke.

"Brother Yang, don't laugh. Listen to me first. The situation is like this..." Xiao Liu told Yang Zhongyi everything that had happened in China over the past two days, from the media uncovering that Zhang Guan was only a second-level athlete, to the clarification by Yang Kechang, and then the increased doubts from the public, all of which he told Yang Zhongyi.

Yang Zhongyi held back from interrupting Xiao Liu, letting him finish before saying, "Xiao Liu, these unscrupulous media are just stirring up trouble. Do you know how good Zhang Guan is? Even Japanese athletes can't run as fast as him. In yesterday's semi-final, he ran 10 seconds! Do you think an athlete who can run 100 meters in 10 seconds needs to use backdoor connections?"

"10 seconds? You mean 10 seconds?" Xiao Liu couldn't believe his ears and instinctively countered, "Maybe the results were faked..."

As soon as Xiao Liu said this, he realized he had made a mistake. The Asian Track and Field Championships is an international event. While it might be possible to fake results domestically, at an international event, with coaches and journalists from all over Asia gathered, it would be impossible to fake the results.

Xiao Liu quickly changed the topic: "Brother Yang, running 10 seconds is a remarkable achievement. Why haven't I seen any related reports in China?"

"Have you not seen them yet? I sent the report to the Athletics Association last night. Why hasn't it been released yet?" Yang Zhongyi thought for a moment and then said, "I know, yesterday was Saturday, and the people at the Athletics Association might not have been working!"

"Is that so..." Xiao Liu thought to himself. The Athletics Association doesn't work on Saturdays, but the Publicity Department of the General Administration of Sport worked overtime for this matter.

At this moment, the athletes on the track were once again getting ready to start.

Yang Zhongyi immediately said, "Xiao Liu, wait a bit longer. The race is about to start again in thirty seconds!"

...

Kawariko Masahiro stared intently at the TV. The TV commentator also paused, waiting for the starting gun.

"Bang!" The crisp starting gun sounded, and Mutsuji Shingo was the first to dash out. The other athletes, perhaps affected by the first false start, were more cautious in their starts, especially Zhang Guan, whose start was the slowest.

At this moment, Zhang Guan's lack of race experience finally showed. While athletes like Chen Jian were at most more cautious in their starts, they were still close to their normal starts. Zhang Guan, however, was clearly slower.

"Mutsuji Shingo had a great start, he's in the lead!" the TV commentator immediately said.

At the same time, the reaction times of the eight athletes appeared on the screen. Mutsuji Shingo's 0.138-second reaction time was nearly perfect. Tsuchikawa Kengo, Chen Jian, and Mubarak all had reaction times between 0.15 and 0.16 seconds, which were also quite good. Shen Bao's 0.161-second reaction time and Asahara Nobuharu's 0.162-second reaction time were barely acceptable. Habib's 0.173-second reaction time was already slow, and Zhang Guan's 0.191-second reaction time was the slowest, 0.053 seconds slower than Mutsuji Shingo's.

Kawariko Masahiro clenched his fists in excitement in front of the TV. He was about to cheer for Mutsuji Shingo but held back at the last moment.

Zhang Guan had already caught up with Mutsuji Shingo.

---

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