Ma Long interviews, matches and beyond

On Feb 10, Ma Long scored twice and led Team Tianjin Quanjian to beat Team Shandong Luneng by 3-1 at home.
Before the match, Team Tianjian Quanjian made a poster, saying "Last battle!" while the commentator of Team Shandong Luneng shared a photo of Ma Long VS Fang Bo on beach lol.


In the first set, Ma Long swept Xu Yingbin by 3-0 (11:7, 11:9, 11:3). In the second set, Ma Te beat Fang Bo by 3-1 (11:6, 5:11, 12:10, 11:2). In the third set of doubles, Cheng Jingqi / Fang Yinchi lost to Zhang Chao / Liu Jikang by 1-2 (11:9, 12:14, 3:7). In the fourth set, Ma Long beat Fang Bo by 3-0 (15:13, 11:4, 12:10).




After match, Team Tianjin Quanjian celebrated a fruitful season with fans.






Ma Long also gave a speech, "We are grateful for the support from you fans who came to watch today's match and previous matches during this season. We tried our best in every match this season. We had some hard time at the beginning and gained a good result at the end. Everyone on the team has made a lot of efforts to achieve the best result possible. Of course, a good result is not everything. We are on the right track and making progress. This is the spirit of sports that we want to bring to you. I want to thank new fans and loyal fans who came today at this busy time before Chinese New Year. Thank you for your support to our team this season. I wish all of you a happy Chinese New Year. Keep fighting in the new year! Thanks."
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With 11 wins / 7 losses and 29 points, Team Tianjin Quanjian ties with Team Bazhou and is ranked #4, a big improvement from #8 last season. Ma Long won 24 out of 29 matches, the most wins and the highest winning ratio among all players. He and Fan Zhendong (23 wins out of 29 matches) have the same ranking points of 309.639, the first time in the history of Super League; who will be the MVP of this season is yet to be decided.

Update: Due to losses to Team Bazhou, Team Tianjian Quanjian is ranked #5 at the end. Ma Long and Fan Zhendong both become the MVPs of this season.

Congratulations to Ma Long, MVP of 2017-2018 Super League! This is his 5th MVP of Super League (2008, 2009, 2012, 2013, 2017-2018). A new record has been made in Super League history!


This season, Ma Long faced many challenges. (1) Injuries and fatigue. He went to Germany for treatment and missed the first round of Super League. The tight schedule of 2 matches per week and the duty of the core player to play 2 sets per match (Ma Long played 2 sets in 12 rounds) did not give him much chance to rest for recovery. In addition, it was extremely cold this winter and many stadiums were lack of heating. As a result, he had to exert the best of his current form and protect himself from new injuries. (2) New team. Ma Long was leased from Team Shandong Weiqiao to Team Tianjin Quanjian this season. He is the only one of 7 top-tier players who changed the team. As the core player, he contributed 24 scores of 43 that Team Tianjin Quanjian gained in total. Other players of Team Tianjin Quanjian are young and inexperienced. Ma Long not only spent time sharing his experiences with his teammates, but also taught them techniques and tactics, and helped them practice especially doubles as a training partner. "Better myself and inspire others". That's what Ma Long said and did. (3) Newborn. Ma Long flew to Shenzhen and scored twice one day after his son was born in Beijing. A balance needs to be found between career and family. Ma Long said Baby Dragon gives him strength and sets him free from pressure on the court. (4) New equipment. Ma Long made adjustments on racket in order to adapt to the new material ball. It remains an open question whether the adjustments are finalized. (5) New coach. As Coach Qin Zhijian and Ma Lin are likely to leave National Team, the new coach of Ma Long is elusive.
Nevertheless, Ma Long was ranked #1 with the most wins and highest winning ratio (13 wins / 1 loss) halfway of Super League and ranked #1 with the most wins and highest winning ratio (24 wins / 5 losses) at the end. Congrats, our legendary MVP!

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Have you ever tried out cupping therapy?

Chinese New Year is around the corner. Ma Long is sending out wishes.
During Audi interview: "I hope the new year brings you prosperity and vigor."
For China Unicom, "I wish China Unicom customers a happy Chinese New Year. May all your dreams come true."
With Team Tianjin Quanjian, "Dog Year is coming and bringing fortune. Here we wish you a Happy Chinese New Year and all the best."


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Audi also made greeting cards with Ma Long's quote. "Neither champion nor ranking is the drive for enterprising. Ambition is."


Traditionally, Chinese people get new clothes, new shoes and haircut before Chinese New Year. Ma Long also got new LiNing outfits which were released in 2018 New York Fashion Week a few days ago.





Can you imagine these are all from LiNing?

