Ma Long interviews, matches and beyond

How would you greet your teammates at training hall?
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Atas Newton said:

Who's the last guy?

Click to expand...

1. Liu Shiwen, 2018/1/2 evening training session in Jinan
2. Yu Ziyang, 2017/12/25 evening training session in Tianjin
3. Fan Zhendong, 2018/1/13 morning training session in Tianjin

Stay up late watching table tennis?

Don't miss the "Fortune" red packets that Ma Long sends as Chinese New Year is approaching.

On Jan 18, Ma Long was interviewed with "Words of Chinese Olympians" program of China Sports Museum. He wrote on the poster, "Better oneself and inspire others."

China Sports Museum / Chinese Olympic Museum is a member of the Olympic Museums Network. The program Words of Chinese Olympians is part of Words of Olympians project. Previously, Liu Guoliang, Wang Tao, Wang Hao and Ding Ning were interviewed and share their stories as Olympians. On Jan 18, it was Ma Long's turn.




Ma Long started playing table tennis at 5 and joined Team China at 15. At 18, he won his first World Team Champion in Bremen. Talented and hard-working, Ma Long soon became one of the core players in Team China. He said, a talent is a person of persistence, diligence, dedication and devotion.
Ma Long helped Team China win the team gold at 2012 London Olympic Games, which was also his first Olympic gold medal. He regarded winning World Champion in 2015 Suzhou World Table Tennis Championships singles event as a breakthrough, since when he became "truly mentally and technically mature and stable".

"If you asked me to pick the most difficult match during my career, it must be that match." Ma Long referred to the Round of 16 against Korea's Jeoung Youngsik at 2016 Rio Olympic Games. Before the match, Ma Long's victory seemed like a no-brainer. However, he lost the first game and wasted 3 gamepoints in the second (6:11, 10:12). He had no other choice but adjusted his mindset and fought one point by another. After a 55-minute fight, he proceeded to the quarterfinal (4-2, 6:11, 10:12, 11:5, 11:1, 13:11, 13:11) and later won the singles gold. "I went through that challenge and became what I am now."
Ma Long kept emphasizing that he is a heavy-minded person and prepared for the worst. Dimitrij Ovtcharov has become the new World No.1; Team Japan and Korea are getting strong; ITTF has made new policies; young players in Team China are improving vastly. Facing all the above in the Toyko Olympic cycle, Ma Long made his goal with caution: "I'll work hard for an opportunity to play at 2020 Toyko Olympic Games". As always, the Full Slam winner remains humble and modest.



By the end of the interview, he shared a quote from his experiences as an athlete. "Better oneself and inspire others." As the captain of Team China, this is exactly what he is doing, leading Team China to more victories.

On Jan 23, Team Tianjin Quanjian swept Team Shenzhen by 3-0 at home.



In the first set, Ma Te beat Hao Shuai by 3-1 (11:5, 4:11, 11:6, 11:8). In the second set, Ma Long beat Xu Chenhao by 3-0 (12:10, 11:7, 11:7). In the third set of doubles, Liu Dingshuo / Cheng Jingqi overcame Xu Chenhao / Ren Hao by 2-0 (12:10, 12:10).
In Round 14 of Super League, Team Tianjin Quanjian will face Team Shanghai in Shanghai on Jan 27.





Ma Long seemed to use a new version of DHS blade.

Ma Long: Quiet in between mountains and seas (written by Guo Shifu, excerpted from NYLON China Jan 2018 Issue)



Although Ma Long has made his fame worldwide, he looks like a simple and low-key person. He is called "Hexagon Warrior" on social media, while I cannot tell at first sight of this young man and new father. There seems a dividing line between Ma Long's characteristics on and off the court; flawless, formidable and sharp on the court, down-to-earth and non-materialistic when sitting down and chatting. "My parents were strict to me when I was young, which made me develop self-discipline." Ma Long said, "I am used to getting through emotions by myself. I don't like to complain and whine to others. But I do like being in a group. I would rather have a living being around all the time and I turn on audio device first when I get back to my room."



Ma Long joked that he has already been living like an elderly in his spare time, "I no longer play games (*note: computer or mobile games). The TV programs that I watch most are culture, history and geography." Calmer is Ma Long compared to an average 30-year-old. Achieving fame young does not make him arrogant or showy. Other than table tennis, he is not addicted to flamboyant social life. Instead, he seems to intentionally avoid chasing fame and money. His social network is simplified to a few teammates and a few friends. "I am quite cautious about information explosion nowadays. Everyone wants to see click bait headlines and wants to know everything without knowing anything by the end of the day."



As an athlete, before 30 Ma Long has undoubtedly achieved what one can ever achieve, Grand Slam and astonishingly numerous singles champions. "I think the biggest drive for training is the pursuit of victory." Ma Long said. Table tennis is an extraordinarily challenging sport given the long gap between major tournaments. "World Table Tennis Championships individual events are held every other year. The career span of an athlete in form is only 10 years, which means there are only 5 chances to win World Champion." Many feelings and memories came back to him, "If I were able to go back to 2008, I want to tell the 20-year-old myself to cherish every chance. I had missed several chances... I want to tell young college students that it is important to put oneself in tension. To handle pressure and tension, first drill oneself in a disturbing and tense environment and get adapted. As a consequence, one will not back down in face of real pressure."



