Domination in America, Starting from being a Boxing Champion-Chapter 890 - 634: Chance Encounter at the Olympic Village

"Link got another silver in the javelin? Is he Superman?"

At the Ancient Olympia stands, Shawn Gibbons, Eddie Hearn, and Nora Duvall looked at Link standing on the podium – first in shock, then their faces turned to helplessness.

Originally, after Link won the gold in shot put, everyone was worried that signing Link for 5 million US dollars wouldn't be enough, and now Link has secured a silver medal in javelin.

Link's international fame has greatly increased now, and so has his commercial value.

This is both good and bad for boxing promotion companies.

The good thing is that as Link's fame grows, it will be easier to promote his fights in the future, the effect will be better, it will attract more attention, and accordingly, match revenues will also increase.

The downside is that opponents will take Link more seriously, and it will take more money to sign him.

Bob Arum, Eddie Hearn, and others are preparing to go back and hold a work meeting to discuss in detail how to sign Link.

After Link won the silver medal in the javelin event, domestic and foreign media reported on the matter, discussing Link's performance at the Olympic Games.

He registered for four events and has already attained 1 gold and 1 silver, with boxing progressing to the quarterfinals, where he has a good chance of earning a medal, and only the 5000m race yet to take place.

From the current situation, Link's performance at the Olympic Games is very good.

Although he's not the best-performing athlete of the Huaxia sports delegation, the best performance is by Zhang Yining from the table tennis team, who got two gold medals in women's doubles and singles competitions.

But the significance of Link's 1 gold and 1 silver is the heaviest – before him, the Huaxia sports team had never entered the finals in the shot put and javelin; he filled the gap for Huaxia sports in these two events with two medals.

The Huaxia Team picked up 1 gold and 1 silver in these two events for nothing.

And the same is true for boxing – never before had a Huaxia boxer entered the semifinals.

People's Daily published a commentary article on the 20th stating that Link is creating history.

"Link, you're freaking awesome, you're the pride of our dorm."

"Bullshit, he should be said to be the pride of our Sports University and our Huaxia Team."

"Link, good job, keep it up, and we'll celebrate for you when you come back."

On the way back to the Athens Olympic Village, Link received a call from Jiang Weixing, but before he could say anything, Jiang Weixing, Bao Xiaohu, and Chang Yijun were scrambling to speak.

"Got it, I'll keep trying my best."

Link said while leaning back in his seat, holding his phone.

"Link, do you know? During these few days, CCTV5 has been replaying your shot put and boxing matches, and the javelin competition was broadcast live in full. Your popularity in the country is really high right now, you're even topping Zhou Jie Lun and Little Swallow."

Jiang Weixing said with an exaggerated tone.

"Really? That sounds great."

Link laughed.

"Is Athens fun, Link? Did you score with some chicks, heh heh, I saw pictures on Sina.com, there are so many hot female athletes at the Athens Olympics, with amazing figures."

Bao Xiaohu said with a smirk.

"Definitely not, Link is there to compete, not to hit on girls. He has so many events to participate in, what if flirting weakens his legs?"

Before Link could speak up, Jiang Weixing dismissed Bao Xiaohu's remarks for him.

"You two stop talking nonsense. Link needs to rest after his competition, he doesn't have time to listen to your babble," Jiang Weixing said.

Chang Yijun chastised the two of them.

Jiang Weixing and Bao Xiaohu stopped their foolish talk and asked about the weather, language, and cuisine in Athens.

Link briefly answered a few questions, hung up the phone, and saw congratulatory messages from family and friends, including his parents, teachers, Zhou Xun, Gao Yuanyuan, Princess, Lin Zhilin, Liang Jingru, and even Tang Yan mentioned she was also in Athens to participate in the closing ceremony torch relay. She said she'd be there tomorrow to cheer for him.

He selectively replied to a few messages and called back Zhang Zilin.

——

The car arrived and stopped at the Olympic Village. Located at the foot of Mount Parnitha, near the center of Athens, the Athens Olympic Village was once barren land. After the successful Olympic bid in 1994, the Greek government constructed the Olympic Village there.

