Chapter 473: Meng Fan Withdraws from the Competition

Chapter 473 Meng Fan Withdraws from the Competition

"I am just an athlete here to participate in the competition."

Meng Fan spoke as he walked out. Although there were many reporters and everyone saw his bandaged hand, his imposing aura and ferocious reputation were still there. Not a single person dared to block his path, and it was even less likely that anyone would dare to shove a microphone into his face.

"As for whether I can participate in the competition? I can tell you with absolute certainty, yes. Even if I only use one hand, the outcome of the matches won't change. However, under these circumstances, whether the national team will still let me compete is something I don't know. I comply with any arrangement made by the national team."

Meng Fan had absolutely no intention of mentioning the rescue incident. He felt this whole thing was just too incredibly absurd. Just as people online were saying, he hadn't gotten injured when kicking down dojos for competitions, but instead ended up injured off the field. How could he not feel grossed out by it? Of course, having said that, if Meng Fan were given the choice again, he would still step in. This had nothing to do with which country the people he saved belonged to.

"Alright, everyone disperse. I have nothing else to say in response."

Meng Fan waved his hand as a farewell. After breaking through the crowd, he walked with his companions toward the vehicle that had already parked.

"Huaxia Meng$#%#^￥%#……"

A person rushed forward, speaking and bowing to Meng Fan repeatedly. It was precisely the girl whom Meng Fan had protected from getting injured.

Meng Fan had not turned on his translator, but he could roughly guess what was being said. He smiled, waved his hand, and got into the car.

After the others got into the car and the vehicle departed, the reporters swarmed around the girl. Clearly, they all recognized her as one of the individuals saved by Meng Fan. As for where the other boy was, who knew.

Surrounded by reporters and all sorts of questions, the girl completely panicked, and in the end, no one knew how she managed to squeeze her way out.

The accommodation arranged for the athletes for this Busan stop of the IJF World Masters was the Asian Games Village neighborhood from the 2002 Busan Asian Games. Before Meng Fan and the others returned, the other members of the national team and the staff had already checked in long ago. They had originally planned to go familiarize themselves with the competition venue, but because of this sudden incident with Meng Fan, none of them could go, and none of them were in the mood to go either.

"How is it?"

"Is your hand okay?"

"What did the doctor say?"

After Meng Fan arrived, the team members all gathered around. Each one of them was deeply concerned and also nervous—more nervous than if they had been injured themselves. Besides being the gold-medal flagship of the judo team who brought immense benefits to both the team and them individually, Meng Fan was also their tactical instructor and "spiritual mentor." Their affection and respect for him came straight from the heart, so their concern was naturally genuine without a single drop of falsehood.

Aside from the arrival of the Chinese team members, several judo athletes from other national teams came over as well. A small portion of them were opponents defeated by Meng Fan—after all, there were only so many people in the heaviest weight class, so most were from other weight classes. They didn't come here purely to join the crowd or fish for information; quite a few genuinely cared. After all, a powerhouse like Meng Fan had many fans and admirers, and there were truly many judo athletes who regarded Meng Fan as their idol.

"Thank you all for your concern, it's not a big problem. Even with one hand, I could still whip you guys until you lose your tempers. However, the national team has already confirmed that they won't let me compete."

Meng Fan gestured a bit and clenched his fingers. The injury was indeed not serious. In fact, even without stitches, it would probably heal before long. Looking at the current flexibility of his hand, drawing wouldn't be much of a problem, just don't expect it to be very fast.

As for the competition, what Meng Fan said earlier was also the truth. If he really went onto the mat, the result would definitely be the same as the Olympics. It was just that right after he said those words earlier, Xiao Yunlin had flatly rejected it. What if the wound tore and expanded? It was impossible for Xiao Yunlin to let him take that risk.

Furthermore, if he really dared to let Meng Fan continue competing, the people from the Weightlifting, Wrestling, and Judo Administrative Center would definitely line up to tear him apart once they returned.

To be honest, Meng Fan originally wanted to say that he would rely on one hand to win a Masters championship just to flex, but looking at it now, he wouldn't be able to flex. No matter what, he had to obey the national team's arrangements.

Hearing that Meng Fan was not competing, the eyes of the heaviest weight class athletes present lit up one by one. With Meng Fan withdrawing, their rankings would definitely rise by one spot.

There was also someone whose eyes turned dim, and that was the former legendary figure of the judo project, Teddy Riner.

"What a pity!"

Teddy Riner went up to shake Meng Fan's hand. He originally extended his right hand, but after reaching out, he switched to his left: "Since the Olympics, I have been training relentlessly, waiting for the chance to face you again. I never expected such a thing to happen. It is very regrettable, but I also deeply respect the choice of you and your team. I hope the time for our next encounter comes a bit sooner. Also, what you did at the airport was truly magnificent!"

"Thank you."

Meng Fan smiled and said, "But you don't need to feel regretful. If you find the loneliness unbearable, you can come find me anytime. I can still make up for your regret with just one hand."

The accompanying translator felt like cursing. How on earth was he supposed to translate this? What kind of god-awful phrase was 'loneliness unbearable'? Those in the know would understand it meant that in Teddy Riner's eyes, there were no other opponents left in the world, but those who didn't know would think Meng Fan was making a public booty call, especially when followed by the line 'I can still make up for your regret with just one hand.' How could that not make people read too much into it?

What choice did the translator have? He could only translate it as a 'Thank you, if you want to fight, you can find Meng Fan for a private practice session.'

When Teddy Riner heard this, his spirits instantly lifted, and he said, "Alright, I understand. I hope you recover as soon as possible, I will personally visit you in Huaxia."

He truly could not wait. Whether it was a competition or not didn't matter. What mattered was facing Meng Fan. Sometimes, even winning or losing didn't seem important when he thought about it; what mattered was having someone who could ignite his desire to fight.

After the crowd dispersed, Meng Fan returned to his quarters.

He definitely couldn't fight in the competition anymore, but Meng Fan didn't decide to head back right away. After all, he still held the status of a coach. While he couldn't compete, the spiritual chicken soup he needed to provide for the team members could not be missing.

Since the judo team resumed training after the Olympics, combining the "Meng Style Tactics" with the results of the exchange with Japan, their overall strength had seen a certain growth in a short period of time. This Masters tournament was considered a chance to test it out. Aside from Meng Fan, there were a total of eleven participants across the seven weight classes for men and women, and Meng Fan also hoped to witness the results with his own eyes.

The next day, the Chinese team headed to the competition venue for the pre-match weigh-in and acclimatization training. Before this, the Chinese team naturally announced the news of Meng Fan's withdrawal to the public. The vast majority of people were not surprised by this. After all, the popularity of the airport incident was so high that everyone knew Meng Fan was injured. While there were cases of athletes competing with injuries, this Masters tournament had no impact on Meng Fan's career, nor was it a breakthrough milestone event, so everyone could understand his withdrawal. If he didn't withdraw, people would find it harder to understand instead.

In addition, not long after the Chinese team announced Meng Fan's withdrawal, an even bigger piece of news arrived. It turned out that the girl whom Meng Fan had protected at the airport, who was the very same girl who went to the hospital to thank Meng Fan in person yesterday, had met with an accident!

(End of Chapter)