While Ma Long is also sentimental, "I am sensitive to emotions. Pressure from self-media and spectators affects my form to some extent." He also talked about Coach Liu Guoliang's advice on mentality. Coach Liu pointed out, to become a Grand Slam winner, sophisticated techniques and dedicated training are not enough. Between talented and hardworking athletes, it is the subtle mentality change that makes one the winner. Inspired by Coach Liu, Ma Long is also pursuing a state of calmness facing whatever challenges. Coaching during the matches, Coach Liu kept reminding Ma Long to ignore anything irrelevant to the table such as judgement, controversies, winner's fame, loser's solitary, even himself. Stay focused on the ball, the placements, the spins, the bounces; nothing else. In the end, it is himself who he has to overcome. This is the spirit of Chinese table tennis athletes.

On Jan 27, Team Tianjin Quanjian beat Team Shanghai by 3-2 in Shanghai.
In the first set, Ma Long beat Zhao Zihao by 3-0 (14:12, 11:3, 11:6).
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In the second set, Fang Yinchi challenged Xu Xin and lost by 2-3 (5:11, 11:7, 9:11, 13:11, 4:7). In the third set of doubles, Liu Dingshuo / Cheng Jingqi beat Cui Qinglei / Zhao Zihao by 2-0 (11:8, 11:9). In the fourth set, Ma Long faced Xu Xin. With many forced and unforced errors, he lost by 0-3 (10:12, 7:11, 10:12). In the deciding set, Liu Dingshuo overcame Cui Qinglei by 2-1 (11:9, 11:13, 7:5) and secured the victory for Team Tianjin Quanjian.
Because of the coldness in Shanghai's stadium, Ma Long wore compression tee and shorts for muscle protection. He also experimented new blade.
On Jan 30, Team Tianjin Quanjian will face Team Bazhou at home; the two teams tie for 4th place after Round 14.

After match, Xu Xin treated Ma Long to Japanese BBQ, the same place where they went on Nov 1, 2016 when they played Super League last season. Ma Long wrote on his Sina Weibo, "Dinner together every year. Still your treat. Thank you, Orochimaru." Orochimaru is a fictional character from the Naruto manga and the name means giant snake; Ma Long is a big fan of Naruto and he called Xu Xin Orochimaru as his nickname is Anaconda.

2018


2016

Coach Qin Zhijian teased them by commenting, "Ma Long and Xu Xin, you didn't look that friendly to each other during the match. This must be a posed picture." Later he shared a photo of Ma Long, Xu Xin and Cui Qinglei together, all of whom are his former players and stay close.

Ma Long is a collector of action figures. Check out his collection two years ago and the collection must be even bigger now!


He likes Marvel Comics as well as DC comics, and Japanese manga such as Naruto and One Piece. His favorite character in Naruto is Itachi Uchiha, and Trafalgar D. Water Law in One Piece.

His lineup of Marvel characters:


His recent Batman and Trafalgar Law phone cases, and Trafalgar Law action figure with Rio 2016 Mascot Vinicius:

On Jan 29, Ma Long attended the filming of 2018 Chinese New Year Sports Gala in Beijing, featuring stars of different sports and ages.





When waiting, he and Ding Ning studied matches and after filming, he went to Tianjin for training.

On Jan 30, Team Tianjin Quanjian lost to Team Bazhou by 2-3 at home.
Ma Long was under the weather and was scheduled to play only the first set against Liang Jingkun. He lost the first two games (5:11, 6:11) but gradually caught up in the following two (14:12, 11:8). In the deciding game, he saved 3 set points but no more and lost by 5:7. In the second set, chopper Ma Te beat Yu Heyi by 3-1 (11:6, 12:10, 8:11, 11:6). In the third set of doubles, Liu Dingshuo / Cheng Jingqi lost to Yu Heyi / Wang Chuqin (7:11, 11:4, 4:7). In the fourth set, Ma Te scored again after beating Liang Jingkun by 3-2 (13:11, 5:11, 11:4, 6:11, 7:3). In the deciding set, Liu Dingshuo was not able to overcome Wang Chuqin and lost by 0-2 (4:11, 7:11).


In the post-match interview, Coach Ma Wenge explained, "The Super League matches are too frequent. Ma Long ran low in physical energy and was not fully recovered from injuries. That's why we only scheduled one set for him this round. We hope he can take some rest and come back soon."




There are only three rounds left for Super League 2017-2018 season. On Feb 3, Team Tianjin Quanjian will face Team Anhui in Chaohu.
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(Cheering up before the match)

DHS made a new batch of W968 like the one below. The details of Ma Long's new equipment were not revealed but he kept switching between two blades (both are from the new batch) during training and they sound quite different when hitting the ball.