Translator: dapotaturs
Release Date: 09/25/2023
Chapter 131: Post-Race Phone Call & Start of Women's 4x400m Relay
The final morning session of the Asian Athletics Championships reached its climax with Cui Luoheng's gold medal victory in the men's 110-meter hurdles, setting a new meet record with a time of 13.20 seconds.
At the same time, this performance also established the best time in the 110-meter hurdles for the year.
When Shao Minyi mentioned that this was the best time of the year for the 110-meter hurdles, some new track and field fans in the online live chat were surprised: 【Isn't this just 13.20 seconds? Isn't it considered a good performance in the 110 meters if it's under 13 seconds?】
Immediately, the seasoned track and field fans who were also watching the live broadcast were taken aback for a moment before they explained:
【Kid, check the World Athletics official website. Last year, there was only one person who ran the 110 meters hurdles in under 13 seconds.】
【Huh?】
【Ha, asking this question is probably because of the impression left by the achievements of the former hurdle king. Kid, running the 110 meters hurdles in under 13 seconds is not the same as running the 100 meters in under 10 seconds. Just check it out; even during the peak period when the world's top hurdlers competed, having two or three athletes run under 13 seconds in a year was impressive. Globally, throughout all competitions in a year, it's hard to see more than 10 times where someone achieved a sub-13-second time, and they were all by those same few athletes.】
【Speaking of that, the only athlete who ran under 13 seconds last year was the one from Russia, right? Vladimir? He's a true warrior. He accounted for 8 of the top ten 110 meters hurdles times in the world last year, right?】
【I wonder when Cui will have a place in the annual top ten times...】
The online discussions continued, and Su Bai didn't continue watching the live broadcast on television. Instead, he took out his phone, continuing to work on his computer while waiting for something.
About an hour after the 110-meter hurdles final ended, his phone rang again. He picked it up and saw that it was a call from Cui Luoheng.
"Hello, ALuo?"
Su Bai answered the call, and it was indeed Cui Luoheng on the other end.
After the recent race, Su Bai noticed Cui Luoheng's state of confusion. While the rapid improvement in performance brought joy, it could also lead to a strange sense of imbalance at times.
Especially in Cui Luoheng's case, with such a rapid leap in performance in a short period, the sudden progress might make facing opponents he once considered challenging seem easy now. This feeling required time to adapt to.
"So, do you feel like you've become too strong now?" Su Bai asked with a chuckle.
"Not exactly," Cui Luoheng's voice sounded a bit muffled, and he wasn't sure how to describe his feelings. "It's just that last year, the gap between me and Lu Mengfan was so huge. But now it seems like our positions have reversed, and it feels a bit strange."
Su Bai smiled and then said seriously, "Don't think too much. This is the inevitable path of continuous improvement. You have Lu Mengfan now, and in the future, you'll have even more opponents."
"Reaching the summit means you'll encounter many opponents along the way. What you need to do is keep climbing higher. There's only one top spot, and many people aspire to claim it. You're luckier than Lu Mengfan; you have a chance to reach the pinnacle. But his hopes are much slimmer than yours."
As Su Bai continued his phone call, the live broadcast on the sports channel shifted to the post-match analysis. They were currently airing an interview segment where Lu Yuan talked about Cui Luoheng and Lu Mengfan before their race.
"Winning is your goal, right?"
Su Bai, still on the phone, asked.
After a moment of silence on the other end, Cui Luoheng replied, "Yes."
"Then, this is the path you must go through."
Su Bai continued, "From now on, aside from the competitions required by the Athletics Center, you won't have domestic and Asian-level competitions anymore."
"Domestic and Asian competitions are just the beginning. Strong opponents are waiting for you on the global stage."
After hearing Su Bai's words, Cui Luoheng remained silent for a moment before saying, "So... Little Bai, will you always be with me?"
