Opinion | Ma Long is without doubt China’s best table tennis player but the 2020 Tokyo Olympics will prove he is the best ever
- The 30-year-old Chinese won his third consecutive men’s singles title at the World Championships in Budapest on Sunday
- With three Olympic golds also under his belt, Ma will become the best ever if he wins again at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics
Is China’s Ma Long the greatest ever table tennis player? The mainlander clinched his third straight men’s singles title at the World Championship on Sunday, making himself only the second Chinese player that has achieved the terrific feat, and certainly put himself in the conversation.
Another mainlander, Zhuang Zedong was crowned the singles world champion three times in the early 1960s. Only Viktor Barna did better than the two Chinese players at the Worlds. Barna, a Hungarian who would later settle in Britain after World War Two, won five world titles from 1930 to 1935, including a runner-up in 1931.
At Hungexpo in Budapest, Ma, who only returned to action after a nagging knee injury in March led to an eight-month absence from the international stage, cruised to a 4-1 victory over Mattias Falck of Sweden in the final.
“As a member of the Chinese team, there is always pressure because of the records set by our predecessors,” said the champion. “I want to continue with the tradition and that is why I try my best in every tournament.
“I think the pressure was greater in 2017 than now because I was ranked 11th for this competition and that did not give me more pressure like 2017. I have to put in my best in this final because this might be the last chance for me to win the title.”
As a member of the Chinese team, there is always pressure because of the records set by our predecessors. I want to continue that tradition and that is why I try my best in every tournament
At the 2017 World Championships in Düsseldorf, Germany, Ma was the hottest player on the circuit after clinching both the singles and team gold medals at the Rio Olympic Games eight months before. He managed to defeat teammate Fan Zhendong 4-3 in the nail-biting final, including a 12-10 victory at deuce in the rubber game. He won his first singles world title in Suzhou, China in 2015 when he beat compatriot Fang Bo 4-2 in the final.
The 30-year-old also won a team gold medal at the 2012 London Olympics after he was surprisingly dropped from the singles event as the then world number one.