Exclusive: Table tennis GOAT Ma Long reveals no plans to retire yet
In an exclusive chat with Olympics.com, the most successful table tennis Olympian in history, who announced his farewell from major international tournaments with team gold at the Paris 2024 Olympics, says he isn't ready to fully say goodbye just yet.
Table Tennis
Ma Long's storied table tennis career in major international championships came to the most perfect end earlier this year: a record sixth career table tennis Olympic gold medal at Paris 2024.
Already the sport's most successful athlete heading into Paris, where he only competed in the men's team event, Ma led the People's Republic of China to yet another title in the French capital.
After clinching his fourth consecutive team title, Ma confirmed he would no longer compete in major championships: "I consider the Paris Olympics to be the final stop in my career, so I'm very happy to end it on such a perfect note," he said at the time in the post-match press conference.
However, speaking exclusively to Olympics.com this week at the Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC) Awards in Cascais, Portugal, Ma says he is not ready to hang his paddle up yet, even while he steps back from big tournaments.
"One day when I actually choose to stop playing, whatever the reason may be – I might want to experience life differently – I will tell everyone," he says. "But not now; you'll still have chances to see me on court."
Ma Long's "hesitation" and "doubts" over Paris
Now 36, Ma admits the last three years since he won double gold in men's singles and men's team at the delayed Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in 2021 have been an unsure time for him to deal with.
"I was 33 years old after playing in Tokyo, so I didn't want to imagine I would go to Paris," he says. "This cycle was the first time I had a lot of hesitation, or doubts, or confusion over whether I would participate at the Olympic Games.
"In previous cycles, I was always in first or second (in the rankings) and had won a lot of titles, which gave me encouragement to keep playing. But during the Paris cycle, my singles ability declined a bit, I wasn't winning that much, and my form and confidence suffered," Ma adds.
When his younger teammates Fan Zhendong and Wang Chuqin were named to the Chinese team as singles representatives, Ma's hopes of defending his singles title were ended. But doubts remained over whether he would be selected for the team event – even in Ma's own mind.
It wasn't until the ITTF Men's World Cup, held in Macao, China in April, where the 'Dictator' finally found form and reminded both himself and the selectors he was still one of the world's best.
"My coaches and teammates gave me a lot of encouragement," he lets on. "This year's World Cup was a big turning point, coming from 0-3 down in the final to win was an important step in proving to myself I could still compete."
Ma was named as the third and final member of the men's team in May after that victory.
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."
Ma Long: "I want to enjoy the present"
In that post-gold medal press conference in Paris, Ma said he wasn't sure what would come next for him and whether coaching could be in his future.
Speaking now, the Chinese star says he will probably look for something calmer when he does finally decide to retire from playing completely.
"Probably I prefer a feeling that is blander, calmer," he says. "I haven't thought about it right now. I'll also need to adjust and adapt to the life I might face in the future which includes finding a new direction and goals.
"That's really important for me – but I also think these things don't have to be rushed and I can figure it out.
"But looking back, time actually seems to go by really fast. So for now I want to be able to enjoy the present."