Su Bai hadn't expected Cui Luoheng to ask this question. He chuckled and replied, "Of course, I'm your coach. I have to wait for your achievements to get me promoted!"
After hanging up the phone, Cui Luoheng still felt a bit uneasy. He hadn't dared to ask what was really on his mind: not "us" but "me."
He wanted Su Bai to be his exclusive coach.
He didn't know how this thought had suddenly come to him. He knew that with Su Bai's current achievements and reputation in the track and field team, he wouldn't be allowed to be his exclusive coach. But he couldn't shake this thought.
He recalled what Qiu Wen had said, that in the "harem" of "Little Bai the Emperor," vying for favor wasn't easy at all.
After the morning events, when the Chinese athletics team returned to the athlete village, the atmosphere became more tense, but this tension was mainly focused on ensuring that the relay team members competing in the 400 meters events could rest properly.
At this point in the competition, China was already leading on the medal table, but the race for gold medals was still closely contested.
After Cui Luoheng won a gold medal in the morning, China temporarily took the lead in the gold medal standings. However, in the three relay races scheduled for tonight, Bahrain and Japan had the potential to catch up.
In tonight's events, China had a reasonable chance of success in the men's 4x400 meters relay, but in the women's 4x400 meters and the mixed 4x400 meters relay, it would be challenging to break Bahrain's dominance with the current Chinese lineup.
Back in the athlete village, when they closed the doors of the meeting room, there were some worried faces among the coaching staff. The Sports Administration had set goals for the Athletics Center to achieve first place in both the medal and gold medal standings. It now appeared that achieving these goals would be quite challenging.
"Our chances of achieving this mission depend on the relay events," said Jiang Wentao as he looked at the schedule for the evening events and couldn't help but smile wryly.
In fact, the athletes from the national track and field team had performed quite well in this competition, breaking more than a dozen meet records. However, with extraordinary performances came unexpected errors. In competitive sports, if everything went exactly as planned, it wouldn't be a true competitive event.
Wouldn't this turn into a game of dividing candies among children?
"Relay events... Our athletes are under a lot of pressure," Wang Ting sat in the meeting room with a deeply furrowed brow.
For the evening's three 400m relay events, there had been some compromises in the team. After all, the athletes had limited physical endurance, and the number of mature 400m runners wasn't sufficient.
According to the original plan, the 4x400m relay was meant to prioritize the men's team. It served as a precursor to the World Athletics Relay Championships in May, providing the athletes with some relay race experience.
In the women's relay category, although there were several promising athletes, Chen Yadan was still the front-runner. Others like Lin Huan and Lin Yao had inconsistent performances and needed more practice.
Given this situation, for the men's team, Zhang Ziyi and others aimed to secure the men's 4x400m relay. In the women's team, there was only one strong athlete, Chen Yadan. Facing Bahrain's Nasser in the women's relay and other Bahraini athletes in the mixed relay...
Whether it was the women's relay or the mixed relay, it seemed like a daunting task.
Jiang Wentao wasn't oblivious to the situation of the relay team. Take Zhang Ziyi, for example; he had just broken the 45-second barrier in the final. He had already run three legs from the heats to the final, and with the men's 4x400m relay heats, running a full 400m with such energy consumption wasn't a joke. Considering the physical toll, could he recover in just one day?
If they really pushed for it tonight, both the men's 4x400m and the mixed 4x400m relay events were on the schedule.
Thinking of this, Jiang Wentao clenched his teeth, "Tonight, we must aim for the gold in the men's 4x400m relay. If we can secure this gold, even if Bahrain wins the gold in the women's 4x400m and mixed 4x400m relay, we will at least be tied for first place."
After Jiang Wentao said this, the evening's competition goals were set. However, everyone in the room, including Jiang Wentao himself, knew that these goals could only be strived for. The actual situation during the competition remained uncertain.
