Ma Long (table tennis)

Ma Long
Personal information
Native name 马龙
Nationality  China
Born (1988-10-20) October 20, 1988[1]
Anshan, Liaoning, China
Playing style Right-handed, shakehand grip
Equipment(s) (2016)DHS Hurricane Long version 5, DHS Hurricane 3 NEO National (FH, Black), Tenergy 05 (BH, Red) or DHS National orange NEO
Highest ranking 1
Current ranking 1 (May 2016)
Club Zhejiang Ningbo Haitian
Height 1.76 m (5'9")[1]
Weight 70 kg (154 lbs)[1]
This is a Chinese name; the family name is Ma.

Ma Long (simplified Chinese: 马龙; traditional Chinese: 馬龍; pinyin: Mǎ Lóng; born 20 October 1988) is a Chinese male table tennis champion.[1] As of May 2016, he is ranked number 1 in the world by the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF), which he has been for a total of 45 months, more than anybody else other than Wang Liqin (54 months).[2] Ma was born in Anshan, Liaoning, China. He won a record 5 ITTF World Tour tournaments in a row, including a streak of 35 sets. Starting in December 2007, he has been in the top 5 in the ITTF World Ranking, and has been in the top 3 since September 2011. Since March 2015, he has been world #1.

Playing style and Career

Ma is arguably the best two-winged looper in table tennis history. His serves appear to be traditional pendulum serves, but are some of the most visually deceptive in the world. Ma's playing style is that of the modern strategy of close-range third ball play, as his range of attack is nearly unparalleled. At the beginning of his career, his play strategy was primarily forehand-oriented, dominating play with powerful forehand loops, only using his backhand for controlled returns and to set up the forehand. He still plays a forehand-oriented style, but his backhand has become more consistent and stable as his career has progressed. Ma uses his backhand mainly to aggressively block incoming loops, but will occasionally loop himself. Opponents are usually caught off guard when he suddenly loops with his backhand, which he can do near the table or away from it. Compared to when he was younger, he is much more confident using his backhand to attack and defend. He is also the most prominent employer of the chop block on the Chinese National Team, which he uses to counter slow loops with heavy side spin.

After winning both the Asian and World Junior Championships, Ma became the youngest world champion at 18 years old after he participated in the 2006 Bremen World Team Championship. Ma developed his foundations under the tutelage of Wang Hao and former Chinese National Team coach Ma Kai Xuan before studying under Qin Zhi Jian. Before turning 22, he had great success in singles, reaching the finals of 11 ITTF World Tour tournaments (winning 8). He won the Asian Cup and World Tour Grand Finals twice, and also made it to the final round of the Asian Championships two times (losing to Wang Hao in 2007 and winning in 2009). In addition, he played in the finals of the China National Games and All China Championships, losing both matches to Wang.

Despite being the #1 player in the world for much of 2010–2012 stretch he was not chosen to represent China at the 2012 Olympics due to his temporary dip in ratings following a 560-day win streak on the ITTF World Tour. He first lost to Lee Sang-su at the 2012 Korea Open, 4-1, and then was upset by Koki Niwa in six games at the Asian Olympic Qualification Tournament. Players were selected based on the ITTF World rankings list. As a result, he was not given an opportunity to win an Olympic medal in singles at the time when he was widely accepted as the best table tennis player in the world.

Chinese National Team coach Liu Guoliang remarked that Ma had all the tools necessary to be the best, yet at major tournaments, he had so far lacked sufficient mental toughness to play to his full ability when under pressure. This was evident in his losses to Timo Boll and Vladimir Samsonov in the 2008 and 2009 World Cup semifinals as well as his defeats to Wang Hao (4-1, 4-2, 4-2) in the semifinals of three consecutive World Championships (2009, 2011, and 2013). Although he performed well on the ITTF World Tour and in domestic competitions, Ma never made it to the final of the World Championship in his first four attempts. This led to many believing he was inferior to compatriot Zhang Jike, who completed his Grand Slam in just over a year.