The total construction area is 372,000 square meters with 366 buildings and 2,292 rooms.

The total cost was 730 million pounds.

During the Olympics, athletes and officials from the Olympic Organizing Committee and various national sports delegations all lived in the Olympic Village, housing approximately 16,000 people.

For safety reasons, access to different areas of the Olympic Village was restricted. Only athletes, officials, and Olympic Village staff with proper accreditation could enter the residential areas.

There was also the matter of dining. The cafeteria provided a variety of dishes, respecting the food habits of different countries, and charged 45 Euros per person per meal.

After dining at the Huaxia restaurant in the catering area, Link planned to return to his dormitory to rest. On the way, he encountered a group of girls in Russian sports delegation uniforms, blond-haired and fair-skinned with slender figures. He wasn't sure if they were from the gymnastics or synchronized swimming team.

The girls surrounded him to greet and ask for autographs, saying they had just watched his match and praised his performance as very good. They even complimented him for being handsome, resembling an Ancient Greek sculpture on the athletic field.

Link thanked them in Russian.

Hearing that he spoke Russian, the girls got even more excited and invited him to sit at the athletes' activity center's bar, a popular spot called 'Bin Laden Bar' in the Olympic Village.

Link politely declined. He had a competition the next day and it wasn't convenient to drink. Besides, to prevent any incidents from drinking, the coaches had forbidden the athletes from visiting the bar during the competition period.

After wishing the girls fun, Link excused himself and headed towards the male dormitory. But not far off, one of the girls broke away from the group and followed him, calling out to him.

The girl was around twenty, dressed in a tight T-shirt and sports pants, with long, curly golden-brown hair and delicate features.

Compared to her teammates, her figure was more voluptuous and well-proportioned.

Link took a glance at her, feeling a sense of familiarity as if her name was Kabayevo, the Russian rhythmic gymnastics team leader, who had won world championships, European championships, World Cup rhythmic gymnastics events, and the bronze medal in the Sydney Olympics.

"Link, may I visit your dormitory?" Kabayevo asked with a radiant smile.

"There is no vodka in my dorm. Are you still interested?"

"Yes, will you invite me?" the girl asked with a wink and a smile.

"Of course, please!"

Link smiled and chatted with the girl while walking. She said she had watched his boxing match and praised him for being formidable, asking if he was confident in winning the championship.

Link declared he would succeed at all costs. As he passed by the condom vending machine, he grabbed a few extra-large ones. The girl said nothing but just watched him with a smile.

After returning to the dormitory, Link hung a 'Do Not Disturb' sign on the door. He chatted with the girl by the window, talking about the scenery of Athens, about the food in Russia and Huaxia, and then they both walked into the bathroom together.

In the afternoon, Tian Liang and Yang Jinghui returned from the city sports hall and were planning to invite Link to play cards. Upon arrival at Link's dorm door, they saw the 'Do Not Disturb' sign hanging on the door handle.

"Link, are you there? Are we playing cards or not?"

Tian Liang called out.

There was no response from within the room.

"Sleeping?"

Tian Liang scratched his head, preparing to leave, when suddenly he caught some strange sounds with his ears that seemed to be coming from inside the room.

Tian Liang blinked, looked left and right down the corridor to see if anyone was approaching, then quietly walked up to the door and pressed his ear against the crack. Instantly, the strange sounds became clearer, resembling a woman's cries, in a language he couldn't understand clearly or make out.

But those sounds were particularly suggestive, and he only listened for a few seconds before feeling his face heat up, with some dirty images coming to mind.

Smack!

"Liangzi, what are you sneaking around here for?"

Tian Liang, while lost in listening, was startled by a slap on his shoulder from behind, nearly screaming out loud.

"Brother Hao, you scared me to death."

Tian Liang said with displeasure, holding his chest.

"What are you doing at Link's door?"

Wang Hao asked.

"Nothing much, I was looking for Link to play cards. Link's not here, let's go. Good thing you've come, we need a fourth player."

