Ma Long interviews, matches and beyond

Ma Long will wait for you in Anshan.
He will attend 2018 China National Championships (September 7-16). Besides, there will be more table tennis events and exhibition matches in Anshan starting from Aug 30.
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On Aug 28, Team China defended team champion at 2018 Asian Games. Ma Long said on Aug 22 when he saw the young team off, "12 years ago, I started the first journey to Asian Games as young and excited as them. How time flies, the young brothers remind me of old days. I am waiting for your victory!"

September Issue of Table Tennis World Magazine Star Q&A column.


Q: What is your must-sing song in karaoke?
Ma Long: There are too many. I like to sing National Anthem most.


Q: How do you score your singing?
Ma Long: 6 or 7 out of 10.


Q: Which place do you always want to visit but haven't got a chance?
Ma Long: I like historic sites, for example in Europe. I won't get bored at all no matter how long I visit there.


Q: Describe yourself with three tags.
Ma Long: Serious, sensitive, humorous.


Q: What kind of business will you open if you have a chance?
Ma Long: I like simple and neat place. If I get the chance, I may open a music pub. There will be one or two private rooms for special guests besides big open space. Music will be always on. Cozy yet elegant. Table tennis fans can get together there and watch games.


Q: What do you want to change most?
Ma Long: I don't want to make any changes at the moment. I feel everything is on the right track now. I don't want to introduce changes that may not be suitable for my current situation.

On Sep 5, Zhang Lei, head coach of Team Beijing told Beijing Evening News that Ma Long will only play team event at the upcoming China National Championships. He said his current focus is to help Ma Long and Ding Ning to get the tickets to 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.
Coach Zhang Lei revealed that the main challenge for Ma Long and Ding Ning is injury. The recent changes made by ITTF such as new ranking system and new material ball affect their recovery and maintaining form. "MaLong has injuries on wrist and knee now. Ding Ning's old injuries often relapse during training." They have to choose some tournaments to attend. Ma Long will play team event in 2018 China National Championships and will not play singles. Ding Ning will play team event too and whether she will play singles is yet to be decided.
Coach Zhang Lei think two tournaments are crucial for 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games - 2019 World Championships and 2020 Asian Olympic Qualification Tournament. Team Beijing has appointed physical coach and invited Coach Qin Zhijian to support Ma Long.

On Sep 7, Team Beijing beat Team Hubei by 3-0 and Team Heilongjiang by 3-0 in the group stage of team event at 2018 China National Championships. Ranked #1 in the group, Team Beijing proceeded to the knockout stage.
The results were:
Team Beijing 3-0 Team Hubei
Yan An 3-0 (11:4, 11:5, 11:3) Hua Bei
Ma Long 3-1 (11:2, 10:12, 11:9, 11:5) Xue Fei
Wang Chuqin 3-0 (11:6, 11:7, 11:6) Zhao Daming
Team Beijing 3-0 Team Heilongjiang
Wang Chuqin 3-1 (9:11, 11:9, 11:6, 11:7) Xu Yingbin
Ma Long 3-0 (11:4, 11:4, 11:5) Wang Bo
Yan An 3-0 (11:7, 11:4, 11:8) Cao Wei

On Sep 8, Team Beijing beat Team Jiangsu by 3-0 in the first round of knockout stage of team event at 2018 China National Championships.
The results were:
Wang Chuqin 3-2 (11:8, 8:11, 11:3, 8:11, 11:9) Sun Wen
Ma Long 3-1 (6:11, 11:5, 13:11, 12:10) Zhang Yudong
Yan An 3-0 (13:11, 11:9, 11:4) Zhu Cheng


On Sep 9, Team Beijing beat Team Liaoning by 3-0 in the quarterfinal and beat Team Hebei by 3-0 in the semifinal of team event at 2018 China National Championships.
The results were:
Team Beijing 3-0 Team Liaoning
Wang Chuqin 3-0 (13:11, 11:7, 11:3) Yuan Licen
Ma Long 3-0 (11:7, 11:7, 11:5) Yang Shuo
Yan An 3-0 (11:6, 12:10, 12:10) Xu Haidong
Team Beijing 3-0 Team Hebei
Wang Chuqin 3-2 (3:11, 11:9, 11:7, 8:11, 11:6) Liang Jingkun
Ma Long 3-0 (11:7, 11:1, 11:4) Liu Yi
Yan An 3-1 (8:11, 11:2, 11:8, 11:9) Cheng Jingqi


Team Beijing will face Team Guangdong in the final.

On Sep 10, Team Beijing beat Team Guangdong by 3-0 and won team champion at 2018 China National Championships.
The results were:
Yan An 3-2 (9:11, 11:9, 3:11, 11:4, 11:4) Lin Gaoyuan
Ma Long 3-0 (11:4, 11-8, 11-9) Zhou Qihao
Wang Chuqin 3-2 (8:11, 13:11, 11:3，14:16, 11:9) Zhang Chao

Exciting Team Beijing and crowd after the victory
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This is Ma Long's third team champion at China National Championships. He previously led Team Beijing to win team champion in 2011 and 2012.


In the post-match interview, Ma Long spoke highly of the team. Wang Chuqin improved a lot and Yan An regained his form. Each player on the court scored and they finally retained the title.

