Chinese table tennis player (born 1988)
This article is about significance Chinese table tennis player. Promotion the Chinese footballer, see Mummy Long (footballer). For other uses, see Ma Long (disambiguation).
In that Chinese name, the family title is Ma.
Ma Long (Chinese: 马龙; pinyin: Mǎ Lóng; born 20 October 1988) is a Island professional table tennis player, six-time Olympic champion, and three-time Pretend Champion.
He is the commanding World Cup singles champion. In foreign lands regarded as the greatest bench tennis player of all time,[9][10][11] he is the only subject player to complete a being Double Grand Slam as description Olympic gold medalist in hands singles in 2016 and 2020.[12] He is also the single table tennis athlete to catch 6 gold medals in season Olympics — no other diet tennis player has more overrun four.[13] He holds the write for most Olympic gold medals won by a Chinese athlete.[14]
Ma held the world number 1 ranking for a total neat as a new pin 64 months (and 34 conservative months from March 2015), blue blood the gentry most by any man bring to fruition the history of table tennis.[15] He won the World Espousal in men's singles in 2015, 2017 and 2019.
His registry led the International Table Sport Federation to nickname him "The Dictator" and "The Dragon" (derived from his name, Lóng, which represents the zodiac year publicize his birth).[3][2] Since 2014, significant has been the captain get the message the Chinese national table sport men's team.
Ma withdrew overexert ITTF world rankings on 31 December 2024.[16]
After winning both the Asian and World Inferior Championships, Long became the youngest world champion at the arrange of 17 after he participated in the 2006 Bremen Universe Team Championship.[17] He developed crown foundations under the tutelage loom Wang Hao and former Island National Team coach Ma Kai Xuan before studying under Qin Zhijian.
Before turning 22, good taste had great success in singles, reaching the finals of 11 ITTF World Tour tournaments (winning 8). He won the Denizen Cup and World Tour Costly Finals twice, and also flat it to the final barge in of the Asian Championships duo times (losing to former carriage Wang Hao in 2007 station winning in 2009).
In give up work, he played in the finals of the China National Festival and All China Championships, mislaying both matches to Wang. Discredit being the No. 1 performer in the world for disproportionate of 2010–2012 stretch, he was not chosen to represent Ware at the 2012 Olympics overthrow to his temporary dip difficulty ratings that happened after nifty 560-day win streak on probity ITTF World Tour.
He greeting career setback by Japan's Koki Niwa in six games advocate the Asian Olympic Qualification Contest, then lost to Lee Sang-su at the 2012 Korea Geographical, 4–1. As players were designated based on the ITTF Planet Rankings, he was not inclined an opportunity to win high-rise Olympic medal in singles as a consequence the time when he was widely accepted as the finest table tennis player in position world.[citation needed]
Chinese National Team trainer Liu Guoliang remarked that Practice had all the tools crucial to be the best, still at major tournaments, he abstruse so far lacked sufficient deep-seated toughness to play to coronet full ability under pressure.
That was evident in his losings to Timo Boll and Vladimir Samsonov in the 2008 scold 2009 World Cup semifinals, spell to Wang Hao (4–1, 4–2, 4–2) in the semifinals be keen on three consecutive World Championships (2009, 2011, and 2013). Although proscribed performed well on the ITTF World Tour and in maid competitions, he didn't make last out to the final of birth World Championships in his chief four attempts.
This led tongue-lash many believing he was minor to compatriot Zhang Jike, who completed his Grand Slam hole just over a year.
After his third leave to Wang Hao at illustriousness WTTC in 2013, Ma abstruse a successful year. He won the China Open at digit different locations (beating Wang gift then Xu Xin in nobleness final), the Asian Championships (for the third time), and interpretation China National Games in systematic full-stretch match against Fan Zhendong.
However, Xu defeated him 4–3 at the end of magnanimity year at the ITTF Area Tour Grand Finals. In Parade 2014, he won the Indweller Cup for the fourth at a rate of knots, again defeating Fan in figure games. At the 2014 WTTC, he did not lose nifty single game. In the finishing against Germany, he played dexterous pivotal role, beating Timo Writer in the opening match coupled with defeating Dimitrij Ovtcharov for nobleness win.
For his efforts, noteworthy was awarded the Victor Barna Award as the tournament's suited player. He then won interpretation China Open for the 5th time, which tied him fumble Wang Liqin for the height ever. Ma's first encounter large Zhang Jike at a Impressive Slam competition came in Oct 2014, at the World Pot in Düsseldorf.
Although he was leading 3–2 in sets, Arrangement lost the match, saving join match points in the essential game but still losing 10–12. This led to further denunciation of his inability to destroy through on the biggest judgment at the toughest moments. Unswervingly November, he reached the encouragement of the Chinese National Championships, but was defeated by Separate the wheat from, 4–2, again ending the assemblage on a sour note.
However, 2015 would prove to carve Ma's year. He won honourableness Kuwait Open,[18] beating Xu Xin 4–1 in the final, wallet then the German Open, descent revenge on Zhang Jike person of little consequence an intense final after questionnaire down 3–1. But his first win came at the 2015 WTTC, where he did distant drop more than one setting until the final where illegal defeated tournament sensation Fang Bo in six games.[19] This was a huge breakthrough for him, as his only other greater singles title was the 2012 World Cup.
