Ma Long Graduates At Shanghai University 2017!

Who's says being a professional sportsman doesn't give you time to study? Last week Ma Long won the 2017 World Championships, this week Ma Long just graduated at the Shanghai Jiao Tong University with a degree in Economics and Management!

Ma Long graduating!

Degrees usually take 4 years but not in Ma Long's case. Due to his ridiculously busy training and compeititon schedule Ma Long did his degree over 6 years and successfully graduated yesterday on the 9th June 2017. The University Ma Long attended is one of the highest rated in China which has had former students including Liu Guoliang, Qin Zhijian, Wang Liqin and Xu Xin.

Last year the World Number 1 and recent World Champion attended a lot of lessons during the breaks between the rounds of the prestigious Chinese Super League. Ma Long's thesis was about marketing strategies for the China Super League.

Leaked images below of Ma Long during his thesis presentation!

In a section of Ma Long's thesis two pie charts can be seen which display a survey of the popularity of table tennis in China within amateur players. In Ma Long's conclusion he lists 4 things that need to be done in the future for the growth of the Chinese Super League which outline: to clarify the property rights; improve commercialization and marketing; partner with sponsors; make the match more interactive, spectacular and entertaining.

So there you have it, Ma Long has an education to fall back on if he needs it. We think his table tennis career will keep him going for a little while Congratulations Ma Long! A super human!

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Photos by: qq.com
TableTennisDaily

 

[ttmonster]

With this Ma Long has removed any and all doubts that he is the GOAT !

 

[ping fun]

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[TT_Rogue]

these university degrees are gifted by the chinese government to create the impression that their olympic champions and world champions are some kind of superior human. none of the cnt is able to understand an english question or even answer in a proper english sentence. im not believing 1 second that this presentation of ma long was more than a small for him prewritten homework what is exceeding high school level

 

[ttmonster]

Is this an opinion based on generalization and guesswork or you have insider information .. ? Tony/rain/pingfun to the rescue please ... !

these university degrees are gifted by the chinese government to create the impression that their olympic champions and world champions are some kind of superior human. none of the cnt is able to understand an english question or even answer in a proper english sentence. im not believing 1 second that this presentation of ma long was more than a small for him prewritten homework what is exceeding high school level

 

[Baal]

Is this an opinion based on generalization and guesswork or you have insider information .. ? Tony/rain/pingfun to the rescue please ... !

I do have some insider information on this. Provincial team level professional TT players and beyond don't really go to school, and I will never believe for a nanosecond that Ma Long has the equivalent of a college degree. I don't much care mind you, but as with TTRogue, I find the propaganda a bit off-putting and completely unnecessary. However, it is in line with a really long history of Chinese government hero-building to virtually mythical levels (search for "Comrade Lei Feng" to see an early example of this https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lei_Feng ).

My insider information comes from knowing a bunch of former provincial level players and their describing what to me what their lives were like (and seeing problems they face preparing to earn GREs so they can in some cases gain admittance to US universities once they are here; since I am a college professor, I have been asked quite a few times for advice on this).

Recall that the CNT players dressed up for photo-ops in their military uniforms too.

For the record, I don't believe that George Washington ever chopped down a cherry tree either AND I am a big fan of Ma Long the TT player. I also detest college athletics in the US since in some cases the idea that these people are "student-athletes" is absurd. (However that depends somewhat on the sport, and some of my best students have been swimmers and track and field athletes).

 

[rainneverever]

Shanghai Jiao Tong University is among top 5 universities in China and it does kick out champion students who do not meet their graduation requirements such as attendance and passing exams. Give you an example who failed this university, Liu Guozheng.

Edit: I should make it clearer. Liu Guozheng could not meet the attendance requirement of Shanghai Jiao Tong University and was counted as withdrawal. There is no gifted degree from top universities in China as you thought; very likely from less prestigious universities, though.

I don't think Ma Long speaks good English but he is able to communicate with Timo Boll and Jörg Roßkopf when playing doubles in WTTC. And in Dan's interview with Jörg Roßkopf, he mentioned that Ma Long improves his English. Otherwise, do you think Jörg Roßkopf speaks German or Chinese to Ma Long?

these university degrees are gifted by the chinese government to create the impression that their olympic champions and world champions are some kind of superior human. none of the cnt is able to understand an english question or even answer in a proper english sentence. im not believing 1 second that this presentation of ma long was more than a small for him prewritten homework what is exceeding high school level

 

[TTClassic]

Last year the World Number 1 and recent World Champion attended a lot of lessons during the breaks between the rounds of the prestigious Chinese Super League. Ma Long's thesis was about marketing strategies for the China Super League.

