Exclusive: Table tennis GOAT Ma Long reveals no plans to retire yet

Ma Long's most memorable competitions

Ma has played international tournaments for over 15 years, and attended the Olympic Games Beijing 2008 as a training and sparring partner although he did not take part in the competition.

That set him up for his actual debut four years later at London 2012, which he says is his most meaningful and memorable tournament from his Olympic career.

"I was very nervous before the competition," he remembers.

"The Olympics were different from other tournaments in the past, even the World Championships, because regardless of whether one enjoys sports, everyone watches the Olympics. So I felt a lot of pressure.

"What's interesting is I thought to myself at the time, 'wow, if I win this, I won't be afraid to participate in other tournaments in the future', so that (team gold medal) was the most meaningful thing for me about the Olympics."

More recently, after taking gold in Paris, Ma returned home to compete at the 2024 WTT China Smash held in his home city Beijing, where he finished runner-up. His two children were, for the first time, able to see him compete in person.

"I felt there was a big opportunity because although my children know I play table tennis, they had never seen me play in person before," he says.

"As it just so happened to be in Beijing, which also hasn't hosted an event in so long, I wanted them to experience the charm of table tennis and enjoy the atmosphere.

"I also felt myself I wouldn't have many more opportunities to represent my country internationally, and if it wasn't in Beijing I might not even have participated. So all kinds of reasons made me want to perform well there and enjoy my table tennis.

"I thought to myself, the Olympics are over, I'm representing myself, I hope to be able to show my best in front of my kids and my home crowd. It felt like the best tournament I played in the last two years."

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