In the afternoon, Wang Ting and Su Bai had a phone call, during which they discussed the evening's competition. Wang Ting's suggestion was not to put too much pressure on the athletes. After all, it was just before the competition, and suddenly assigning tasks might make them overly nervous, potentially affecting their performance.
Su Bai wasn't too concerned about this. Before their departure, he didn't put too much pressure on the athletes. However, he believed that at times like this, it was only natural for the athletes to understand their responsibilities.
After hanging up the phone, Wang Ting gathered the relay team members from both the men's and women's teams and held a brief meeting to convey the message from the Chinese Athletics Association represented by Jiang Wentao.
"However, I and Coach Su Bai would like to emphasize once more: give it your all and perform your best with a clear conscience. We want you to understand that as national team athletes, there are responsibilities we must shoulder. The country nurtures us, so we must give our best performances to bring honor to our nation. Besides this, you don't need to think about anything else; that's our responsibility as coaches."
After this meeting, Wang Ting let the relay team members disperse. But before they left, Zhang Ziyi and Chen Yadan, the leaders of the relay teams, seriously told Wang Ting, "We will give our all in tonight's competition!"
After the meeting with Wang Ting, the athletes had a simple meal and then were taken to the Doha Sports Stadium by bus.
In tonight's schedule, the three 4x400m relays were arranged for the final moments of the event. The women's 4x400m relay was at 19:30, the men's 4x400m relay at 19:50, and the mixed relay at 20:10. The preparation time for these three events was evenly distributed. For athletes who had to participate in both the men's 4x400m relay and the mixed 4x400m relay, the mixed relay was an absolute test of their physical stamina and determination.
After arriving at the venue, Guo Dun, Qiu Wen, and Li Junhao were keeping a close eye on Zhang Ziyi. They told him to take it easy for the first leg of the competition and leave the hard work to them.
Zhang Ziyi smiled after hearing their advice. "Alright, I know my own condition. I'll give my all in the men's 4x400m relay tonight. But..."
Everyone turned their attention to Zhang Ziyi when they heard his "but."
"Tonight's mixed 4x400m relay final, Qiu Wen and I won't participate. During the later registration, I'll include you, Qiu Wen, in both the men's and mixed 4x400m relay events."
Guo Dun and Li Junhao were momentarily surprised by this statement but immediately nodded in agreement.
Zhang Ziyi had originally planned to participate in both the men's 4x400m relay and the mixed 4x400m relay. However, during Wang Ting's meeting in the afternoon, they received the information that the men's relay team's goal was to win the gold in the men's 4x400m relay.
In that case, how could he run leisurely as Guo Dun had suggested?
After weighing the pros and cons, he decided to give up the mixed 4x400m relay, shifting the task to Guo Dun and Li Junhao. He also included Qiu Wen because his schedule over the past few days was similar to his own, and Qiu Wen had even run harder than him in the men's 4x400m relay heats.
Comparatively, Guo Dun and Li Junhao were better suited for the mixed 4x400m relay considering their physical fitness.
Back in China, discussions about the second half of the Asian Championships on the same day began after the morning's 110m hurdles finals. After all, in the morning's competition, China temporarily overtook Bahrain and Japan, their two main competitors, in terms of gold medals. They temporarily held the top positions in both the gold medal and medal tally standings, but this ranking was still only temporary. The final outcome would depend on whether the Chinese team could maintain their top position in both categories after all the evening events were completed.
Whether in the athletics world or on Weibo, many self-media outlets were conducting a large number of event predictions and analyses. Interestingly, even media outlets usually focused on entertainment gossip didn't miss out on this wave, starting to discuss how many popular athletes from the reality show 《 Athletics Idol Training Camp》 would participate in the evening's competition.
————【Can China hold onto the top spot in the gold medal tally tonight? It all depends on the relay dream team consisting of Zhang Ziyi, Qiu Wen, Guo Dun, and Li Junhao, currently the strongest 400m runners in the country!】————【The Chinese Athletics Team's Battle to Defend Their Top Spot in the Gold Medal Tally!】————【Running four rounds in three days. Can Zhang Ziyi and Qiu Wen maintain their form in the relay tonight?】
Countless articles with similar headlines flooded the internet, adding even more pressure to the already tense waiting time.
