Ma Long: The Legendary Comeback in an Astounding Career

(Photo : Ma Long: The Legendary Comeback in an Astounding Career)

After recovering from a knee injury, Ma Long has come back with a bang. About seven months ago, Ma Long suffered a knee injury that kept him away from ping pong. Amazingly, he has come back stronger after a victory at the Seamaster 2019 International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) World Tour Platinum Qatar Open.

With this win, he is at par with Belarusian legend Vladimir Samsonov records with 27 ITTF World Tour titles. At some point, it looked as if Ma Long would not be ready to compete at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. Nevertheless, it has been postponed because of the pandemic.

Nicknamed "The Dictator" Ma Long's natural ability has earned him several accolades in table tennis. As early as 5 years, Ma started learning how to play ping pong.

Ma Long's Background

Ma was born on the 20th October 1988. He was born in Anshan, Liaoning Province, China. By 11 years, he won three championships in Anshan. He won 300 CYN as prize money in one of the championships and his father Ma Yujun treated his coaches and teammates to dinner with the money.

Furthermore, Ma left his home town Anshan at 11 years to improve his ping pong skills. Within a short while, he was scouted and had to move to Beijing for formal and advanced training. In 2003, Ma joined the Chinese National Table Tennis Men's Team.

At 17 years, Ma won the Asian and World Junior championships. During his early days, Ma was coached by Wang Hao and Ma Kai Xuan. Wang Hao won the World Championship three times in 2007 while Ma Kai Zuan was a former Chinese Team coach. Ma was also tutored by Qin Zhi Jian.

Presently, Ma is married to Xia Lu. They got married in 2017 and had their first baby in 2018.

Major Highlights of Ma Long's Career

In 2007, Ma announced his presence on the world stage after he won his first Men's Single at Kuwait and German Opens. The two victories were within a space of two months. Before these victories, Ma suffered a setback when he lost the 2007 Championships to Joo Saehuyuk from the Korean Republic.

Also, in 2008, Ma clinched the singles title at the Asian Cup. That same year, he won the ITTF Grand Finals gold after beating Wanh Hao 4-0 at the finals. Other major championships won by Ma are:

2015 ITTF Championship in Germany
Gold Medal at the Table Tennis Tournament At Rio in 2016
World Cup Winner in 2012 and 2015
3x Olympic Champion
50x ITTF World Tour winner
5x Chinese Super League Champion
3x World Junior Champion

His latest achievement is the victory at the 2019 Seamaster International Table Tennis Federation World Tour held in Qatar.

Grand Slam Champion

Ma Long wrote his name in gold when he won his first grand slam at Rio in 2016. He defeated Zhang Jike 4-0 to win the Men's singles gold medal. With this win, he has joined other ping pong players like Zhang Jike and Jan-Ove Waldner who also won a grand slam. After his grand slam victory, Ma's career has continued to move upwards until 2019.

Ma Long Career Setback

In 2019, Ma Long's injuries persisted. He had to drop out of the Marvellous 12. Similarly, the Marvelous 12 was a Chinese qualifier for the 2019 World Table Tennis Championship (WTTC) in Budapest. Nonetheless, Ma was still part of the Chinese lineup despite being injured.

Also, most of his fans were not sure how well he would play at the Qatar Open held in March 2019. Somehow, his seven monthly absence from the sports was evident when it took six games to win Tristan Flore during his opening match at the competition. However, after his first match, he showed some good form and went on to win the championship.

Meanwhile, at some point in Ma's career, he was not allowed to join the Chinese Olympic team even though he was regarded as the best player in the world from 2010 to 2012. The reason was because Ma's ranking had dropped just 560 days after he won the ITTF World Tour. Ma was not included in the Chinese Olympic team.

However, Ma was included in the Chinese team of the World Table Tennis Championship held in Kuala Lumpur in 2016. Ma didn't lose a game and since has become a force to reckon with in the Chinese Men's Table Tennis Federation.

Is Ma Long the Richest Table Tennis Player in the World?

According to Playerswiki, Ma long is worth US 20 million. His net worth increased after he won a grand slam in 2016. Also, in 2013, Ma earned USD 250,000 in one season.

Ma is believed to have signed a sponsorship deal with Nike. Apart from that, Ma's career is also far from over. In a couple of years, his net worth will surge upwards.

Wrapping Up

With the World Table Tennis Championship set to start on the 28th of February, 2021, fans will be expecting a banging performance from Ma Long. The 32 years old Chinese table tennis player would be expected to win this coveted trophy.

Finally, Ma has set out himself as one of the best. No doubt, Ma long has already made history after he Attained his 27th ITTF win in Qatar.