In a recent interview with Zhibo TV, Coach Liu Guoliang commented on players and spoke highly of Ma Long.
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"In terms of the understanding of table tennis and passion for table tennis, among all current players, I think Ma Long is the best. He can exert 100%, sometimes even 110% of his capacity in the match. Fan Zhendong's techniques are by no means inferior to Ma Long's. However, he lost to Ma Long at all major tournaments. Why? It depends on the ability of reading matches and the ability of understanding table tennis. It is hard to explain to spectators what these abilities are. Is Fan Zhendong lack of experiences? Not at all. Table tennis match is evolving extremely fast. Fan Zhendong has to guess what Ma Long is thinking at this second, what he is thinking next, what he is planning for in one rally, in two, three, five rallies. It is almost impossible for a player or a coach to completely predict how a match goes." He said.
Coach Liu will be the guest commentator for Zhibo TV 2018 Team World Cup live streaming.

On Chinese New Year Eve, Ma Long wrote on his Sina Weibo, "Happy Chinese New Year! Best wishes to you and your family! I wish our team always keeps the initial goal in mind and forges ahead. 2018, prosperity awaits."



He shared a photo of dinner party with National Team teammates and cartoon dogs, "Pat dog on the head, worries go out of sight".

Here is the morning call from Ma Long, "It's time to get up and exercise. Follow me to do push-ups and overcome laziness." with blooper lol
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Happy Chinese New Year to Ma Long and all Ma Long supporters!
We wish you in the Year of Dog:
Career will soar like a high toss serve.
Happiness will keep in the looping.
Injuries and illness will be chop-blocked away.
Wellness and health will be flipped back.


Sincerely yours,
MaLongFamily Fans Club

On Feb 17, Chinese New Year Sports Gala, organized by General Administration of Sports, was aired on China Dragon TV (Shanghai).
Ma Long attended the opening show "New era, let's start" with sports stars including Yao Ming (basketball), Zou Kai (gymnastics), Tian Liang (diving), Lang Ping (volleyball), Ding Ning, Pan Xiaoting (pool), Jiang Tingting and Jiang Wenwen (synchronized swimming).





Doesn't he look so little standing by Yao Ming lol
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Later, he and Ding Ning, Fan Zhendong, Lin Gaoyuan and Wang Manyu played matches with amateur players in the program "I want to be an Olympian". Coach Liu Guoliang was the commentator and revealed that the major goal and wish of Ma Long at the moment is to maintain in his prime before his baby son becomes a toddler. When the host asked Coach Liu if the goal is possible to reach, he said, "I believe it will come true."



After the matches, all players and Coach Liu sang a song with singer Zhou Peng, "Small table tennis ball, big dream".

Feb 18 is a holiday in Chinese New Year Golden Week while Team China has already started training in preparation for 2018 Team World Cup. They will leave for London on Feb 19.



Coach: Liu Guozheng
First row, lineup for 2018 Team World Cup: Xu Xin, Ma Long, Lin Gaoyuan, Fan Zhendong, Yu Ziyang
Second row, training partners: Xue Fei, Wang Chuqin, Liu Dingshuo, Zhou Kai, Yan An

On Feb 19, Team China left Beijing for London.




Upon arrival, while waiting for baggage, Ma Long discussed 2018 Winter Olympic Games with teammates Xu Xin and Liu Shiwen at London airport. Guess what Winter Olympic sport he was talking about?
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Training has started on Feb 20.

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ITTF Interview
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In the press conference after the draw ceremony of 2018 Team World Cup on Feb 21, Ma Long said, “I’m happy to be back in England; I just try my best and hope to do well. We play Sweden and France in the group stage, both are strong teams. Playing in this tournament which is over a shorter period of time than the Olympic Games and World Championships is quite similar, perhaps less stressful.”



On Feb 22, China faced France in the first group match.
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In the first set of doubles, Ma Long / Xu Xin beat Alexandre Cassin / Emmanuel Lebesson by 3-0 (11:4, 11:4, 11:5). In the second set, Fan Zhendong overcame Quentin Robinot by 3-0 (11:9, 14:12, 11:3). In the third set, Ma Long sealed the victory for China by beating Emmanuel Lebesson by 3-0 (11:5, 11:6, 11:8).



In the post-match interview, about the new Olympic test playing system with doubles at first, Ma Long said that they were well prepared and tried to start quickly and proactively. Then he commented on the Double Fish ball used in this tournament. "The balls from various brands differ a lot. The Double Fish ball is different from DHS and Nittaku balls. We players have to adapt although we may not have enough time to get fully adapted. Soon Butterfly ball will be used in Team World Championships. The performance on the court depends on both the level of a player and the adjustment to equipment. After China Super League and Chinese New Year, we practiced with Double Fish ball for several days before and after coming to London. The ball feels thicker than others and it advances less when applied with the same power. The table also feels slippery. I am very sensitive to the equipment changes, so the differences are more obvious to me." When he was asked how he made adjustments as an experienced player, he said, "Experiences do not always bring good. Being sensitive and caring about the equipment changes sometimes affect me a little bit. By contrast, young players who do not feel the differences or do not care much, play the same way with whatever ball and get similar results. This (being sensitive to equipment change) is my characteristics as well as shortcoming. Previously we used the same ball for quite some years and got fully adapted. Now with frequently changing balls, I have no choice but get adjusted."