Stringy Wind in the Ear - Chap 65
The referee blew the whistle, and Song Yang and An Zhiyu stood on the shooting line at the same time. In the first round, Song Yang went first and scored a ten ring as soon as he let go.
“Good!” Li Xun shouted excitedly, his voice louder than that of the coach behind Song Yang, and there was applause all around.
But just as he finished praising, a more accurate ten-inner-ring shot came from the next door, and the cheers of the South Korean team drowned out theirs.
Fortunately, the knockout rounds only determine the winner based on points, so as long as you can maintain a score of ten, there will be no problem.
The timer on Song Yang’s side started counting down.
He lowered his head, hooked an arrow, put it on the arrow rest, and took a deep breath.
The environment in the stadium was noisy, just like his actively beating heart at the moment, it could not calm down. The South Korean team was too strong, and he would not allow himself to have the slightest deviation.
He closed his left eye and focused on the sight. The target paper opposite him gradually blurred into a colored circle of light.
The pupil, the crosshairs, and the bull’s eye overlapped on a line, and the moment the signal piece landed, he let go of his hand.
As the referee shouted “Ten”, he let out a trembling breath of hot air.
But before he could relax his shoulders, An Zhiyu next to him brought the atmosphere to a climax with a ten-ring.
This is the scary thing about fighting against Koreans. In addition to technology, you also have to compete in psychological quality.
It felt like someone was holding a knife to his neck, forcing him to shoot the last arrow, and there was a terrible voice repeating over and over again – if you don’t get ten rings this round, you’re doomed.
It can only be ten rings.
It must be ten rings.
Song Yang swallowed and raised his bow again. The rustling sounds of people chatting around him and the vibration of his chest created a chaotic mess in his mind.
The third arrow was released five seconds slower than the previous one, but fortunately, it hit the target.
He exhaled with relief, his shoulders sank, and he reflexively looked towards Li Xun’s position, who gave him a thumbs up.
Just when everyone was praying that An Zhiyu would miss the target, An Zhiyu hit another ten rings. The Chinese audience sighed quietly, and even Wang Nanfeng sighed uneasily, expressing his anxiety about the situation in the next round.
Both sides have thirty rings and each gets one point, which means that Song Yang still has to make sure that he doesn’t make any mistakes next.
In the second round, Song Yang was the first to release.
An Zhiyu leaned on the bow and arrow rack with one hand, staring at him confidently and casually, with an expression that said “I’m just waiting for you to make a mistake.”
Under such high pressure, Song Yang licked his lips unconsciously several times, and the more he licked, the drier his throat felt.
Wang Nanfeng asked: “What was his ten-ring hit rate?”
Li Xun frowned and looked at the back not far away. Maybe Song Yang was too nervous. The short-sleeved shirt he had just put on showed sweat flowing from the back of his neck and shoulders, spreading like a magnificent waterfall to his lower back.
He said reluctantly: “About 80%, but he doesn’t have much experience in major competitions, and his mental state is definitely not strong enough. It is very likely…”
Before he finished speaking, a nine-ring appeared.
Song Yang frowned and said “tsk”, expressing his dissatisfaction with the result. The ninth ring came earlier than he expected.
In the second round, the score was 3:1 with thirty rings versus twenty-eight rings. The Korean team was in high spirits and cheered.
The coach of the South Korean team glanced at the Chinese coach, narrowed his already small eyes, and gave a disdainful smile.
In the third game, the two teams tied with a score of 29 rings, each getting one point, with a total score of 4:2.
An Zhiyu only needs to win one more round and it will be over.
Wang Nanfeng used a telescope to observe the distribution of the points where Song Yang’s arrows had hit. They were all a little low and had dispersed.
Generally speaking, if the athlete’s arrow impact point is upward, it means that the strength is still sufficient, and the opposite is true if it is downward. The more scattered the arrow impact points are, it also means that the athlete’s attention is disturbed, his limbs are not stable enough, and his physical and mental strength are pushed to a critical point.
“The kid is still too nervous.” Wang Nanfeng put down the binoculars and said, “Sometimes thinking too much can be counterproductive.”
“Um.”
Li Xun also came out of this predicament. He recalled that in the Asian Games that year, his last round opponent was an Olympic champion. It was almost exactly the same situation.
“But there’s nothing you can do. Standing there, you can’t even control your breathing rate.”
Song Yang raised an arrow, and everyone held their breath.
But just as he pulled the bowstring to his jaw, there was a sudden crisp “bang” sound. Before anyone could react, Song Yang covered half of his cheek, and looked at the coach behind him speechlessly with a toothache gesture.
A scene that no one expected happened – the bow broke in the middle, and Song Yang was hit in the face by his own bow.
There was an exaggerated, slightly sarcastic laugh from the side, and there was also laughter from the audience.