-Quote from the Article


LOL If all goes well, maybe we'll see ITTF President Ma Long in the future if his strategies take off. Still bummed about Saive not beating out Weikart, but I hope more prolific players will step out on to TT Politics as it were.

 

[TT_Rogue]

Guys common, just use your brains..China is a communist country the only thing what is keeping the system running is propaganda and military force against their own . Pride that they are something special is what keeps the chinese people from revolting..The game of communist countries is always the same they are always using the sport and athlets for their cases. Of course, if you want, you can believe that Ma Long is a super human who doesnt needs to sleep and whose days have 48h. Easy to be Number one in the world and manage to get a serious university degree for what other people are commiting their whole lives...(

Ps.: Just watch a documentation about chinese students.. even for a common collegue degree they are working harder than Ma Long is probably training..

 

[Scott Yu]

Damn reading these comments make me sad but it sounds like the truth.

 

[ajtatosmano2]

Well, I don't think it's totally propaganda. He might not had to choose as much classes as a normal student and probably he was judged easier. But he made it through 6 years and it's believable. Think Deng Yaping, she was one of the greatest female TT player and get bachelor's degree in chine, master's degree in the University of Nottingham and PhD in Cambridge! And took him 11 years (1997-2008). She got these degrees in Universities which are well respected around the world and which were totally not biased. Now Ma Long in more than the half time of that with probably easier circumstances could make it.
Language: Chinese players might not like to speak english, but this doesn't mean they can't for some extent. Jörg Roßkopf mentioned that his english became better. Well, even I would prefer to use my own language, especially if my not perfect english could ruin my otherwise crystal-clear reputation. As for the University degree: I don't know what's the case in China, but in Hungary you must have a B2 in any foreign language and then you can have a degree. And B2 is like a joke (hmmm...I only have a B2 too...). And I've heard about a japanese singer, who occasionally sings in english with terrible accent and who always refused to speak in english during interviews, meet with an american girl on an airplane (they sit next to each other) and they could speak pretty well in english.

 

[Baal]

Shanghai Jiao Tong University is among top 5 universities in China... There is no gifted degree from top universities in China as you thought

There is no doubt that Jiao Tong university is one of the best in Asia. But they will do what is strongly "suggested" to them, and under Xi Jinping the government has reverted somewhat back to earlier practices, especially with respect to propaganda efforts. I am a huge Ma Long fan -- I like his technique, his demeanor on the court, his current mental toughness, and the fact that he had to struggle a bit to get to the top. But the notion that he earned the equivalent of a college degree in between Super League matches and world tour events and training for the WTTC is really completely and utterly absurd and like I said, I will never believe it is legitimate. And with that said, lest anyone who lives in the US feel morally superior, I call attention to the academic scandal for athletes at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (another very strong university) for an example of what can happen. By the way, the ability to speak English or not is not really a good criterion for equivalent of university education in China (or Russia) for example. Not like it would be in the Netherlands or Germany or Denmark (where people tend to speak pretty much perfect English).

 

[zoomtt]

As far as I know, in Spain, there are some training centres for promising sport men and women. They live and train there, and they have the chance to study in special associated universities where they can choose between only a few degrees (marketing, sports, and some others).

I have heard a couple of sport men saying that they had special grants during the whole studies, having less lessons, exams, etc.. in general, they made it easier for them because of being top athletes.

I guess that this kind of model is also applied in other places, so might be the case of China.

 

[tropical]

Woww... Shanghai Jiao Tong University is like Stanford in CA. My director and VP are from such university. Their English and skills are excellent but they are true graduates. In ML case there is no doubt in my mind that this is the common communist practice/propaganda. All top government officials in communist countries are BS graduates. In VN, these officials listed their BS degree even they used to be North Vietnamese soldiers during the war. Not sure how they find the time to study!
ML doesn't need a certificate to be the GOAT!

 

[ajtatosmano2]

Well, I don't think it's totally propaganda. He might not had to choose as much classes as a normal student and probably he was judged easier. But he made it through 6 years and it's believable. Think Deng Yaping, she was one of the greatest female TT player and get bachelor's degree in chine, master's degree in the University of Nottingham and PhD in Cambridge! And took him 11 years (1997-2008). She got these degrees in Universities which are well respected around the world and which were totally not biased. Now Ma Long in more than the half time of that with probably easier circumstances could make it.
Language: Chinese players might not like to speak english, but this doesn't mean they can't for some extent. Jörg Roßkopf mentioned that his english became better. Well, even I would prefer to use my own language, especially if my not perfect english could ruin my otherwise crystal-clear reputation. As for the University degree: I don't know what's the case in China, but in Hungary you must have a B2 in any foreign language and then you can have a degree. And B2 is like a joke (hmmm...I only have a B2 too...). And I've heard about a japanese singer, who occasionally sings in english with terrible accent and who always refused to speak in english during interviews, meet with an american girl on an airplane (they sit next to each other) and they could speak pretty well in english.