Tian Liang dragged Wang Hao as he spoke.

"He has the sign up, maybe he's in there. Should we knock on the door?"

"I've knocked already, no response. He must be sleeping."

"Why is your face so red?"

"It's too hot, let's not waste time talking, let's go!"

Tian Liang pushed Wang Hao into the dorm room across the way.

The Olympic Village dormitories were two-person rooms, shared by teammates of the same event. Tian Liang and Yang Jinghui stayed together. Link was a special case, so he stayed in a single room by himself.

After Wang Hao joined, they started playing the card game Upgrade, but as soon as Tian Liang sat down, the cries he had heard outside the door still echoed in his ears, and those incongruous images kept appearing in his mind, making him somewhat distracted.

"Liangzi, what are you doing? We're playing Upgrade, why are you playing pairs?"

Yang Jinghui said dissatisfiedly.

Tian Liang scratched his forehead and took back his hand of cards to play again.

After playing for two rounds, he went to wash his face in the bathroom and managed to calm down.

They played for over an hour, and as the sky grew darker, Wang Hao threw down his cards, saying he was stopping, as there was training tomorrow. He got up and left.

Tian Liang also stepped outside for a walk and noticed the 'Do Not Disturb' sign still on Link's door. Hesitating whether to eavesdrop again and see if the sounds were still there, creak—the door suddenly opened.

He saw Link leading a foreign girl out, her wet golden hair flowing freely, a fiery figure, with her T-shirt flipped up, revealing a stretch of fair and slender waist.

The two chatted in a language he didn't understand, walking down the stairs as they talked.

A scent of shower gel wafted through the air.

Tian Liang took a sniff and returned to the dorm, saying to Yang Jinghui who was doing push-ups, "Do you believe that Link will definitely lose tomorrow's match?"

"Huh, how would you know?"

Yang Jinghui asked, propping himself on the floor.

"I bet you, Link seems all prim and proper, but turns out he's a playboy in private."

Tian Liang complained.

Yang Jinghui ignored him, continuing to perform push-ups on the ground.

Both of them had won the men's synchronized 10-meter platform event on the 14th. The other men's 10-meter platform event would take place on the penultimate day, so they arranged their own training during the days without competitions.

Tian Liang decided to go watch Link's match the next day, curious to see if his legs would wobble.

Heh, if his legs do wobble, he definitely had to tease him a bit.

----

Leg weakness was naturally unlikely. After his rendezvous with Kabayevo, Link felt refreshed, the fatigue brought on by the days of competition swept away.

Especially on the next day, after waking up from a good night's sleep, his whole body felt relaxed and clear, like someone parched for days who suddenly drinks sweet spring water, or sweltering in heat who suddenly receives a cool rain from the sky.

On the way to the competition, Coach Zhao Liwei also looked at him curiously several times, commenting that his spirits seemed good.

Link said he had a very good rest the previous night.

Coach Zhao Liwei nodded and said it was good, then talked to him about his opponent that day—Kazakhstan's Atayev, a very strong adversary.

Link remembered that the opponent had defeated Aragon at this Olympic Games to claim a boxing gold medal.

Now that Atayev had become his own opponent, Link needed to be cautious.

Atayev was 176 cm tall, with a reach of 181 cm, solidly built, and strong in taking hits.

At 31 years old, although he was Kazakhstani, he had been training in Germany for many years. Entering the amateur boxing ring in 94, he had won multiple amateur championships, with a current amateur record of 97 fights, 95 wins, 1 draw, and 1 loss. He only lost to an opponent in his second fight and had remained unbeaten in subsequent contests.

Link had watched videotaped matches of his opponent; his technique was good, leaning towards the Soviet style, with hard punches, strong in both offense and defense, often defeating opponents by large margins in amateur matches.

A clean and straightforward victory over the opponent was going to be challenging for Link.

The car arrived at the Kallithea Sports Hall, and even before they could enter, they saw many people lining up at the south gate to get into the sports hall, with TV reporters and cameras present.

From the crowd, it seemed like today's competition was even busier than the day before.