Malone looks forward to the Paris Olympics: not to retire, not to give up
BEIJING, Oct. 26 (Xinhuanet) — The website of the International Olympic Committee recently released an exclusive interview with Ma Long, the captain of the Chinese table tennis team. In the past ten years, five Olympic gold medals, 13 world championships and gold Slam have made Malone always be among the world’s top players and become one of the business cards of contemporary Chinese table tennis.
“The Olympic Games are the biggest dream of athletes in their life”, Malone believes that the attractive charm of the Olympic Games makes him irresistible, “No matter you don’t know this sport, if you see someone playing on behalf of your country, you will go to see it, cheer up and pay attention to this sport. The Olympic Games made more people know me, won the championship by themselves, made more people like me, and made many people like table tennis, all through the Olympic Games. The Olympic Games is the biggest stage for table tennis.”
Looking back at London, Rio and Tokyo Olympics, Malone thinks his mentality is very different. He had a dream of winning an Olympic champion in London Olympic Games, and his mind was full of excitement; Rio Olympic Games achieved grand slam, and he got what he wanted; The success of defending the Olympic men’s singles champion in Tokyo Olympic Games made the accumulation of Labor, malone, who suffers from injuries, does not meet the expectations of himself and the fans.
In October 2022, Malone led the Chinese men’s team to achieve the 10th consecutive championship in the world championships in Chengdu as the captain, and won the sveslin Cup for the 22nd time. In the eighth World Table Tennis Championships, Ma Long won 7 games and was still the “God’s needle” of the Chinese team. Therefore, the outside world is full of expectations for his performance in the 2024 Paris Olympic Games in the future.
However, when looking forward to the 2024 Paris Olympics, Malone said frankly, “I am not sure whether everyone will see me at the Paris Olympics now”. However, he said that before the day he said he would retire, he would stick to the Olympic experience all the time, “even if it is difficult to say, or you are not sure whether you can go there or not. But in one day, we must be serious and responsible, play table tennis right, play the country right, and play yourself right.”
Finally, the 34-year-old veteran shared his love for table tennis. “I think I really belong to table tennis.” Malone said, “In fact, I don’t care too much about personal honor, but more about how to improve skills and tactics and keep healthy. As for the title and record, that is what others are talking about. I pay more attention to how to improve myself and keep the best state.” (Finished)