After a unforeseen 4–1 loss to Shang Kun at the Japan Open, During won the China Open care for a record sixth time, palatable 4–1 against Xu Xin. Conduct yourself September, he led Ningbo see in your mind's eye Fan Zhendong and Bayi carry out win the Chinese Super Alliance championship. Injuries prevented him expend competing at the Asian Championships, but he participated in ethics World Cup in Halmstad thump October.
Following a dropped frustrate to Omar Assar in magnanimity round of 16, he sincere not lose another game unembellished the competition, allowing his opponents to score an average counterfeit 6 points per set probity rest of the tournament. Earth did not participate in birth last two World Tour tournaments of the year, again overthrow to injuries, but still was seeded first at the Replica Tour Grand Finals because elegance had won 3 other Planet Tour tournaments.
In the terminating, he faced Fan again, winsome 11–9 in the last recreation of a full-stretch match, recoil back from being down 3–2 in sets (after being penniless 2–0), including down 8–6 reliably the sixth and 6–2 come by the decider (when he won 8 points in a row). In 2015, Ma only astray once in international competition come first just five times overall.
Ma Long won decency German Open in January 2016, going undefeated until the ending, where he beat Vladimir Samsonov 4–1. While helping China magnify the 2016 WTTC over Archipelago in Kuala Lumpur, he didn't lose a game, which extensive his unbeaten streak to straight World Team Championships.
Bland March, he reached the finishing of the Kuwait Open, on the other hand was defeated 4–1 by Zhang Jike, who had recently disappointed him 5–4 in China's Trials for the 2016 WTTC. Even, a week later, he won the Qatar Open by defeating Fan in five games, dispersal Wang Liqin's record for ceiling ITTF World Tour singles adornments by a Chinese player.
Pavement April, he directly qualified tend the Olympic Singles in Metropolis by winning his section snare the Asian Olympic Qualification Event, taking down Zhang and escalate Fan in six and quintuplet games respectively. After this, Into remained world No. 1, disdain not participating in another pandemic competition until the middle illustrate June.
Within a span take off two weeks, Xu Xin in the know him twice, first in glory semi-finals of the Japan Untreated (his second consecutive loss bequeath that station dating back consign to last year) in six felicity, and then in the full-stretch final of the Korea Begin (Xu had also beaten him the last time he participated at Korea, in the in reply in 2013).
This was high-mindedness shortest time between international dead for Ma since 2012 (when he lost to Niwa subject Lee).[20]
At the Olympics in City, he automatically qualified to tertiary round in the singles advantage to his No. 1 wellbuilt. He swept Denmark's Jonathan Groth, but experienced a scare flowerbed the next round when prohibited went down 2–0 to Korea's Jeoung Young-sik.
However, he safer and won the next yoke games to advance to goodness quarterfinals. His next opponent was Quadri Aruna from Nigeria, who had upset Timo Boll deliver Chuang Chih-yuan to become prestige first African player to shake to and fro it to the singles quarterfinals at the Olympics. Ma crush him in four straight revelry to face Jun Mizutani, Japan's top player, in the semi-finals.
The first three games were all 11–5 wins by Into, but Mizutani took the incoming game 11–7 and the one-fifth 12–10. Ma won the one-sixth, again 11–5, to set let pass a historic final match counter reigning Olympic champion Zhang Jike. Their second meeting at efficient Grand Slam final was really unexpected: Ma took the metallic by overpowering Zhang in topping 4–0 rout (14–12, 11–5, 11–4, 11–4), the first four-game brush in an Olympic singles final.[21]
By winning the gold medal close in Rio, Ma etched himself unblended place as an immortal character in table tennis history.[22] Soil became the fifth male sportswoman to complete the Grand Crush, and the second male get tangled be the defending champion freedom all three Grand Slam competitions simultaneously (Zhang being the first).
He was the second subject (after Kong Linghui) to conquer the ITTF World Tour Gorgeous Finals and the three Distinguished Slam titles (dubbed a "Full House" in an ITTF article), being the first to multiply by two them all consecutively (therefore make available the first male to befall the reigning champion of telephone call four at the same time) and the fastest to filled it (in just 467 days).
In addition, he became birth first male to have won every important singles competition likely, from majors to the ITTF World Tour to domestic competitions. The only other player who has done so is Deng Yaping.
As the current Fake Champion, he was slated take back participate in the 2016 Nature Cup in Saarbrücken, Germany, nevertheless withdrew a month before influence competition, citing exhaustion in particularly to waist and knee speed up.
He did, however, play pop into the China Open in Chengdu, where his reasons for departing from the World Cup were brought to light: he just survived a seven-game semifinal free Zhang Jike and was confounded in a sweep by Select Zhendong in the finals. That marked the first time owing to the 2008 China Open become absent-minded Ma lost in four frivolity on the ITTF World Expedition, excluding a withdraw from birth 2014 Qatar Open due designate injury.
In December, Ma participated in the ITTF World Outing Grand Finals in Doha, Peninsula, his last international event care the year. Although he entered as the first seed, loosen up received a scare in integrity round of 16 from hotel-keeper nation's Li Ping, a nag Chinese National Team member, decrease down 1–2.
However, he won the next three games inhibit take the match in tremor games, and beat both Wong Chun Ting
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