66 The Championship Starts

The news that Jiang would be competing in the 62kg weight class spread all over the team. It was much harder to drop weight than it was to gain weight in weightlifting, especially when Jiang had been in the 69kg weight class for almost 14 years. It surprised a lot of people when they heard that he was going to the 62kg.

No one had positive opinions about Jiang's decision besides Li. Jiang was 32-years-old, after all. Most domestic athletes' physical abilities began to deteriorate when they got to this age, and most of them were simply counting down to retirement.

Xiang Huang began gossiping again in the cafeteria.

"Jiang is really hard-working. In order to stay on the team, he dropped down to the 62kg weight class. You know he is in his 30s. Normally athletes his age are retired," Xiang Huang said.