Busan, that place is so proud and heartbreaking! The pride lies in the fact that the Chinese men's team won the Swaythling Cup for the 11th time, but heartbreaking is that Ma Long ended the final game of his career at the World Table Tennis Championships in Busan.
There is no eternal gathering in life, and when you finally have to say goodbye, it will all come to an end. I have always felt that sports are either passionate and brilliant, or cruel and regrettable, in short, difficult to reconcile.
Since Malone became a legend in Rio, he has experienced the unspeakable pain of the Tokyo Olympic cycle, knee surgery and a long ** process, and the years have isolated Malone from the arena with illness and had to leave for a while.
And his ten years of hard work and dreams seem to be a thing of the past. In the face of Fan Zhendong's powerful challenge, no one would have thought that Ma Long, who had slowed down after knee surgery, would create a miracle again!
He went through a difficult road to 2021, no one had hope for Ma Long, and when Ma Long started again after surgery, he was met with doubts and voices.
Malone began to adapt to learning from failure, and his once fragile and strong heart became more determined because of setbacks again and again. However, fate seems to favor this persistent warrior in particular.
Due to the impact of the global epidemic in 2020, the Tokyo Olympics were postponed, and Ma Long, who was originally disqualified, finally qualified for the Tokyo Olympics after the postponement of the competition, with the recovery of his competitive state!
In July 2021, in Tokyo, Ma Long held the Olympic men's singles trophy and didn't seem so happy to see Liu Guoliang and Qin Zhijian on the stage.
Especially Liu Guoliang, he stood up and applauded a little hesitantly. This scene was completely different from what their coaching staff had in mind.
Everyone thought that Fan Zhendong would win the championship, and then easily become the leader of men's table tennis. But the reality made a flaw, and the script was rewritten by Ma Long again!
Throughout the Paris cycle, Malone experienced a lot of setbacks and fought alone. No one believed in the Parisian dream in Malone's heart.
The coaches were busy with the replacement of the old and the new, and in order to cheer up Fan Zhendong, he missed the singles of the National Games and withdrew from the World Championships in Houston. Everyone is trying to teach Fan Zhendong how to defeat Ma Long and become the leader of the new generation. But no one cares about the determination in Ma Long's heart, the persistence to go to Paris!
In the summer of 2021, the most common question they asked to our captain Malone was: "When are you going to retire?" "Will this be your last?" Such words are flying all over the sky, which is simply not support and encouragement, like forcing him to admit his retirement.
As if the Tokyo Olympics exhausted him, I have to admit that the Paris cycle Malone is on a downward slope! Every competitive sports athlete knows that this day is coming, and you know that you are such a person, you will not be reconciled if you don't win the championship, you will not give in to the pain, and you will continue to fight until you can't win or win.
But my heart still hurts, and "Hero's Twilight" always makes people's hearts heavy. Coming down from the championship throne, admitting that you have failed, admitting that you tried your best but could not beat time.
But each of us is not you, only you know whether it hurts or not, whether it is worth it, as long as you feel that it is worth it, and you are willing to persevere. And every one of our fans who like you treats your love with awe.
Ouch, Brother Marlon, you're really hardworking! When you have nothing, can you still do your best? When you have a lot of money, are you still willing to practice for ten hours a day?
From obscurity to full of fighting spirit, can you accept failure again and again after becoming famous? The physical function is deteriorating, the pain is constant, can you still persevere?
Under the watchful eyes of the whole world, can you fall and get up again and again, can you bear the contempt, pity, ridicule, and the possibility of never being able to stand up again? You have declared your tenacity to the world with your perseverance! In competitive sports, love means that you tolerate the pain that comes with it.
Ma Long, a legend of Chinese table tennis, when he said that this was his last time participating in the World Table Tennis Championships, I felt the complex emotions in his heart. That feeling of mixed tastes cannot be fully expressed in words.
Every time he participates and every victory, he is accompanied by the youthful memories of countless people. His retirement undoubtedly symbolizes the end of an era, the end of a glorious era belonging to Ma Long.
Youth is the interweaving of blood and passion, and Ma Long undoubtedly makes more people feel the charm of table tennis. He is not only an athlete, but also a cultural inheritor.
With his persistence and hard work, he let us see what the real fighting spirit is. He accompanied us in our youth, and we rejoiced and were moved by his glorious moments.
The future is unknown, but as long as we are grateful and cherish the present, then every day will be beautiful. Ma Long, may you still shine brightly and live your true self in the days to come.