On Sep 10, Ma Long updated his Sina Weibo, "It has been quite a while since Team Beijing won this champion last time. Gratitude to everyone in the team. Everyone did his best for this goal. Today is also Teacher's Day. The gold medal is for all our coaches. You deserve it."

On Sep 11, Ma Long and several other China National Team players visited Qian Mountain Natural Park in Anshan and met local fans.
When Ma Long was asked about the impression of Anshan, his hometown, he said that he didn't have many chances to explore Anshan because he left Anshan since quite young. He spent most of time visiting family or playing tournaments when he came to Anshan. Therefore he was quite happy to have the chance to see the scenic views and feel the hospitality of locals. He sent best wishes to his hometown and wished local people to keep fit and keep positive.

Some recent photos and videos


20180907 Ma Long 3-0 Wang Bo
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20180908 Ma Long vs Zhang Yudong
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20180909 Ma Long vs Liu Yi
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20180910 Ma Long vs Zhou Qihao
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20180910 Award ceremony



20180911 Qian Mountain visit



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20180913 Beijing arrival




Bus top in Beijing



Spot differences of these three serves

A normal Saturday afternoon (20180915)



Sometimes you run alone, while sometimes you run together.




Some photo shooting work done (20180920)

30 days to go for Ma Long's 30th birthday! Join us for making some special gifts and memories!
Whether you come across a sign or symbol that relates to 30 or Ma Long (Horse, Dragon, Captain, etc.) in your daily life or on a trip, or you want to send wishes in words, drawings, or table tennis actions, simply take a photo or video (up to 15 seconds) and email us ([email protected]). We will make a video out of all the wishes and Ma Long can see it on his birthday!



Since 2009, we started to raise funds for charity as a birthday gift for Ma Long. This year, together with China Youth Development Foundation, we launched a crowd funding for Project Hope Happy Sports Playground named after Ma Long. Within 24 hours after launch, enough donation was received to build the first playground with sports facilities in a needy rural primary school in Liaoning Province. Check more information here https://gongyi.weibo.com/r/230071. Join us to give if you are interested.

Sep 24 is Mid-Autumn Festival. As Audi Vorsprung Circle Enterprising Pioneer, Ma Long sent out wishes. He said, there are many fairy tales of the moon. For him, the moon on the sky reminded him of the nights he spent training hard and it witnessed his growth.



Blackmores, Australia's top Vitamin and supplement brand invites Ma Long as the ambassador of First 1000 Days program to promote nutrition care for baby and mother.

VIP meeting with Ma Long will be held in Australia.

China Super League transfer news on Sep 27: Ma Long is transferred from Shandong Weiqiao to Shandong Luneng with 9,250,000 Chinese Yuan. Other players who are transferred to Shandong Luneng include Yan An and Shang Kun.
2018 Chinese Super League will start on Oct 10. Final team line up and schedule will be updated shortly.

Breaking news: Coach Liu Guoliang is back to China National Team after 15 months!
China Table Tennis Association (CTTA) announced on Sep 27 that a special workgroup in preparation for 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games is formed. Coach Liu Guoliang is the director of the group and also in charge of CTTA. Other group members include Coach Qin Zhijian, Zhang Lei, Wang Liqin and so on.
Coach Liu Guoliang visited the National Training Center and posted on Sina Weibo, "I will work together with China National Team for Tokyo Olympic Games. 666 days to go." Ma Long retwitted, "Let's go together."

2018-2019 China Super League will start from Oct 10, on almost every Wed and Sat. Ma Long is transferred to Shandong Luneng. The line-up of Shandong Luneng is Ma Long, Yan An, Shang Kun, Zhang Chao, Cui Qinglei and Xu Yingbin.
Here are some explanations on the transfer/lease rule of China Super League. When a player is listed for transfer, the order of acquisition is from higher-ranked to lower-ranked club; while when a player is listed for lease, the order of acquisition is from lower-ranked to higher-ranked club. Last season, Shandong Luneng planned to acquire Ma Long from his former club Shandong Weiqiao. However, as Ma Long was listed for lease not for transfer, Tianjin Quanjian (lower-ranked) got the opportunity to acquire him before Shandong Luneng. This season, Tianjin Quanjian expressed the willingness to continue acquiring Ma Long, but as Shandong Weiqiao listed him for transfer, Shandong Luneng (higher-ranked) got the opportunity to acquire before Tianjin Quanjian. Hopefully there will be chemistry among the new Shandong Luneng.
There will be break of Super League during ITTF tournaments. Ma Long is now shown on the entries list of Swedish Open (Nov 1-4, singles and men's doubles with Xu Xin) and Austrian Open (Nov 8-11, singles). If he were able to attend the tournaments above, he will be eligible to play Grand Finals in Incheon (Dec 13-16) in singles and men's doubles.

The transfer fee of 9,250,000 Chinese Yuan is listed by Shandong Weiqiao based on Ma Long's former acquisition fee with 15% increase each year (maximum according to China Super League regulation).
The highest transfer fee in China Super League history was 11,330,000 Chinese Yuan in 2010 for Guo Yan to transfer to Shanxi.

On Sep 29, Ma Long was invited to the first Friendship Cup table tennis competition for Chinese and foreign diplomats.






Oct 1 is China's National Day. Ma Long wished that Chinese people can work together to make China a better country.



On Oct 1, Coach Liu Guoliang gave a speech to China National Team before they started a two-day break for National Day.