Olympic Stories is a 30-minute BTV program to reveal backstage stories of Olympians. May 21 episode is Ma Long - return of the king.
This video is Ma Long interview part.
-(Saying "I am made in China!") is an improvisation. I came across news about "Created in China" and thought about it. It is pretty cool to say so to represent Team China and represent China in a big international stage. I didn't expect it went viral.
-Actually I didn't know to what extent I could play on my level before World Championships. There was no advantage of my ranking. I had not played international tournaments for a long time, lack of the feeling of tournaments. Whether my recovery was good enough to allow me to finish both men's singles and men's doubles events was uncertain. All above were uncertain.
-(After Simon Gauzy beat Xu Xin) Our team met together. We were asked to get off pressure and fight from the beginning. It was after R32. It was a long way to go to be the champion. No matter who of us (remaining 4 of Team China) made to the final, he will face a foreign player, which had not happened for years.
-(Liang Jingkun beat Fan Zhendong.) I think it is a surprise in some sense and it is not a surprise in other sense. Liang Jingkun is a threat to others, including Fan Zhendong who is so strong. If he doesn't respond well or perform well, he can lose.
-I must take initiative to fight. Fan Zhendong's loss to Liang Jingkun reminded me such a strong player can lose. No choice but fight. I took initiative and played proactively from the beginning. Then they (my opponents) felt that I fought hard at World Championships.
-I didn't sleep well. I barely slept in the last 2-3 days. Couldn't sleep. (Too much pressure?) Yes.
-Very few male players use short pips. Especially on forehand. Perhaps Falck is the only one worldwide.Therefore Coach Liu practiced with me before the match because he plays short pips and knows the characteristics of short pips. He knows the feeling of major tournaments. He not only practiced with me playing, but more importantly, he encouraged me. No matter feeling good or bad beforehand, after talking with him, I feel good. He can encourage me.
Host: Team China has kept a very good tradition, to make thorough preparations for difficulties. How thorough are the preparations? Li Sun, coach of Zhang Yining, once revealed that Team China has a secret notebook. Every note is about possible difficulties in the match and solutions. The notes accumulate and now there are 80 more notes.This notebook contains experiences from several generations. There must be one note about what to do when trailing behind. What to do when trailing behind? Here is Ma Long's solution.
-At 7:9 down, I didn't think too much about techniques and tactics. I made 2 long serves and surprised him. At that time it was hard to think about new techniques and tactics. I was pressured trailing behind. I did have some ideas on strategy. But trailing behind, I needed to evaluate the techniques and tactics. At 9:9, I thought that was my chance. When it was a tie, I made a variation and my opponent did not expect it. I made 2 short pushes to his backhand, which placement he did not pay attention previously. I think both worked well. Winning that game, I think the situation was under my control. Best-of-7 in a major tournament, catching up 1 game when trailing behind actually equals winning 2 games (2-2 vs 1-3). It's important.
-Thank you all for rooting for me, many of you are from China and many of you are from other countries. I want to win the champion and I also want to earn your respect.
I was inspired when watching Tiger Woods in Austria. He won the last few holes. It was touching. Even if you don't know about golf, you know Tiger Woods' name. This year he wanted to win the champion in front of his son. Such a player is never short of champions but he still wants to prove himself. I was inspired. I kept thinking why I am still playing, why I am continuing to play. For me, I continue to play and I want to win champions. But if I stop playing right now, what I've achieved is already legendary. I hope years later in the future, when people talk about table tennis, even for people who don't play table tennis, they know my name. That's the biggest recognition.
Host: In addition to lifting the trophy, he wanted to rock the stadium with his persistence as a senior player and his fighting spirit. He wanted to beat the opponent, he wanted more to beat himself. To be precise, he wanted to beat the reality that he is no longer young and beat injuries.
-It was in Jan. I saw many experts and they did not find the cause. Imaging results and exams showed that the injury was not severe. But the situation did not get better. We table tennis players do not have broken bones, no crash and collision. After all it is a net sport. Physical therapy or cortisone injection usually can fix the injury. That's the bottom line. This time it did not get better after I took cortisone injection. I started to worry.
Host: At the beginning, everyone including Ma Long did not take the injury seriously because the exam results seemed fine. One problem solved, then another showed up. Ma Long realized that he could not keep on by taking more cortisone injections. Living with it is not the solution. He must be responsible for his body. CTTA president Liu Guoliang then called for a rehabilitation and support team for Ma Long including Chinese and foreign experts.
