The 2022 WTT Singapore Grand Slam Men's Singles Quarterfinals kicked off with double Grand Slam winner Malone and Chinese Taipei star Lin Yunru staged a mars-hitting earth match. In the end, Ma Long defeated Lin Yunru after 5 rounds of hard fighting and broke into the men's singles final four. This competition is Malone's first step towards the Paris Olympic cycle. After winning the Tokyo Olympics, almost everyone thought that Malone would retire with the glory of the Olympic champion, but then he and Xu Xin said in an interview that they would not say goodbye to the field in advance, in addition to helping the team complete the task of passing and helping, the two also hoped to enjoy a good time in table tennis.
Judging from the current situation, Xu Xin has lost its absolute advantage in singles, and the characteristics of straight board and horizontal play will no longer be the technical mainstream of the world table tennis arena. In addition to singles, Xu Xin was originally paired with Liu Shiwen in the mixed doubles event, but the two veterans have grown older, and considering the echelon construction of the Paris Olympic Games, they have been replaced by Wang Chuqin and Sun Yingsha. The "Shatou" duo has just won the mixed doubles title at the Singapore Grand Slam and won the World Championships last season, and it is no surprise that the pair will be the mixed doubles team of the National Table Tennis Paris Olympic Games.
Although Ma Long is already the elder of the three dynasties, he is still the leader of the national table tennis men's team in terms of technical ability and competition experience. Except for Fan Zhendong, it is difficult for other players to defeat Ma Long. In this competition, Ma Long defeated the new generation representative Wang Chuqin in the quarter-finals, and many fans could not help but sigh "Ginger is still old spicy". And Liang Jingkun, Lin Gaoyuan, Zhou Qihao and other players, in terms of comprehensiveness, there is still a certain gap with Ma Long. Therefore, as long as Ma Long's physical condition allows, he and Fan Zhendong are still the "twin stars" of the national table tennis men's team.
Earlier, Malone had said that he still wanted to participate in the 2024 Paris Olympics. However, as soon as the remarks came out, they triggered a heated discussion among the majority of fans. Some fans said that although Ma Long's comprehensive strength is very strong and his career has achieved great success, if he plays another Olympic Games, it may not be conducive to the growth of young players in national table tennis. There are also fans who believe that competitive sports rely on strength to speak, age can not determine everything, in the past Olympic Games, veterans to turn the tide to win the championship cases abound. If Malone insists on the Paris Olympics, he will launch an attack on the Olympic singles triple crown, and whether he can become the first person in history is worth looking forward to.
The current leader of the national table tennis men's team is Fan Zhendong, from the beginning of the Tokyo Olympic cycle, the duel between Ma Long and Fan Zhendong has always been the main theme of the men's singles field of international table tennis, but in the World Championships and Olympic Finals, the final winner is Ma Long. At the 2021 World Championships, Ma Long did not participate, and Fan Zhendong finally broke through the cocoon and won the first world championship men's singles championship trophy of his career. For the world number one, the goal of the Paris Olympics is undoubtedly gold medals. But if Malone fights Paris again, whose name will be written on this men's singles gold medal?
(Luo Treasurer)