Ma Long interviews, matches and beyond

When would it be a good time to ask for autographs and selfies ?
On Oct 20, Ma Long was watching group matches of 2017 World Cup and waiting for the main draw while fans came to ask for autograph and selfies. (Video by -DRAGON-KING-@Sina Weibo)
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The first guy even has Ma Long's name tattooed on his inner wrist!

College students?

White-collar professionals?

Or table tennis heroes?


Ma Long, Ding Ning, Chen Meng in China Unicom flyer

Vote for Ma Long as 2017 Male Table Tennis Star of ITTF Star Awards!
2017 World Singles Champion, 2017 Qatar and Japan Open Champion, 2016 World Tour Grand Finals Champion, as well as 2017 Asian Team Champion and 2017 Men's World Cup bronze medalist! World Ranking #1 for the whole year of 2017!
Vote Now https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZFX6LD7

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According to Tianjin Daily, Ma Long has finished treatment in Germany and come back to China. On Nov 15, he asked the National Team for a half day off and went to the headquarter of Tianjin Quanjian Club for poster shooting with Coach Ma Wenge. He went back to Beijing afterwards.
In recent years, Tianjin Quanjian has successfully invested on soccer and women's volleyball teams. Quanjian is not new to table tennis as it sponsored 2015 Super League. This year, Quanjian made a further step to make its own table tennis club. Shu Yuhui, president of the Quanjian Group, told the journalist that table tennis is China's national pride and also popular among fans and amateur players. A table tennis club in Super League can bring glories to the city and bring fun to fans. He said he wants to be the best when he enters a new field. That's why he invited Ma Long. When he approached Ma Long for the new season of Super League, many told him it would be a mission impossible while Shu Yuhui said "impossible" is not in his vocabulary. He made efforts and successfully acquired Ma Long. His investment on table tennis is not limited to acquiring good players but also mature managing and incentive systems as he believes that sincerity brings loyalty. He also has faith in Coach Ma Wenge.

20150913 Shu Yuhui (on Ma Long's left side) presented the trophy to Ma Long's team, the champion of 2015 Super League.

Ma Long was back to physical training at the National Training Center.

Will you watch Swedish Open this weekend? Do you know when Ma Long won the title at Swedish Open? Let's take a look at his previous participations in Swedish Open.
In 2005 Swedish Open, Ma Long beat Joo Sae Hyuk in R32 by 4-3 and Werner Schlager in R16 by 4-0 before he lost to Timo Boll in the quarterfinal by 2-4.
In 2007 Swedish Open, Ma Long beat Ryu Seung Min in the quarterfinal by 4-1 and Ma Lin in the semifinal by 4-0 before he lost to Wang Hao in the final by 1-4. He and Wang Hao paired up and won men's doubles title.

In 2011 Swedish Open, Ma Long did not drop a single game. He beat Kirill Skachkov in the quarterfinal, Seiya Kishikawa in the semifinal and Wang Hao in the final to obtain the singles title. This was his fifth men's singles title within 2 months after 2011 China Open, Austrian Open, Asian Cup and China National Championships.

After the tournament, he visited STIGA headquarter with China National Team and had some fun.



He also showed his support to TableTennisDaily forum.

On Nov 21, Team Tianjin Quanjian will hold a press conference to introduce the new team including head coach Ma Wenge and Ma Long, Ma Te, Cheng Jingqi, Fang Yinchi and Liu Dingshuo.
In the evening, Team Tianjin Quanjian will face Team Sichuan at the home stadium in the 2nd round of Super League. CCTV5 will live stream at 19:30 (Beijing Time).




Ma Long started training in the home stadium on Nov 20.
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On Nov 17-18, the 26th "Heroic Trio Cup" Table Tennis Tournament was held in Beijing. The tournament was established to honor Rong Guotuan, Fu Qifang and Jiang Yongning, who made great contributions to table tennis and sports in China from 1950s to 1960s but tragically committed suicide in 1968. Rong Guotuan won the first world champion for China in any sport in 1959, in the 25th World Table Tennis Championships and as coach, he led China women's team to win the first World Team Champion in 1965. Fu Qifang was the first head coach of China National Team and led China men's team to win all singles and team champions in 26th - 28th World Championships. Jiang Yongning was the first men's singles champion in China National Championships in 1952 and became coach of National Team and later head coach of Team Beijing.
After training, Ma Long visited the exhibition of the Heroic Trio and presented awards to winners along with ITTF Honorary President Xu Yinsheng, CTTA Vice President Lu Yuansheng and family members of the Heroic Trio. Ma Long said, "The Heroic Trio made history. As their follower, I want to carry forward their spirits and promote table tennis sport. I am excited to be an award presenter for the first time. I am very glad to see many amateur players attending the tournament. I hope they benefit from exercising and remain passionate about table tennis."

