The competition system of the National Games is somewhat complicated, and each event is different.
For example, in basketball, each team must play preliminaries four or five months in advance. The preliminaries will be divided into multiple divisions. The participating teams will play in a cycle within the division. The top two teams in the division will advance to the finals, and the third and fourth place will play additional rounds. competition, and then compete for a spot in the finals. In August, the teams that entered the finals will compete again to compete for the final gold medal.
Under this competition system, if the strong teams are in the same division, the preliminaries will be a head-to-head battle; if the weak teams are in the same division, it will inevitably be a fight between rookies. Because of this, there are often situations where strong teams cannot qualify, but weak teams can enter the finals.
Another example is the marathon, where the gold medal will be decided months in advance. For example, the main competition of the National Games starts in August, and the marathon champion is likely to be born in April. When it comes to the main race, there will be no marathon.
Moreover, the National Games competition rules and competition formats change every year. This time there may be eight teams entering the finals, and the next time there may be 12 teams, and the next time there may be eight teams again. The registration rules are like this today, but they suddenly change to another rule tomorrow. Once the registration rules change, those who were originally able to participate may lose their qualifications, and those who were originally ineligible may be able to participate.
After all, the National Games is nicknamed the "Olympic Games within the system." Rules and competition systems are all decided by various sports associations. Sometimes the chairman of a certain sports association gets excited and makes a decision casually, and the rules will have to be decided. Follow the changes. Therefore, non-professionals will feel confused when watching the National Games, and may not even understand the rules for athletes’ promotion.
In this National Games, among the track and field events, the top 16 athletes in the country in points in the past three years can directly advance to the main competition. Athletes who participated in the last Olympic Games, ranked among the top eight in the last World Championships, ranked among the top six in the World Cup, and won The top three players in the Asian Games can also directly participate in the main draw. Therefore, athletes like Fang Haiquan, Zhao Yue and Yang Sijie can enter the main competition without participating in the qualifying rounds.
Such a screening reduced the number of entries by more than twenty places, and also made the competition in the qualifying rounds more intense.
…
"The opponents are so strong!" Shen Kun lowered his head in frustration and walked off the field.
He finished fourth in the group and missed the chance to advance to the next round, which also meant that his trip to the National Games in the 100-meter sprint event came to an end.
"Shen Kun was also eliminated. In this way, in the 100-meter dash event, our team was completely wiped out." Li Guodong said, patted Chen Tingshan's shoulder next to him, and then said: "Tingshan, don't be discouraged. , you are still young, you still have a chance in the next National Games, unlike others, you should retire in the next National Games!"
"Li Guodong, what are you talking about?" Sha Baojun immediately growled dissatisfied.
Shen Kun is 24 years old this year and will definitely not have the chance to participate in the National Games again. When Li Guodong said who will retire next year, he was obviously talking about Shen Kun.
Sha Baojun already felt uncomfortable because Shen Kun failed to advance, and when Li Guodong said this, he became even more angry. He immediately counterattacked: "Shen Kun will participate in the 200-meter qualifying competition tomorrow, and he will have a chance to compete again. Unlike some young people who can't run corners, they can only participate in the 100-meter!"
The "young man who doesn't know how to take corners" that Sha Baojun refers to is naturally Chen Tingshan. Chen Tingshan is not yet 20 years old, and there is still room for improvement even in the 100-meter technique, and he has not practiced much at all in the 200-meter.
"Okay, you two, stop arguing! Let the other teams see it, it's a joke!" Seeing that the two were about to quarrel, Liu Hua quickly came up to dissuade them.
The three of them had formed a brief alliance before because of Dai Li, but now that there is no threat of Dai Li picking people up, the three of them have returned to their original state, and they can't see each other's side.
However, in the qualifying round of the 100-meter dash, three athletes, Shen Kun, Zhu Yueyang and Chen Tingshan, all failed and failed to qualify for the main race.
After all, they are too weak and their skills are inferior to others. It is normal for them to lose in such fierce competition.
Shen Kun participated in the 200-meter sprint qualifying competition the next day, but he was eliminated in the first round.
…
In the hotel, Zhu Yueyang was packing his luggage. At this time, he was in a very low mood.
Next to Zhu Yueyang, Shen Kun was sitting on the edge of the bed, his head lowered and silent.
The 24-year-old Shen Kun is at the peak age of a sprinter, but even so, he still has not entered the main competition of the National Games, which means that Shen Kun has no next chance.
The next National Games will have to wait at least four years, and Shen Kun will be 28 years old by then. For a sprinter, it is already at the end of his career, and he may even be ready to retire.
"I will be 26 years old at the next National Games. I don't know if I will have a chance to participate." Zhu Yueyang shook his head silently.
At this moment, footsteps sounded, and Chen Tingshan and another athlete pushed the door in.
"Brother Shen, we are going back tomorrow. We are going to buy some souvenirs to take to our families. Do you want to go with us?" Chen Tingshan asked.
It was the first time for 19-year-old Chen Tingshan to participate in the National Games, so even though he failed to qualify for the finals, his mentality was not greatly affected. Instead, he felt excited because he went out to compete.
"It's time to buy something for home." Shen Kun came to his senses and stood up: "Let's go together."
Shen Kun said, picked up his mobile phone, and while checking, he said: "You guys wait a moment, I'll call Master Zheng from the team, he travels often, and he must know where the local products are cheap and of good quality. "
"That's the best. We are also wondering where to buy it. We originally planned to go to the supermarket!" Chen Tingshan said.
"The items in supermarkets are similar all over the country. Let me ask you if there are any specialty stores." Shen Kun said and dialed Master Zheng's phone number.
After a while, the call was connected.
"Hello, Master Zheng? I'm Shen Kun!" Shen Kun said.
There was a noisy sound on the phone, and Master Zheng on the opposite side said, "Xiao Shen, please speak louder. It's a little noisy here, so I can't hear you clearly."
Shen Kun immediately raised his voice, almost shouting: "Master Zheng, how are you doing now?"
"Much better, I can hear it."
"I said Master Shen, why is it so noisy over there? I can't hear you clearly! Can you find a quiet place? I want to ask you something." Shen Kun said loudly.
"I'm still on the playing field! There are people around, how can there be a quiet place!" Master Zheng said.
"Still in the arena? You haven't come back yet!" Shen Kun looked at the time and then said: "Master Shen, it should be the closing ceremony now!"
"The closing ceremony is about to begin. There is only one last event left, the last event of the 4x100m relay race. I have to wait for the game to end and send our team members back." Master Zheng said.
"Relay race? Our team members?" Shen Kun suddenly took a breath of air and asked in surprise: "Our relay team hasn't been eliminated yet?"