Is Ma Long the greatest of all time?
While Ma has stated that he has no plans to retire anytime soon and will continue to play tour events and domestic tournaments, his major championship career has ended on a high note.
“I see the Paris Olympics as the end point of my career and I'm very happy to end it in such a perfect way,” he said, “but there's a long way to go in life and not just Paris.”
Could coaching be your next step?
“I haven't thought about it yet. I think there are already a lot of good coaches in the Chinese team. But I wouldn't rule out the possibility in the future. It's hard to say at the moment.”
“I've been concentrating on my sport for the time being. When the day comes when I can truly settle down, I might take some time to think carefully about my future career path.”
He went down as the greatest international table tennis player of all time: six Olympic gold medals, 14 World Championship wins (one silver, four bronze) and 11 World Cup gold medals. No other player, male or female, has come close to reaching that level of excellence.
When you ask international players about their opinion of him, this record is often mentioned: he is the greatest player of all time.
“Ma Long has had the greatest career of any table tennis player in the history of the sport,” France's Simon Gauzy told Olympics.com after their semi-final loss to China.
“In my opinion, he is the GOAT (greatest of all time). It's a shame to see him go,” the Frenchman added. “He's a very charismatic and very humble person. I like him a lot.”
Nathanael Morin, the coach of the French national team, who has trained the brothers Alexis and Felix Leblanc since they were young, paid tribute: “For me, Ma Long is a legendary figure, the greatest player with the best records in the world.”
“I don't know how many Olympic or world medals he won, but to me he's the greatest athlete of all time.”
