The Three Musketeers of National Pingping: From hardcore brothers to a break in relationship!
Ma Long and Xu Xin had long seen Zhang Jike's problem, but they never said it. Now that Zhang Jike has retired, everyone no longer needs to hide and can express their position bluntly. This is the interpretation of the obviously estranged relationship between the three musketeers of the national table tennis by veterans in the table tennis world.
As the three top cards of Chinese table tennis at the beginning of the 21st century, Ma Long, Xu Xin and Zhang Jike were once known as the "Three Musketeers of National Table Tennis", their childhood sweethearts and deep comradeship, and were regarded as the hope of Chinese table tennis. However, after Zhang Jike announced his retirement in 2018, there was an obvious rift in the relationship between the three. The reason is that Zhang Jike's character problem over the years is the main fuse.
Similar growth background, different life trajectories
Ma Long and Zhang Jike are the same age, both born in 1988, and Xu Xin is two years younger than them. All three began to contact table tennis at the age of 5, and later all were selected for the national team and became the leaders of table tennis in China. However, their upbringing environment and personal traits are very different.
Malone is a typical "acquired victory over innate". He didn't have talent at first, but he gradually improved by winning his first championship at the age of 7 through hard work. Ma Long has a humble and studious personality, and often consults masters to make great progress.
Zhang Jike is gifted and intelligent, his father is a table tennis coach, and he has received professional guidance and high-intensity training since he was a child. Zhang Jike has amazing explosiveness and offensive ability, and is considered an "uncivilized superstar" in the table tennis world. However, he has a crazy personality and is impatient with discipline, and was expelled in 2004 for violating the team rules.
Xu Xin is also a talented player, and his spinning ball skills are second to none. The three later became the backbone of national table tennis, and have won many world championships, known as the "three musketeers of national table tennis".
Accumulation of contradictions: Zhang Jike's character problems are frequent
On the surface, the three are very close, but contradictions are already surging undercurrent. As early as when Zhang Jike was expelled for the first time, Ma Long reminded him to change his stubborn personality, but Zhang Jike did not listen to advice. It also portends future rifts.
After Zhang Jike's comeback, the three continued to fight side by side, but Zhang's character problems have become the team's inner disease. There are reports that he is addicted to gambling and owes huge sums of money; He also left the team in disregard of team discipline. These problems were seen by Ma Long and Xu Xin, but for the sake of team image, they did not publicly criticize for the time being.
After retiring, Zhang Jike was even more indiscriminate and charming. He has been in love with a number of actresses, and also used his ex-girlfriend's intimate video to pay off the debt because of gambling debts. The scandal dealt a direct blow to the image of Chinese sports. After that, Zhang Jike also constantly exposed character problems: participating in entertainment programs to brush the sense of existence, smoking willfully in non-smoking places, bullying staff, etc.
Ma Long and Xu Xin, who had been silent for many years, finally chose to express their position. After the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, Xu Xin publicly canceled his attention to Zhang Jike. And Ma Long has not mentioned Zhang Jike in public since 2018, which shows that he has long been disheartened by this "problem player".
National Table Tennis needs new blood
"Ma, Long, Xu" and said that they had made China's table tennis unprecedentedly hot, and they made great contributions to the national table tennis winning gold. However, time has passed, the glory has passed, the three of them are now going their own way, and Guoping also urgently needs new forces to join.
We should not lament the broken Three Musketeers, and Ma Long and Xu Xin's choice is understandable - in the face of Zhang Jike's frequent personality scandals, turning a blind eye is not a long-term solution. At the same time, we should hope for the rise of new stars in the table tennis world, and expect them not only to inherit the fine tradition, but also to continuously innovate in ball skills and comprehensive quality, so that Chinese table tennis will reach a new peak.
No matter how the story ends, the sportsmanship lives on. Let us all hope that the rookies in the table tennis world can capture the essence of their predecessors, discard their waste, and open a new chapter for Chinese table tennis.