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That's true but the CNT players have to be at the top of their game pretty much all the time because there are so many other players knocking on the door. ZJK would have been kicked out long ago if he hadn't gotten his grand slam so quickly. Waldner could take the liberty to relax, keep himself off the radar and surprise the CNT in the important tournaments.

Anyway, I'm not putting one over the other. Both are all-time greats, no question about it. Waldner just happens to be my personal favourite :)
 
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I wonder if FZD will be the next Ma Lin? Greatest number 2 player in history, most of his career he was a nanometer below WLQ. Will FZD ever break through? I think for sure if he stays healthy. What a great playsr FZD is. The greatness of FZD is part of my argument for Ma Long as GOAT.

But we shouldn't forget the level ZJK acheived just a few years ago. I try to remember this and still come back to Ma Long.

People still felt Ma Long was the best even when ZJK was winning all those titles and Ma Long was losing all those matches to Wang Hao. It says something.
 
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People still felt Ma Long was the best even when ZJK was winning all those titles and Ma Long was losing all those matches to Wang Hao. It says something.

yes i really have no idea what's going on . they just want to find a topic and try to criticise . samsonov , timo boll , dima , zhang jike , xu xin even ma long were their victim . i really like to see what kind of people are they in their lives ??
 
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yes i really have no idea what's going on . they just want to find a topic and try to criticise . samsonov , timo boll , dima , zhang jike , xu xin even ma long were their victim . i really like to see what kind of people are they in their lives ??

I dont think anyone here is "bad" people, its just that they like ma long more than others which is normal, personal taste and preference vary, ma long was considered a favorite to rule table tennis since 2009, he had to endure 6 years of failures in big competitions to become the player he is today and biased die hard fans could not accept it

same goes for die hard biased ZJK WLQ ma lin WH and XX fans, the players always know better who is the best, but when you idolize someone so much however good or bad he is objectively, u will eventually find excuses because its hard to accept the fact that your favorite player, crushed the competition in pro tours, super league, trials and then failed to deliver in the big stage.

I ve stated that countless times and I'll say it again, there are two players playing the game, ma lin basically let the match slip away in 2007 and everybody praised wang liqin like he is some god of comeback uber tactician and psychologically resourcefull, LSW went miss after miss in the 2015 final and ding ning was again praised to a non logical extent, LXX miss after miss also in rio final, ding ning again gets all the praise.

winner takes all the praise only if your understanding of the game is fan based, thus being one sided and narrow minded

haters gonna hate :p
 
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winner takes all the praise only if your understanding of the game is fan based, thus being one sided and narrow minded

haters gonna hate :p

Sometimes the loser gets all the blame too. Case in point, Ma Long vs Wang Hao. Wang Hao managed to shut Ma Long's game down three times in a row and played extremely well but a lot of people only count it as Ma Long's failure.
 
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Sometimes the loser gets all the blame too. Case in point, Ma Long vs Wang Hao. Wang Hao managed to shut Ma Long's game down three times in a row and played extremely well but a lot of people only count it as Ma Long's failure.

Exactly, that is why I said the players know better. ML himself said that in 2009 wang hao was clearly better, in 2011 a bit better but he could beat him , and in 2013 he felt he was much better but failed to capitalize.

There are various reasons that a XYZ player makes a miss its not always about flashy FH or BH, wang hao dictated the short game, just like ML did to FZD.

I think ML winning a second gold @ 32 yo is not impossible, but FZD will be at his peak, LGY LJK and others will also fight strong to dethrone him in the previous competitions and trials, ML still has huge room for improvement especially in the mental/psychological aspect, he got really worried by FZD's adaptation in the 5th and 6th and didnt came up with a quick solution and his timeout didnt work in his favor. Eventually he fought back and took smart risks whch paid off without choking as he used to

