Since the end of the Tokyo Olympics, Ma Long, as the captain of the national table tennis team, has become a topic of great concern among fans. A few days ago, Ma Long, who ushered in his 33rd birthday, delivered a birthday speech, saying that he still wanted to continue to insist in front of the table.
In his social media post, Malone said, "I also want to stand in front of the table I love for a longer time, insist, I want to see more possibilities about love and dreams." Such a statement also reassured the fans, and in the new Olympic cycle, the national table tennis captain who has been with table tennis for 28 years will continue to lead the Chinese table tennis team forward. From being selected for the national team at the age of 15 to becoming the athlete with 26 world championships to become the athlete who holds the most world championships in the international table tennis world, Malone has created a legend of his own in 18 years.
In 2006, when he stood on the podium of the Bremen Team World Table Tennis Championships with his big brothers Ma Lin, Wang Hao, Wang Liqin and Chen Xuan, the 18-year-old Ma Long was still green-faced, and Bremen also became the starting point for him to start his legend. Becoming a world champion at a young age also allowed Ma Long to lock in one of the main positions of national table tennis. Two years later, in the ITTF Pro Tour Finals, Malone even won the championship by winning the "two kings and one horse" at the peak. However, Malone, who was eager to prove himself with a World Series singles title, lost consecutive times in the World Table Tennis Championships, and the results of the two semi-finals also made him lose his singles opportunity at the London Olympics.
After the London Olympic Games, with the retirement of Ma Lin, Wang Hao, Wang Liqin and others, Ma Long, who gradually came out of the trough, also ushered in his own era. At the 2015 Suzhou World Table Tennis Championships, Ma Long, whose technical mentality gradually matured, finally won his dream singles World Championships championship when he went to the World Table Tennis Championships for the fifth time. In the same year, he also won the Men's Singles Championship of the World Cup and the ITTF Finals, becoming the first person in history to win these three consecutive laurels in one year. Excellent form and self-confidence have also made It natural for Malone to stand on the top of the Rio Olympics twice.
However, just as Malone couldn't wait to move towards the Tokyo Olympics, his path to the championship suddenly pressed the pause button. After creating eight titles at the China Open two years ago and bringing his total number of Open titles to 28, Malone, who was affected by injuries, was forced to stop. Due to the wear and calcification of the knee and the poor conservative treatment, Malone had no choice but to undergo surgery in August 2019, less than a year before the postponement of the Tokyo Olympics. After more than two months of recovery, Malone returned to the field, but a series of defeats made him doubt his ability as a "champion harvester".
In the face of a series of blows such as injuries, epidemics, and Olympic postponements, Ma Long, who was called the strongest "hexagonal warrior" on the surface by the Japanese media, did not give in, and he not only successfully defended the men's singles champion at this year's Tokyo Olympic Games, but also led the team to defend the men's team championship, and also achieved the feat of double-circle Grand Slam. Because of love, so insist, now 33-year-old Ma Long is still on the road, although retirement is sooner or later, but before saying goodbye, the Dragons obviously want to contribute more to the national table tennis...