Bravely retired, Malone made the right choice. If he doesn't retire, the post-2000s will be almost 30 years old.
Regarding Ma Long's long-term main force and the idea of retiring, many fans have two attitudes. First, ability is paramount. Regardless of whether Malone is 35 or 40 years old, as long as the Dragons' technical ability remains at the top level, young players can only occupy the main position by knocking him out. The second is to take the initiative to give way. Some people also believe that Ma Long's dominance will affect the promotion of the national table tennis men's team. The Japanese men's team at the Busan World Table Tennis Championships sent 16-year-old player Teruku Matsushima, which was eye-catching. With Ma Long's current ability, it is still difficult for national table tennis players after 2000 to defeat him.
If Ma Long plays for two more years and participates in the World Table Tennis Championships team competition again, then Wang Chuqin, who was born in 2000, will be 26 years old in two years. If the Dragons hold on until the 2028 Olympics, Wang Chuqin will be 28 years old and almost 30 years old. If Ma Long reaches the age of 40 and the young players of the post-2000s generation cannot beat him, then our post-2000s generation will never be able to become the main force, and will definitely become the Beat Generation. In 1988, Ma Long stayed in the main force of national table tennis for more than ten years. He has defeated a group of post-90s players such as Fang Bo, Zhou Yu, and Yan An. If Malone continues to play, then the game experience of our post-00 players will be lost. Where to start?
After the Busan World Table Tennis Championships, Ma Long revealed his intention to give up his position. This choice is still the right one. Previously, Ma Long had no idea of retiring, because he still had the possibility of participating in major competitions with Fan Zhendong and Wang Chuqin and winning the men's singles championship. Now, with the stability and maturity of the Fan and Wang competitions, especially some cracks in Ma Long's first three moves, it is becoming more and more difficult for Ma Long to compete for the men's singles championship. In addition, as a 30+ veteran, Ma Long's physical fitness is also obviously at a disadvantage. A 3-0 or 4-0 win is barely enough. Once he played five or seven games, Ma Long's running ability in the next few rounds decreased significantly, and he couldn't catch up with Zhang Benzhihe and Lin Yunru at all. Get up to speed.
Lin Shidong is a leader among the post-2000 players. The quality of his board is comparable to that of Fan Zhendong. What he needs is game experience.
Ma Long has the intention of fading out, but Liang Jingkun and Lin Gaoyuan are still in their prime, with more game experience and more solid basic skills than post-2000 players. Therefore, these two players should not choose to retire anytime soon. As far as the fifth main force of national table tennis is concerned, Lin Shidong, who was born in 2005, has a very high quality veneer, and his mixed doubles combination with Kuo Man can definitely become the first person of Sun Yingsha and Wang Chuqin. What Lin Shidong lacks now is consistency and game experience.
He can lead by a single big score, but if he is not careful, he can be reversed by his opponent. His ability to control the whole game is still relatively immature. Lin Shidong is known as the "little fat man" by fans and is also considered to be the next Fan Zhendong. Whether it is singles ability or mixed doubles ability, it is more suitable for Lin Shidong to be cultivated as the fifth main force. As for the upper limit of the development of Xiang Peng, Yuan Licen and others and Lin Shidong, I personally think there is still a certain gap.
Ma Long has persevered until now and will definitely compete in the Paris Olympics. After the Paris Olympics, athletes usually participate in the National Games before retiring, and the Beijing team cannot expect Wang Chuqin to compete alone. As for the position given up by Ma Long, do you think Lin Shidong is more suitable?