As a long-time fan of the 400m events, Huang Yilun was naturally discussing the evening's competition with his old friends in a small group chat.
Serious Huang: 【This feels unbelievable... When did our 400m races become the decisive events for the Asian Championships' gold medal tally? 】
Horses don't eat grass: 【I was just discussing this with Lao Yong. Over the past few years, our 400m events have really improved! 】
Lao Yong doesn't want to run: 【Isn't that right? Sigh, it's just that the schedule is a bit tight. We used to complain that some athletes used 'reserving energy for relays' as an excuse and wouldn't give their all in individual races. But seeing how Zhang Shuai and little Qiu have performed these past few days, and now the pressure for tonight's gold medal is on them, I can't help but feel a bit uneasy. 】
Despite the anxiety, no matter how nervous track and field fans across the country were about the evening's events, the competition would eventually arrive.
Doha, Qatar, local time 19:30.
At 7:30 in the evening, under the guidance of the staff, all the female 4x400m relay teams stepped onto the track.
A total of seven teams participated in the women's 4x400m relay at this Asian Championships: India, Bahrain, Japan, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Kuwait, and China.
China's women's 4x400m relay team, despite their previous strength being barely sufficient to compete at the Asian Games and Asian Championships level, had never reached the top three in terms of final results.
However, this time, the young women of the women's team stood on the Asian women's relay stage for the first time after receiving Su Bai's training.
For the women's team, although they already knew that the key to tonight's competition depended on whether the men's 4x400m relay team could win the gold medal, it didn't mean they would take their own race lightly.
"Tonight, give it our all!"
Before taking the field, Chen Yadan held hands with the women's team. After several of them hugged and encouraged each other, they marched confidently onto the track.
Although they knew that currently, only Chen Yadan had the ability to compete with Bahrain's women's relay team, this wasn't a reason for them not to give their best!
There were a total of 7 teams, and the Chinese team was assigned to the 2nd lane. As Chen Yadan stood at the starting point of the relay, the first leg of the Indian women's team was positioned to her right.
Bahrain, India, and Japan were all strong teams in the women's 4x400m relay event. As a relay team with relatively weaker performance, China's women's team didn't attract much attention from these teams. However, when the first leg of Bahrain's team noticed Chen Yadan and raised an eyebrow, and then the first leg of the Indian team, Niranjana, also sensed the scrutiny from Bahrain, they both showed a cautious look.
Even though China's 4x400m relay women's team wasn't considered a threat by these teams, seeing Chen Yadan made them feel a slight sense of crisis. It was clear that at least in their minds, Chen Yadan had gained enough respect with her capabilities.
Upon realizing this, the members of the teams present at the event showed a vigilant expression. They had neglected to consider the threat from one team during their preparations.
At this moment, the race was about to begin, and the athletes from various teams on the field had no extra time to think about anything else. When the instructions from the starter came over the broadcast, all the first-leg runners at the starting blocks placed their hands on the ground, crouched down on the starting blocks.
In China, viewers were already waiting by their screens, anticipating the final results of tonight's 400m relays.
On the field, the broadcast started to relay the starter's instructions.
"Take your marks."
"Get set."
"Bang!"
With a simple and direct command and the crisp sound of the starter's gun, the relay officially began.
"The race has started!"
The commentary for this evening's event was provided by the classic duo, Shao Minyi and Li Sen. After the starter's gun went off, they focused on observing the dynamics between the teams on the track.
On the track, Chen Yadan's start and curve running were excellent. Even for experienced viewers, it was evident that she had maintained a speed almost parallel to Niranjana in lane three and was gradually closing the gap. Niranjana, after noticing that China's first leg was Chen Yadan, remained highly alert and refused to lose to Chen Yadan from behind.