3 years is a long time, FZD or whoever the other contender will be they will eventually adapt to ma long's patterns and outrally him, he needs to enhance the talent and creativity/cunningness that he has cause LJK and FZD can only outpower him not outsmart him, I consider LGY to be smarter than the previous two but he also needs some tweaks. Anyway who knows, personally I prefer 3-4 or even 5players beating each other, its kinda boring that its always bein a 2 player scenario for the past 14 years. WLQ ML, then ZJK WH, then ML ZJK and now ML FZD, the finals are always breath taking but I dont want to see FZD LJK monopoly for example, it will also give an extra boost to the sport both inside and outside of china
 
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Exactly, that is why I said the players know better. ML himself said that in 2009 wang hao was clearly better, in 2011 a bit better but he could beat him , and in 2013 he felt he was much better but failed to capitalize.

There are various reasons that a XYZ player makes a miss its not always about flashy FH or BH, wang hao dictated the short game, just like ML did to FZD.

I think ML winning a second gold @ 32 yo is not impossible, but FZD will be at his peak, LGY LJK and others will also fight strong to dethrone him in the previous competitions and trials, ML still has huge room for improvement especially in the mental/psychological aspect, he got really worried by FZD's adaptation in the 5th and 6th and didnt came up with a quick solution and his timeout didnt work in his favor. Eventually he fought back and took smart risks whch paid off without choking as he used to

3 years is a long time, FZD or whoever the other contender will be they will eventually adapt to ma long's patterns and outrally him, he needs to enhance the talent and creativity/cunningness that he has cause LJK and FZD can only outpower him not outsmart him, I consider LGY to be smarter than the previous two but he also needs some tweaks. Anyway who knows, personally I prefer 3-4 or even 5players beating each other, its kinda boring that its always bein a 2 player scenario for the past 14 years. WLQ ML, then ZJK WH, then ML ZJK and now ML FZD, the finals are always breath taking but I dont want to see FZD LJK monopoly for example, it will also give an extra boost to the sport both inside and outside of china

Ma Long had won the WTTC and automatically qualified to play Olympics in 2020 unless he is too injured to play. The question is can anyone win in 2019 other than Ma Long and FZD to deny FZD? Looks impossible to me but miracles can happen.

Ma Long is still a beast.
 
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Ma Long had won the WTTC and automatically qualified to play Olympics in 2020 unless he is too injured to play. The question is can anyone win in 2019 other than Ma Long and FZD to deny FZD? Looks impossible to me but miracles can happen.

Ma Long is still a beast.

Yes I think even if he didnt, with zhang jike at such a condition, ML has definitely secured the team slot already since LGL always has at least 1 veteran in team events. XX will probably be surpassed and zhang jike will probably retire till then so there is no other top core member for the transition period
 
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There is a rumor that Waldner lost to Persson in 1991 on purpose so they would both have a WTTC singles crown.

Don't know if there is any truth to it or not.


Sent from The Subterranean Workshop by Telepathy

That would surprise and shock me greatly. Hey Dan, please get Jörgen drunk asap and extract the whole truth. Please?
 
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Ma Long had won the WTTC and automatically qualified to play Olympics in 2020 unless he is too injured to play. The question is can anyone win in 2019 other than Ma Long and FZD to deny FZD? Looks impossible to me but miracles can happen.

Ma Long is still a beast.

Where did you see tokyo 2020 qualification?
surely you are 2 years too early? lol
 
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Yes, and it doesn't matter. Which was why I said champion in the past cycle.

Well, I guess wttc 2019 surely matters more than wttc 2017
1) it will be the world ranking after 2019 to be used for tokyo 2020 (if it is the same as the past 2 olympics)
2) it will be an more accurate personal on players performance in 2019 for 2020, than oppose to 2017 for 2020

Simply with 3 to 2 player rule, we will start to see more irregular selections which will differ from yester years.

I would say based on today's result and if both players can still fit and still be 1 and 2 in the world, by 2 for Tokyo would be Ma Long and FZD.

However based on Chinese training, and the new ball potentially adding injuries at a increase rate than before, Ma Long's speed and body could really be of a concern in 3 years time
 
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