Exhibition of the Heroic Trio

with the family members of the Heroic Trio

award presenting to winners of the 26th Heroic Trio Cup along with Lu Yuansheng

On Nov 21, Ma Long led Tianjin Quanjian to achieve the first victory in Super League 2017-18 Season.

(Tianjin Quanjian lineup: Coach Ma Wenge, Ma Long, Me Te, Liu Dingshuo, Fang Yinchi and Cheng Jingqi)
Tianjin Quanjian faced Sichuan, the runner-up of the 13th National Games team event. In the first set, Liu Dingshuo beat Zhu Linfeng by 3-2 (12:14, 8:11, 11:7, 11:4, 10:8). In the second set, Ma Long defeated Xu Ruifeng by 3-0 (11:5, 13:11, 11:6). In the second game, he was 7:10 down and saved 3 game points to turn the table around. In the third set, Cheng Jingqi / Fang Yinchi lost to Xu Ruifeng / Yan Sheng by 1-2 (15:13, 5:11, 5:7). In the fourth game, Ma Long won over Zhu Linfeng by 3-0 (11:6, 11:9, 11:5) and secured the victory for Tianjin Quanjian.

In the post-match interview, Ma Long said, "I am very glad to win the matches. It is a good start of the season. I hope I will find my form gradually." When asked about the second game against Xu Ruifeng, he said, "It is normal that one leads now and the other leads then. Before the match, I was prepared that I might drop 1 or 2 games. When I caught up in the second game, my opponent got affected mentally."
He also commented on Liu Dingshuo's comeback, "It was quite a tough match but luckily he won at last. There are a lot lessons for him to learn from the match. It is precious experience for him and a good starting point for the team." Ma Long also talked about his role in the team, "I hope that I can bring not only better results to the team but also my experiences to help my teammates improve in Super League as well as international tournaments." He appreciated the fans and home crowds, "I am very happy to see so many fans. I hope they are satisfied with my performance."

(banner flags from different Ma Long fans organizations)
Coach Ma Wenge commented on Ma Long's performance, "Ma Long was suffering from injuries and has not played for a while. At the beginning of the match, he was not in shape but getting better and better." "I feel very confident when he was playing. Although he did not play in his best form, he was such an experienced player to deal with the game." "He sets very high standards for himself and is very devoting. He is also supportive for his teammates, cheering and advising, of good team spirits." When asked what Ma Long brings to the team, he said, "Ma Long's join boosts our team's morale. He is the backbone of the team. Players feel more loose when playing because they know they can count upon Ma Long."
The third round of Super League will take place on Dec 5th. Tianjin Quanjian will face PLA.

On Nov 21, Ma Long attended the press conference of Tianjin Quanjian. Local officials and venue managers expressed their support to Team Tianjin Quanjian in Super League 2017-18 Season.
In previous years, Team Tianjin did not get good results in Super League. Coach Ma Wenge said in the new season, the team aims for champion. "Ma Long's join gives us confidence. Players feel the pressure and will turn the pressure to motivation. We will do our best." In the long term, the team will train more young players.
President of Quanjian Group Shu Yuhui did not set a goal for the team, "We all wish to win the champion, however, we cannot put too much pressure on our players. From my experiences in investing and working in sports industry, I find when the players are natural, relaxed and happy, they will be successful." Ma Long is on a one-year lease and when asked if he will be transferred, Shu Yuhui said, "We are willing to have Ma Long in our team for the next few years. We will make efforts to improve our team and provide him a good offer. I believe as long as we try our best, he will consider to join us." He recalled how Tianjin Quanjian acquired Ma Long this season, "We know the team did not perform well in recent years. When I was initially inquired about investment, I was not very positive. I usually do not invest on a team with poor performance, unless Ma Long can join. Ma Wenge told me, 'it is impossible to have Ma Long'. Then we planned about youth training in the long run. One week later, Ma Wenge called me again and said it is possible to have Ma Long join our team."

(Team Tianjin Quanjian and Shu Yuhui)
Ma Long told the reporters that he was happy to join Tianjin Quanjian. "Previously I have played in several teams representing different cities in Super League. It is the first time I represent Tianjin. I wish it will be a cheerful season and our team will achieve good result." Tianjin is close to Beijing and easy to commute. When asked about fans, he said, "It is quite convenient for my fans to travel to Tianjin. I also wish to attract more local supporters for our team and promote table tennis sport to youths in Tianjin." As for the stadium where he defended singles title at the National Games, he expressed excitement when training and playing here again. "Hopefully the familiar stadium can bring good luck." There is a saying that whichever Super League team with Ma Long rules. Ma Long was a little bit shy for this compliment. He said the competition this year will be intense as the levels of each teams are more close. It is hard to know who is the winner until the final 1 or 2 rounds. “It must be thrilling and exciting towards the end of season. I am very looking forward to it."