Ma Long received "The Best Male Athlete of the Year at the CCTV Sports Personality Awards" on Jan 15, 2017 and "The Most Powerful Athlete of the Year" title at the Weibo Night Awards on Jan 16, 2017. In this interview with Sina Entertainment, he answered questions asked by his fans.
Sina: Congratulations on the Best Male Athlete of the Year at the CCTV Sports Personality Awards you received yesterday! Let me say that you are well-recognized (Note: Ma Long said before that he wanted to become recognized) on behalf of "Dragonfruits" (Note: the nickname of Ma Long's fans).
Ma Long: Thanks!
Sina: I have some questions for you asked by "Dragonfruits". Short Q&As. Do you know about "Ma Long 48"? (Note: an analogy of AKB48 Girl group)
Ma Long: I saw this but I do not know the meaning.
Sina: You have different styles and looks from time to time, for example, Long in Rio, Long in Suzhou, Little Fat Dragon, Eggy Dragon and so on. Each look has many fans.
Ma Long: 48 names?
Sina: Maybe more. Which one do you like the best?
Ma Long: I like all that you mentioned. If I must pick one, Caption Long.
Sina: Oops, "Ma Long 48" represent your looks at different periods, for example, Suzhou WTTC period.
Ma Long: Then it is hard to choose. I like all of them.
Sina: You are very much a Libra when making choices.
Ma Long: Yes, Libra. No solutions.
Sina: Do you spend more time on cleaning your collections of action figures or trophies? (Note: Ma Long has a hobby of collecting action figures)
Ma Long: To tell you the truth, I don't clean them.
Sina: You don't clean the ash off?
Ma Long: Leave them with the imprint of time.
Sina: Which celebration after winning a match do you like most, say jumping on the table in Suzhou?
Ma Long: Every celebration expressed my very true feeling at that moment. I cannot make any comparison. I felt really excited at those moments. They are all important moments.
Sina: You threw up your racket "Hurricane" after winning the final of 2016 ITTF World Tour Grand Finals. You usually take very good care of it and wrap it in the towel. (Note: he usually does so for the racket control test before a match) Did "Hurricane" get hurt on that day?
Ma Long: I have already made an apology to "Hurricane".
Sina: Which match is most memorable besides Rio Olympic Games?
Ma Long: Do you mean last year?
Sina: I mean in your whole career.
Ma Long: Besides Rio Olympic Games, Suzhou WTTC of course.
Sina: During the two months of CTTSL, which banners and slogans of your fans impress you?
Ma Long: Most of them are impressive.
Sina: Can you give us an example?
Ma Long: Such as "Guard every dreams of Caption Long", "Dreams' never sold, blood's never cold", and "Make dreams into a horse, break through as a dragon". Many of them made me touched.
Sina: Do you have any new dream for us to guard?
Ma Long: New dream? Let me think about it and let you know.
Sina: Previously you said cherry tomatoes shall make friends with grapes. What shall dragonfruits make friends with?
Ma Long: Dragonfruits...I cannot recall when and why I said cherry tomatoes shall make friends with grapes. (Note: he said so because they are of the same size)
Sina: What's your favorite fruit then?
Ma Long: Fruit...Kiwifruit. A little weird.
Sina: Kiwifruit is delicious.
Ma Long: Is it?
Sina: If you play poker game with Ma Lin, who will win? (Note: Ma Lin is known to be good at a kind of poker game played by 3 people)
Ma Long: Ma Lin? It depends on what cards I have.
Sina: Who has higher winning percentages before?
Ma Long: "We are siblings from the same root, why are you boiling us so eagerly". (Note: an ancient Chinese poem by Cao Zhi) We have the same last name, so we usually do not fight against each other. We make an alliance and beat the other one.
Sina: Long Zai (Note: the meaning of Zai is boy; many coaches and CNT players call him Long Zai), Ma Long Oppa, Captain, what do you prefer to be called?
Ma Long: Long Zai.
Sina: Why?
Ma Long: It sounds friendly and makes me younger.
Sina: I thought you prefer a sharper nickname.
Ma Long: It depends on the occasion, on or off the court. It's OK to be more friendly off the court.
Sina: Your first coach said you climbed on the tree when you first met him. Why did you climb on the tree?
Ma Long: I was quite naughty when I was a kid. It's the nature of boys.
Sina: You have been to many countries and cities for tournaments. Which place do you like most?
Ma Long: Austria, very good.
Sina: Coach Liu Guoliang played table tennis with your idol Jay Chou in a variety show. Are you jealous? Have you played with him?
Ma Long: Do you mean playing with Coach Liu?
Sina: Jay Chou
Ma Long: No, I haven't met him in such occasion but I am looking forward. Coach Liu already told Jay that a CNT player is a big fan of him.
Sina: I heard that Jay is also good at table tennis.
Ma Long: I saw him playing in the music video of "Class 3-2". He may play at times.
Sina: Which young player do you think has the best potential?
Ma Long: Which young player?
Sina: Besides Fan Zhendong, those who were born after 1995.
Ma Long: Young player...It is hard to tell now. They are more or less at the same level in the match in terms of techniques, tactics and mentality. I cannot tell from one or two matches. The real challenge comes from major tournaments. People can see one player more clearly if he can be the first one to seize the opportunity to make a breakthrough.
Sina: You said you want to attend 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games. But previously no male CNT player over 30 played in Olympic Games. Do you think it extremely difficult?
Ma Long: Certainly it is very difficult. Now every player around the world will be proud of defeating me. I know the next 4 years before Tokyo Olympic Games will be much harder for me than the past 4 years. I will try all my best for the chance to attend 2020 Olympic Games.
Sina: You are called a "hexagon warrior". (Note: During the live broadcast of the final between China and Japan in 2016 WTTC team events, TV Tokyo made hexagon battle data charts for all the players. Ma Long was assigned full scores for all 6 corners, so-called hexagon warrior.) But you said you still have room to improve. What do you want to improve in the next 4 years?
Ma Long: A lot of things, maybe more than 30 corners. Japan only made a chart of 6 corners. (Note: Serve, power, speed, skill, defense, experience). I want to make other corners to full score.
Sina: Last question, why Captain becomes more and more handsome?
Ma Long: Really? That’s because you are not tired of seeing me.
In an interview with Sina Entertainment earlier this year, Ma Long answered fans' questions like: what he prefers to be called; what he did to his racket after throwing it up when winning 2016 ITTF World Tour Grand Finals; how much time he spends on cleaning the collections of action figures and trophies. He also talked about what he needs to do for 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.