A mixed doubles match at the 2022 WTT Macau Championships successfully attracted the attention of fans, with world champion wang Chuqin and Sun Yingsha facing Olympic champions Ma Long and Qian Tianyi. After the draw was released in groups, it became everyone's expectation. This is the first time that Ma Long has participated in the mixed doubles project in his entire career, and Wang Chuqin and Sun Yingsha, as representatives of the new generation of national table tennis, will be soft in the face of the big brother Ma Long, which is also a major attraction of the competition. In the end, Wang Chuqin and Sun Yingsha defeated Ma Long and Qian Tianyi in three straight sets to get the opening red of this competition, while Ma Long, who made his mixed doubles debut in the international arena, ended with a defeat.
For Malone, who is no longer young, this game may be his masterpiece in the mixed doubles event. In this Macau Championships, Ma Long participated in the men's singles and mixed doubles competitions, and compared with the men's singles, fans are more looking forward to his performance in the mixed doubles event. In the thirty years of table tennis, everyone has never seen Malone playing mixed doubles in an official international competition. Malone has been a doubles champion in the national table tennis team, and since the London Olympics, in addition to singles, he has also competed in men's doubles. From Zhang Jike and Xu Xin to Wang Chuqin and Lin Gaoyuan, the men's doubles partners around Ma Long are constantly changing, but what has not changed is his own strong strength and the trust of the coaching team.
In the previous Men's Team Competition at the Tokyo Olympics, Ma Long and Xu Xin together saved the men's doubles point for the team, and also laid the foundation for Fan Zhendong's singles victory. Although he and Xu Xin have entered the end of their careers, the comprehensive strength of the two is still among the best in the national table tennis team, last season's World Championships, due to the absence of Ma Long and Xu Xin to the golden partner of men's doubles, directly led to the Chinese team losing the men's doubles gold medal, which is also the only single event that the national table tennis team lost in the World Championships. In the quarter-finals of the Macau Mixed Doubles, Ma Long and Qian Tianyi met the stint world championship winners Wang Chuqin and Sun Yingsha.
Before the game, many people thought that this was a match between the two sides, after all, the names of Wang Chuqin, Ma Long and Sun Yingsha appeared in the same game, and the point of view and gold content of the game need not be said. Judging from the competition, both sides have played a high level of competition, but due to the gap between Qian Tianyi's personal ability and these three main players, she has also become the main breakthrough point for Wang Chuqin and Sun Yingsha to win. In the game, Malone's performance attracted cheers from the fans and played wonderful balls many times. Many fans sighed, "Malone is really a doubles master, it is a pity that he is not worthy of mixed doubles."
Despite losing the game, Malone was satisfied with his mixed doubles debut, saying he enjoyed the game and cherished the opportunities he had left. Interestingly, Ma Long, who has always been cautious in his words and deeds, also praised his teammates' immortal appearance in front of the camera, and he joked, "The fans are here for Qian Tianyi's super high appearance." This sentence also made many media laugh, and some people said that it was the first time that the "Dragon Team" praised the beautiful female players in front of the camera. How much did you rate Malone's first and only career appearance in mixed doubles on the international stage?
(Luo Treasurer)