On December 29, 2021, the Sports Department of Xinhua News Agency selected the top ten athletes in China in 2021 and the top ten athletes in the world in 2021. Ma Long, the captain of the Chinese table tennis team, the men's singles champion of table tennis at the Tokyo Olympic Games, and the Grand Slam player, was successfully selected for these two lists, becoming the brightest sports star in China and even in the world in 2021.
The Sports Department of Xinhua News Agency selected the top ten athletes in China in 2021:
1. Yang Qian (female, 21 years old, shooting)
2. Su Bingtian (male, 32 years old, athletics)
3. Shi Tingmao (female, 30 years old, diving)
4. Ma Long (male, 33 years old, table tennis)
Malone won the men's table tennis championship at the Tokyo Olympics, becoming the first person to defend his title in the history of olympic table tennis in men's singles and becoming the player with the most world championship titles in the history of table tennis (26 titles).
5. Gong Lijiao (female, 32 years old, athletics)
6. Gu Ailing (female, 18 years old, freestyle skiing)
7. Lv Xiaojun (male, 37 years old, weightlifting)
8. Zhang Yufei (female, 23 years old, swimming)
9. Wang Shun (male, 27 years old, swimming)
10. Chen Yufei (female, 23 years old, badminton)
The Sports Department of Xinhua News Agency named the top ten international athletes in 2021 (in no particular order):
1. Leo Messi (Argentina, male, 34 years old, football)
2. Novak Djokovic (Serbian, male, 34 years old, tennis)
3. Max Verstappen (Netherlands, male, 24 years old, racing)
4. Robert Lewandowski (Poland, male, 33, football)
5. Elaine Thompson (Jamaican, female, 29 years old, sprint)
6. Ma Long (Chinese, male, 33 years old, table tennis)
Ma Long won the men's table tennis championship at the Tokyo Olympic Games, becoming the first person to defend the men's singles title in the history of Olympic table tennis, and becoming the player with the most world championship titles in the history of table tennis.
7. Caleb Drexel (USA, male, 25 years old, swimming)
8. Carsten Warholm (Norway, male, 25 years old, hurdles)
9. Arcelor (Danish, male, 27 years old, badminton)
10. Lamonte Jacob (Italian, male, 27 years old, sprint)
Malone is the first super grand slam male champion to combine the Olympic Games, World Championships, World Cup, Asian Games, Asian Championships, Asian Cup, Tour Finals and National Games singles champion. And what's even more amazing is that Malone has won at least two or more championships in all competitions, is the first person to defend the men's singles title in the history of Olympic table tennis, and the player with the most world championship titles in the history of table tennis (26 world champions). At the 2021 Houston World Table Tennis Championships, the Chinese table tennis team did not send Malone to compete in order to cultivate new talents. Otherwise, Malone's number of world champions will increase further.
The reason why Ma Long can be selected as one of the top ten athletes in China in 2021 and the top ten international athletes in 2021 is entirely achieved by his own efforts. In 2019, Malone went to Los Angeles for surgery and long-term rehabilitation training due to a knee injury. During a period of several months of recovery, he could only walk on crutches. After his comeback, Malone did not compete at his best, failing to win a championship for 18 months.
Luckily, God took care of Marlon. The Tokyo Olympics were postponed for a year, which gave Malone enough time to recover and find his best form. In November 2020, in the year-end finals of the WTT ITTF Tour, Ma Long finally won Fan Zhendong and won his first title since his return. It took another 9 months to have the current Men's Singles Champion and Men's Team Champion at the Malone Olympics.
Malone never wanted to give up on his goal, he was already enjoying table tennis and would keep playing whenever possible, and maybe there were more highlights waiting for Malone in Paris in 2024.