"Tonight's women's 4x400m relay is filled with intensity from the very beginning... The first leg is where each team competes for their respective advantages. At the moment, it seems that no team is willing to lose in this battle!"
"Yes," Li Sen chimed in. "But currently, our team seems to lack strength in the lineup. For example, Bahrain has positioned their strongest runner, Nassar, as the fourth leg, which benefits them in the final sprint. On the other hand, China has placed Chen Yadan in the first leg to compete for an advantage in the second leg handover, but there might be a deficiency in the final leg sprint."
As everyone already knew, the Chinese women's 4x400m relay team had some deficiencies in overall strength, despite making significant progress in their performance over the past six months of training. However, the Chinese female athletes on the track showed no signs of being polite or acknowledging their weakness.
When Chen Yadan was about to hand over the baton in the first leg, despite Niranjana's reluctance, Chen Yadan had already overtaken her in the final stages of the first leg, entering the relay handover area ahead of her and successfully completing the baton exchange.
"Come on!"
As the relay baton was passed to the second leg runner, Lin Huan, Chen Yadan gradually slowed down and quietly encouraged her from behind.
While Lin Huan's speed was slightly inferior to the second legs of India and Bahrain, she did not falter. After a quick baton exchange, Lin Huan accelerated on the track. After overtaking the first curve, despite being squeezed between the second legs of India, Bahrain, and Sri Lanka, Lin Huan still managed to secure an inner lane, but she was now in the third position.
"Oh no!" Li Sen in the sports commentary booth sighed as he watched the situation on the track. "Lin Huan's lane change was affected by runners from India, Bahrain, and Sri Lanka. She didn't pay attention to the situation on the track, and her lane change was a bit rushed. Now she's stuck in the inner lane, and there are other runners behind her. It will be very difficult for her to cut to the outside lane and overtake now..."
At this point, as Li Sen had pointed out, all seven runners were stuck between the innermost lane and the second lane.
Initially, after Lin Huan was squeezed into the third position, she instinctively wanted to overtake on the outside. However, with all seven runners racing at full speed in two lanes, Lin Huan had lost the opportunity to cut to the outside and make a move.
In the subsequent legs, from the third to the fourth leg, including Lin Yao, these Chinese girls never gave up any opportunities to surge forward. However, especially when it came to the fourth leg, whether it was the fourth leg of the Indian team or the powerhouse Naser from Bahrain, these runners had rich experience in relay races. Regardless of how Lin Yao chased after them, she couldn't overtake the two athletes in front of her.
In the end, Lin Yao stubbornly chased after the Indian team's fourth leg and crossed the finish line, securing an unexpectedly good result that they had never imagined. However, they also witnessed firsthand that Bahrain's Nasser crossed the finish line in first place.
With this, China's team, which had held the top position in the gold medal tally for just half a day, was once again caught up by the Bahrain team.
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Chapter 132: Women's Team's Unwillingness & Men's 4x400m Relay About to Start
As Lin Yao crossed the finish line, she was already stumbling. In the final 100 meters of the race, she had given her all to prevent the fourth leg of the Japanese women's team from catching up. She had pushed her body to the limit. While it seemed that the Indian and Bahraini teams were not so far ahead on the track, no matter how hard she chased, she couldn't catch up with the fourth-leg runners from India and Bahrain.
At the moment she crossed the finish line, Lin Yao hadn't yet felt the joy of surpassing her previous results. Tears of frustration welled up in her eyes.
Chen Yadan and a few others were already waiting at the finish line. After seeing Lin Yao shedding tears of frustration, Chen Yadan walked over and patted Lin Yao on the shoulder. "Why are you crying? We secured third place, and it's the best result our team has ever achieved in all these years!"
Lin Yao was usually a lively and resilient young girl. She had never cried, no matter how tough or tiring the training was, and she hadn't shed tears even when her individual race results were less than ideal.