After his third defeat to Wang Hao at the WTTC in 2013, Ma had a successful year. He won the China Open at two different locations (beating Wang and then Xu Xin in the final), the Asian Championships (for the third time), and the China National Games in a full-stretch match against phenom Fan Zhendong. However, Xu defeated him 4-3 at the end of the year at the ITTF World Tour Grand Finals.

In March 2014, he won the Asian Cup for the fourth time, again defeating Fan in seven games. At the 2014 WTTTC, he didn't lose a single set. In the final against Germany, he played a pivotal role, beating Timo Boll in the opening match and defeating Dimitrij Ovtcharov for the win. For his efforts, he was awarded the Victor Barna Award as the tournament's best player. He then won the China Open for the fifth time, which tied him with Wang Liqin for the most ever. Ma's first encounter with Zhang Jike at a Grand Slam competition came in October 2014, at the World Cup in Düsseldorf. Although he was leading 3-2 in sets, Ma lost the match, saving two match points in the deciding game but still losing 10-12. This led to further criticism of his inability to come through on the biggest stages at the toughest moments. In November, he reached the final of the All China Championships, but was defeated by Fan, 4-2, again ending the year on a sour note.

However, 2015 would prove to be Ma's year. He won the Kuwait Open, beating Xu Xin 4-1 in the final, and then the German Open, getting revenge on Zhang Jike in an intense final after being down 3-1. But his biggest win came at the 2015 WTTC, where he did not drop more than one set until the final where he defeated tournament sensation Fang Bo in six games. This was a huge breakthrough for him, as his only other major singles title was the 2012 World Cup. After a surprising 4-1 loss to Shang Kun at the Japan Open, Ma won the China Open for a record sixth time, winning 4-1 against Xu Xin. In September, he led Ningbo over Fan Zhendong and Bayi to win the Chinese Super League championship. Injuries prevented him from competing at the Asian Championships, but he participated in the World Cup in Halmstad in October. Following a dropped set to Omar Assar in the round of 16, he did not lose another game in the competition, allowing his opponents to score an average of 6 points per set the rest of the tournament. He did not participate in the last two World Tour tournaments of the year, again due to injuries, but still was seeded first at the World Tour Grand Finals because he had won 3 other World Tour tournaments. In the final, he faced Fan again, winning 11-9 in the last game of a full-stretch match, coming back from being down 3-2 in sets (after being up 2-0), including down 8-6 in the sixth and 6-2 in the decider (when he won 8 points in a row). In 2015, Ma only lost once in international competition and just five times overall. Winning the World Cup, along with the WTTC, the ITTF World Tour tournaments, and the Grand Finals, in addition to being number one in the world, puts Ma in excellent position to contend for a spot in the singles at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

In 2016, Ma Long won the German Open, beating Vladimir Samsonov 4-1 in the final, but Zhang Jike beat him in the final of the Kuwait Open 4-1.

There is a lot at stake for Ma in the upcoming Olympics: if he wins, he will be the fifth male player to complete a Grand Slam, and the second male player ever to be the defending champion of all three majors at the same time (Zhang Jike being the first). In addition, he will have won every important singles competition possible, from majors to the ITTF World Tour to domestic competitions. The only other player who has done that is Deng Yaping.

Career records

Singles (as of December 2015)[3]
Men's Doubles
Mixed Doubles
Team

Summary of Accomplishments

Other

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "MA Long – Biography". gz2010.cn. Guangzhou Asian Games Organizing Committee. Retrieved January 25, 2011.
  2. ↑ "ITTF world ranking". International Table Tennis Federation. Retrieved January 5, 2012.
  3. ↑ "ITTF Statistics". International Table Tennis Federation. Retrieved November 2015.
  4. ↑ "Ma Long Extends Amazing Run, World Champion Beaten in London Final". ITTF. Retrieved December 19, 2011.
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