I know a guy in my school who is football (soccer) national team member. On paper he does his studies at home, but when he has time he visits lessons. He isn't a good student. But the teachers know that he works hard on his own sports-career, yet he didn't go to a 'sports-school' where if you don't skip half the classes you already made it (my secondary school isn't the 'best' and 'hardest', but most of the students have good results after leaving (95+% goes to university,the rest are usually athletes)).

Again, Ma Long had some studies and it's possible that he managed to do it. It's sure that he haven't had to learn as much as a normal student and he had 6 years. He might have not fight for it too much, but this doesn't mean he got it completely free.

 

[Baal]

As far as I know, in Spain, there are some training centres for promising sport men and women. They live and train there, and they have the chance to study in special associated universities where they can choose between only a few degrees (marketing, sports, and some others).

I have heard a couple of sport men saying that they had special grants during the whole studies, having less lessons, exams, etc.. in general, they made it easier for them because of being top athletes.

I guess that this kind of model is also applied in other places, so might be the case of China.

Not at Jiao Tong University in Shanghai. As Tropical said, this is the Chinese equivalent of Stanford and if Ma Long has a degree from there, it is not because he went through anything remotely resembling the normal course of study, but rather in the cause of Chinese propaganda. That is all this is. The ordinary Chinese person can't get a degree from there or from Peking University by just taking a few courses here and there.

 

[pixie124]

Ma Long studied at the college for like 7 years..

 

[ajtatosmano2]

Ma Long studied at the college for like 7 years..

It's in the article: he studied for 6 years.
Still, he trains every day 7-8 hours.
In an elite university, you must visit lessons 6 hours and then learn about 4 hours a day. Five days per week. Then you can finish it in 4 years.
He must have got help and he must have been in an 'easy' major.
I don't says he didn't do anything for the degree. But I am sure it wasn't hard at all.

 

[tropical]

You guys know what? Physical training takes a huge toll on you. 8hrs a day will make you want to eat then sleep. You are too exhausted to do anything else, let alone study in a tough university. Not only that you have to spend time to compete many tournaments, local and international. Jeez ... many top table tennis players in US have to quit table tennis to join an elite university, Ariel Tsing in Princeton as an example. Sure, he still can graduate with some "government" help. That is what is called propaganda.

 

[TTFrenzy]

Shanghai Jiao Tong University is among top 5 universities in China and it does kick out champion students who do not meet their graduation requirements such as attendance and passing exams. Give you an example who failed this university, Liu Guozheng.

Edit: I should make it clearer. Liu Guozheng could not meet the attendance requirement of Shanghai Jiao Tong University and was counted as withdrawal. There is no gifted degree from top universities in China as you thought; very likely from less prestigious universities, though.

I don't think Ma Long speaks good English but he is able to communicate with Timo Boll and Jörg Roßkopf when playing doubles in WTTC. And in Dan's interview with Jörg Roßkopf, he mentioned that Ma Long improves his English. Otherwise, do you think Jörg Roßkopf speaks German or Chinese to Ma Long?

liu ghuozeng is not a grand slam champ. big difference. china treats the big stars differently like all countries do, its not something special.

Ill give you a different example, if ZJK was not ZJK was or is there any chance that shandong luneng would tolerate the whole salary and contract issue in 2015?

How exactly does ML had time to study when he trains 3 times a day, and had injuries and treatments this year

deng yaping is the only TT star that actually completed her studies on her own because she quit TT

Another question, why is that we know about ML study and degree only?

All other CNT members do not have a degree or arent they in a university? Arent they interested? I suppose you get my point

Im not saying ML didnt work at all, but lets be realistic here. He is a professional TT athlete and a representative of the sport and china

Gionis is also a dentist, do you guys seriously believe that he had the time to improve as he did in germany and france AND study like other student did?

Greece of course is different, 10m people is like a small village compared to other countries, if you know a guy who knows a guy many problems can be solved and put aside pretty fast

p.s. let me remind you that gionis improved his FH after 21 before that he was a traditional defender chopping from both sides, and attack only on super easy balls and he did that by training in germany and france, time is not enough to read and train like that.