However, at this moment, after Chen Yadan consoled her, Lin Yao's tears flowed even more uncontrollably. "Danjie, I did my best. I gave it my all, but I couldn't catch up with them..."
Chen Yadan nodded understandingly, and the other two girls also hugged Lin Yao, their faces showing a hint of frustration and sadness.
"I know. We all did our best. Although we couldn't compete with the teams from Bahrain and India, compared to our past performances, we've made significant progress."
Chen Yadan comforted her teammates, saying, "We should be happy with the result we achieved today!"
With Chen Yadan's comfort, Lin Yao wiped away her tears with the back of her hand and took a deep breath. "I know... I'm just not satisfied." After a pause, Lin Yao added, "And... the gold medal tally has been caught up to by Bahrain's team again."
"I know." Chen Yadan hugged Lin Yao and then said seriously, "We should strive to improve our abilities, but there is still a gap between our current strength and Bahrain and India. It's not something we can catch up with just by giving our all."
"Just as I said earlier, at least we've broken through our previous limits, and that's a victory. As for Bahrain and India, they are the goals we need to chase and surpass, so why cry over this?"
With that, Chen Yadan raised her hand and helped wipe away the tears that had slid down Lin Yao's cheeks. "As for the gold medal tally, Bahrain has only caught up to us, not surpassed us, right?"
"The battlefield belongs to those guys on the men's team next. Lin Yao, you have to believe in your teammates."
With the comfort of her teammates and Chen Yadan, Lin Yao's emotions gradually calmed down. She wiped away the remaining tears on her cheeks and nodded earnestly. "Yeah!"
In the sports channel's commentary box, Shao Minyi and Li Sen observed the scene through the live broadcast. From the way the girls on the team were gathered together, the two of them could guess the meaning behind it.
"It's evident that the girls on the team aren't entirely satisfied with their performance," Shao Minyi said as she watched the situation on the screen. She wore a gentle smile on her face. "Actually, those who have followed relay races in the past should know that the bronze medal the women's 4x400m relay team secured today is the best result they've achieved in recent years. They've surpassed themselves and won a result they can be proud of."
"Yes," Li Sen added, "Since last year, not only has the men's 400m team been continuously improving, but these girls on the women's team have also not relaxed their demands on themselves. The bronze medal they won today is an affirmation of their hard-earned achievement. However, we can see that the girls on the team don't seem to be entirely satisfied with this result."
"This pursuit of excellence, the mindset of striving for faster and stronger performances, and the dissatisfaction with their current results will all be the driving force for them to continue chasing formidable opponents and breaking their own limits."
"We can believe that as long as they maintain this mindset, the women's 400m relay team will continue to improve and become stronger!"
In the barrage of comments, many viewers, who initially thought the girls on the team were celebrating their bronze medal, realized after listening to Shao Minyi and Li Sen's commentary that Lin Yao's expression showed her "unwillingness" rather than "tears of joy." Viewers in the chat began to console the girls on the team.
【Yao Mei, don't cry! This is a bronze medal! You guys are amazing! Train hard for another year, and next time we'll 'overtake India and surpass Bahrain'!】
【Haha, 'overtake India and surpass Bahrain' sounds funny, but the previous comment is right. Yao Mei, don't cry! You did great!!】
In China, Su Bai, who was also watching the competition, smiled and shook her head when she saw Lin Yao's unwilling tears. Then, he made a special note on the relay training of the women's team with a star.
During the winter training, the women's team mainly focused on improving the individual abilities and endurance training of each female team member. As for women's relay, because the overall abilities of the team were not up to par and there was no clear new core member after Chen Yadan, it wasn't given special emphasis for the time being.
Now, Su Bai saw Lin Yao's sprint in the final segment and her post-match condition, and she began to form a vague idea of the potential new core member for the women's relay team in the future.