Camera lenses and countless mobile phone lenses were pointed at him. He felt like a clown being watched. He stood there at a loss, with a burning sensation spreading from his cheeks to his ears.
Accessories have a lifespan, but he never expected that they would embarrass him at such a critical moment.
It shouldn’t.
The items were provided by the provincial team and have not been used for long.
Could it be that the crack was caused by someone knocking it down this morning, and it wasn’t detected?
Time did not allow him to think too much, so at the coach’s reminder, he rubbed his face and changed to another set of spare bows.
The referee restarts the count.
Everyone’s attention was focused back on Song Yang’s movements, except Li Xun who noticed that the place where Song Yang was hit by the bow was obviously red.
It must be quite painful.
The coach put his hands behind his back and encouraged in a deep and steady voice: “Don’t be anxious, take your time.”
Song Yang responded.
However, facing the lagging score, how could he not be anxious?
Not only did he have to ensure that he got full marks for all three arrows, he also had to pray that the opponent would get a nine-ring, because if it was a draw, the opponent would reach the promotion line before him.
He didn’t want to lose to An Zhiyu; he didn’t want to embarrass his coach; and he didn’t want to disappoint Li Xun and the audience.
He wants to win.
He wanted to win so badly.
It was precisely these unwillingnesses that disturbed his heart, like a stone thrown into the center of a lake, causing ripples on the water surface.
The bow and arrow in my hand weighs a thousand pounds, while the target on the opposite side is real or fake.
“Eight, eight rings.”
Song Yang took a breath and felt very embarrassed.
To achieve such a result at a distance of 18 meters is a major mistake.
After being attacked by a strong sense of frustration, he had almost accepted the fact that he had failed. Nothing could be done about it, and his heart was calm.
Wang Nanfeng bumped Li Xun’s arm and smiled like a Maitreya Buddha: “It’s exactly the same as your performance back then.”
Li Xun knew that he was referring to the Asian Games finals. At that time, he faced a powerful Olympic champion and lost his composure, which led to his poor performance and he scored an eight-ring score that would almost never appear in normal training.
Li Xun looked at Song Yang and said, “I can feel that he is very competitive, but I don’t think this is a bad thing. At least this competitive spirit can keep him going for a long time.”
“That’s right.” Wang Nanfeng sighed softly in the face of a situation that had no suspense. “They say that practicing archery is practicing archery, but in fact, it’s all about practicing one’s heart. If one’s heart is calm, he would not have achieved such results.”
“Well,” Li Xun deeply agreed, “We still need to train him more.”
After three arrows, Song Yang failed to tie the score, and the referee announced An Zhiyu as the winner. Then it was Song Yang and Yu Shenwei’s turn to compete for the bronze medal.
They were all on the Chinese team, so it didn’t matter who won. But for the $400 prize, Song Yang still tried his best. From the first to the third round, he scored 89 rings with nine arrows.
Wang Nanfeng pointed at Song Yang and laughed: “Why is this kid so enthusiastic when fighting with his own people? He is not soft-hearted at all. It would be great if this result could be put on the next round.”
Li Xun: “He is just like this. I will go down and talk to him later.”
Wang Nanfeng thought he was going to criticize Song Yang’s performance today, so he stopped him and said, “You are not even his coach, what are you saying about him? Let the coach of the team take care of it.”
Li Xun was too Versailles: “He just loves to listen to what I say.”
At the end of the competition, three people went on stage to receive their awards. The podiums for the first and second place winners were much higher than that for the third place winner.
Song Yang was unhappy because he didn’t beat them, and his face was gloomy the whole time. Even gloomier than his face was Yu Shenwei’s face.
This was like getting a score of 59.5 on an exam, which made his chest ache. What was even more unacceptable to him was that Song Yang had only learned archery for more than two years, but he had already surpassed him.
At dinner time, the two best male players in the Chinese team had no appetite for food. They just ate some snacks and went back to their rooms to rest.
Song Yang charged his cell phone which had been turned off for a long time. Just as he was looking at the ceiling affectionately, a message came.
It was a short video sent by Li Xun. He rolled up his trousers and walked at the junction of the beach and the sea. There were lights on the shore, illuminating a small area of ​​the world. The water was clear and overflowed over his ankles. His broad soles stepped on the fine sand to create deep and shallow pits.
Suddenly a wave hit, and Li Xun screamed “Oh my God!” and didn’t have time to dodge, and his trouser legs below the knees were all wet.
Then there was a voice message: “Want to come down and play with us? The sea breeze here is very comfortable.”
Song Yang opened the window and saw the sea. He replied, “What are you playing? Making sandcastles?”
Li Xun’s voice came over with a hint of laughter: “I will play with you whatever you want to play.”
