Our reporter Wang Xiaoxiao

　　One afternoon in early February, Ma Long, the 34-year-old Chinese men's table tennis captain, posted a selfie on Weibo in the arena with the caption: Hi, it's been 20 years, it's okay.

　　In February 2003, Ma Long was selected into the national team and stayed for 20 years—won 27 world championships and 5 Olympic gold medals, achieving the "Double Lap Grand Slam".

In the past two days, he stood on the field of the "Straight to Durban" team trials, facing a group of "young people" across the stage.

　　In 2006, the national table tennis team began to select part of the World Championship lineup in the form of a through match.

At that time, Chinese men's table tennis was still dominated by "two kings and one horse", and the 17-year-old "little horse" had just emerged.

That year, he failed to "pass through" the Bremen Team World Table Tennis Championships, but won the mobile spot in the hands of the coaching staff.

In the end, Ma Long played once in the group stage and won easily, and thus became the youngest world champion of Chinese men's table tennis at that time.

　　Today, the National Table Tennis Through Tournament has entered its 18th year, and the accomplished Ma Long is still in the team.

In the first round of the singles group match, he faced a small challenge and defeated Xu Haidong, the World Youth Championship champion who was one round younger than him, 3-1;

He also teamed up with Chen Mengqiang and participated in the mixed doubles competition, but unfortunately failed to enter the top four.

"I'm quite satisfied. I'm more focused on the field. Whether I'm leading or falling behind, I can devote myself to the game." Ma Long's attitude shows that he is definitely not going through the motions.

　　Speaking of the feeling of competing with young players, Ma Long bluntly said that he "enjoyed it very much".

In his view, healthy competition is an excellent tradition of national table tennis, allowing everyone to actively mobilize instead of relying on qualifications and past achievements.

"Since I chose to stay in the team, I have to compete with young people." He said, "Sometimes I think I can stay in such a competitive team for 20 years and still compete with young athletes. I feel quite proud. .”

　　Malone enjoys competing, and opponents enjoy playing with him.

In Guoping, when it comes to "Brother Long", no one does not give a thumbs up.

Liu Shiwen, a star of the women's team, even refused to comment on Ma Long when she was a commentator: "I can't comment, I can only learn."

　　For fans, in addition to character and skills, the unique "dragon-style humor" should not be missed.

During the interview, Chen Meng "complimented" and said: "Brother Long still looks like he is 18 years old." Ma Long pretended to be proud: "When he was 18 years old, he was not as good as he is now." The reporter asked: "What do you gain from winter training?" : "I have gained a mixed doubles partner." Chen Meng said from the bottom of his heart: "Brother Long told me 'I can win' when I entered the field, and I felt quite confident in my heart." Ma Long pretended to be helpless: "I'm talking nonsense, I didn't expect She believed it."...

　　Just kidding, Ma Long is not 18 years old after all, but he has no burden for the future.

"When I first joined the team, including the previous few years, I never thought I could persist for so long. In 2017, I thought 'maybe it's almost the same'. I didn't expect to persist for another four years. After the Tokyo Olympics, Somehow, I persisted until now.” So this time, he didn’t put pressure on himself, and he didn’t even think about the Paris Olympics next year, “I didn’t think so far, let’s do it right now.”

　　Ma Long used the Argentine football star Messi as an example, "Everyone has a different definition of success. Some people think that he must win the World Cup to be perfect, while others think that even if he does not win the championship, he is a well-deserved champion. I feel that I am still competing. Even being able to stay in the team for one more day is a kind of success. It is not necessary to aim to end your career with another championship. Now I just hope that I can still keep up with the rhythm of the team. In the middle and late stages of my career, To really enjoy table tennis."

　　"Beijing Daily" February 21, 2023, Page 8