Su Bai glanced at the notes he had taken and marked a few of the female team members with her pen, feeling that he needed to pay attention to more potential talents.
In the stands at the Doha Stadium,
Jiang Wentao and his group were also applauding and encouraging the women's team members on the field. Compared to their previous performances, the bronze medal won by the women's team today was already something they could be proud of!
No one would blame them, and no one would think that it was because they couldn't beat Bahrain and India that China's position in the gold medal ranking had been caught up.
"They are all good girls, and these are great achievements!"
The dedication and hard work of the female team members in training, as well as their determination on the field, had already earned them the respect of everyone.
"In a moment... it will be the men's team's competition."
After applauding the girls on the women's team, Jiang Wentao and the others couldn't help but think of the upcoming event.
Just after this relay race, China was once again tied with Bahrain in the gold medal standings. In the next two relay races, Japan and Bahrain each had their advantages.
In the men's 4x400m race, Japan and Qatar were strong contenders. Japan had a traditional relay advantage, while Qatar had home-field advantage and had strong runners like Roger in their team.
As for the mixed-gender 4x400m relay, it was almost dominated by Bahrain.
"This battle tonight won't be easy..."
Even though the Chinese team had set a national record in the 4x400m relay at the Asian Games last year and won a silver medal, at this moment, whether it was Jiang Wentao, Wang Ting, or other coaches in the audience, no one was sure that the Chinese men's relay team would definitely win a medal tonight, let alone a gold one.
In the commentary box, while waiting for the start of the men's 4x400m relay, Shao Minyi and Li Sen were discussing the current situation.
"The upcoming men's 4x400m relay and the mixed-gender 4x400m relay will be the last two events of this Athletics Asian Championship. However, at this point in the competition, although the Chinese team has achieved the goal of 'winning the medal standings' set before the competition, the competition for the gold medal standings hasn't been particularly smooth."
"That's right."
As the two commentators spoke, the sports channel's live screen displayed the current gold medal standings for the Asian Championships. China and Bahrain were once again tied in the number of gold medals.
"The close nature of this situation is quite rare. As the competition reaches its final two events, the battle for the top position in the gold medal standings remains undecided."
"Indeed," Shao Minyi looked at the data on the gold medal standings and continued, "Although there are indeed two events remaining, the upcoming men's 4x400m relay final is the most crucial battle for the Chinese team. If they win this, China's position in the gold medal standings will be secure. Even if Bahrain wins the gold in the following mixed-gender 4x400m relay, China and Bahrain will still share the top position."
While Shao Minyi and Li Sen were discussing the current situation, the competition venue had already been cleared, and the seven teams participating in the men's 4x400m relay had taken their positions on the track.
"We just received the official roster for the 4x400m relay and the following mixed-gender 4x400m relay. In this race, China's first leg will be run by Zhang Ziyi, the second leg by Qiu Wen, the third leg by Guo Dun, and the anchor leg by Li Junhao. Although Qiu Wen has replaced Lin Chuan in this competition, it's clear that Su Bai highly values Li Junhao's ability in the anchor position."
"That's right. Both I and Old Sha remember last year's Asian Games when Li Junhao ran the anchor leg in the relay and did an excellent job, earning him significant credit for that silver medal."
"Not only is Li Junhao's name in the lineup for this men's 4x400m relay, according to the official roster we just received, Zhang Ziyi and Qiu Wen, originally slated to participate in the mixed-gender 4x400m relay, have also been replaced by Guo Dun and Li Junhao. This seems to be the best configuration in terms of the athletes' physical condition."
While Shao Min and Li Sen didn't explicitly mention it, the information they conveyed hinted at the reason for this choice—Zhang Ziyi and Qiu Wen are expected to give their all in this 4x400m relay.
With this understanding, the attention of the viewers was now focused on the several Chinese team members who had appeared on the live broadcast screen. Whether China could hold onto the top spot in the gold medal standings for this Asian Championship would depend on this crucial race!
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