-I didn't take a day off during Chinese New Year. I planned to go to hometown but I stayed in Beijing to catch up what I missed before. My family then came to see me. Training facilities are good in Beijing. I spent 1-2 hours in the morning to go to the facilities. Coach Qin also stayed in Beijing with me during the holidays as well as team physician Wang Duchun and two foreign coaches.
-(Is rehabilitation boring?) Yes. Sometimes it is very boring. Repeat the same things everyday. Sometimes it did not work or did not work right away. The effect did not show up until a certain amount was reached. The first thing when I got up in the morning was to test the left leg. If it was better, I was happy the whole day. If there was no change or more pain, I felt upset.
Host: Ma Long wanted to come back as soon as possible. He kept asking physiotherapist to increase training amount no matter how hard it is. During the months of battling with his body, Ma Long needed nutrition shots, as well as fluid removal. His left leg became thinner. The training was boring and tiring but Ma Long never complaint. He didn't rest even on Chinese New Year. Racing against time, he finally came back to the court before World Championships. His comeback tournament was Qatar Open. His performance made a statement: the king is back.
-The first match was difficult. The French player was not easy to play with. Before I beat him by 4-3 and 4-2 (*They played once 4-3). It was still difficult to play with him at the beginning. But I won and I felt that my form was OK. Before the tournament, President Liu said, "Try to reach 70% recovery. Don't get more injuries. Try to reach 80-85% in Japan.Then try your best at World Championships but still protect your body first." I told him, "Sure." But when I played, I still tried my best because I don't like to lose. I didn't pay attention to my leg. I forgot about the pain.
-President Liu once said a player's techniques can impact a few people, while a player's spirits can impact a lot more people.
Host: With 70%-80% recovery, Ma Long came back and came to the top. Not every player can do this. CTTA President Liu commented that Ma Long made a miracle. At 30 years old, he made a miracle to overcome injury and won champion after comeback. Ranked #5 in Team China, the least favorite, he made a miracle to win the third consecutive World Championships men's singles title. Ma Long's records are very impressive. After Budapest he gained 23 champions in major international tournaments.He gained 129 champions (national level and above) in his career. He has joined Team China for 16 years. What does 129 champions mean? It means that each year he won 8 champions on average.
(Ma Long is the only male player who has won every international, continental and national title the sport can offer. The list of 129 champions (national level and above) and many other records.)
-Looking at those numbers, I feel impressive. But it doesn't change my life. I still do regular training and rehabilitation in the team. In Team China's culture, no one thinks himself the strongest player. Even after winning Olympic Champion, you feel you are the same as others in Team China. You don't have any privileges. Only when you go out, people may show more respect to you. Look that's ... That's Team China. So now we players not only represent ourselves, but also Team China. We show the image of Team China to public.
Host: This is why Ma Long is highly regarded. Although he is the only full grand slam winner who wins every title possible, he is still low-key and modest. He is still strict with himself. He is still enterprising and hardworking. Winning 129 champions is not the end. Winning 129 champions is not the end. As the captain of Team China, Ma Long has the duty to help other players. He can't stop. Many young players regard Captain Long as their role models and want to reach his level. He doesn't have a reason to stop now. With 2017 and 2019 World Championships men's singles title, he is the closest to Tokyo.
-Now I can start to make full preparations for Tokyo Olympic Games. Before 2019 World Championships, I had to concentrate on it because it's a major tournament as well. After World Championships, all my focus can be put on Tokyo Olympic Games next year.
Q: Who is your roommate at previous World Championships?
A: In 2015 and 2017, I shared room with Cui Qinglei. In 2019, I shared room with Wang Chuqin. For World Team Championships, I shared room with : 2006 Ma Lin, 2008 Bro Li (Wang Liqin), 2010 Wang Hao, 2012 Jike, later Xu Xin.
Q: What does Captain Long like besides reading books?
A: Journal writing. I think it becomes more meaningful when I write it down.
Q: When did you write a journal recently?
A: During World Championships. When I feel pressure and I don't want to discuss with others, I write a journal and encourage myself.
Q: What do you think of your fans?
A: After Rio, they paid more attention to me (not my game). When they saw me, they screamed "Ahhhh" and they felt happy. But after these years of ups and downs, they learn to understand table tennis and know when to cheer me up during a match. They know how to cheer. They know the way to communicate.
Q: What do you prepare for Tokyo Olympic Games?
A: Right now the priority is rehabilitation. With the development of table tennis, the change of ball, the advances of techniques, demands of physical strength increase. Topspin rallies are increased. So rehabilitation is the base. With a strong body like Liang Jingkun, Fan Zhendong, as well as Xu Xin, it's possible for me to play better. That's what I have to strengthen or maintain. Also there is much room to improve my game.
