Don't be like me, test both FL and ST handles on a cheap blade before buying more blades.

I tried a number of FL handles and finally found that it was the handle type that to change, not so much the blade itself. ST fits me like a glove.

(Also, I have a bunch of like-new FL handle blades for sale in the USA - Butterfly Viscaria, Nittaku Acoustic, Joola Zhou Qihao Hyper ARY-c 90, Butterfly Primorac, Korbel, Xiom Stradivarius. DM me if interested in any of these).

He is missing?

The location of the fourth grand smash will probably be revealed soon. Where do you want it to be held and where do you think it will likely be held? I'll start: i would love for it to be in Europe ( Paris, Budabest, stockholm, Madrid are good examples) but i think it will be in Australia

I recently bought a table for my basement (with limited space but just enough).

Now I'm looking at buying a table tennis robot. I don't want it to break the bank, the BTY amicus prime is much to expensive. I'd be willing to pay 1000€-1500€ MAX. I'm form Germany if that matters in terms of availability.

The robot should be able to perform different drills like backspin > bh open > bh Topspin > FH Topspin. Being controlled via tablet/app would be optimal.

Having a net and ball refeed would be a big plus but not totally necessary.

Do you guys have any experiences and suggestions? :)

What workouts do you do on your off days to enhance your table tennis?

I just think the black/pink looks so nice and it works with the blue borders so friggin well

Does anyone know anything about this newly released rubber? Duda is playing it on FH and it sounds like an alternative to Dignics 09c and Tibhar K3.

Anyone tried it yet or knows anything? Hard to find any English reviews about it. If you know of any, please link them in the comments :)

Anyone have any suggestions on what brand/listing on amazon would be the best for cheap balls to use for my robot. No way I can afford 90 bucks on 100 balls, but a lot of the cheaper ones have mixed results, and I figured I'd trust someone serious enough to post on forums before an amazon review :)

Hey r/TableTennis,

I’m excited to share a project we’ve been working on: a new website designed for table tennis to help players track match results, manage tournaments, leagues, and rate player skills using an Elo-based system (similar to USATT ratings)!

https://laddera.com

Here’s what the platform offers:

• Elo Ratings: Players are rated based on performance, providing a dynamic way to gauge skill levels over time.
• Match Tracking: Input and view match results, H2H, development timeline.
• Dynamic Leaderboards: Standings adjust automatically after every match.
• Flexible Options: Many options for leagues, ladders, and tournaments.
• Video Supported: You can even attached videos to matches & players.
• Free: we struggled to find a good site for this purpose so we build this one for every players to enjoy!

A few clubs have already been using the site and provided very good feedback. I feel it’s been the right time to introduce to a larger audience. Below is one of the active clubs:

https://laddera.com/ladders/wdctt

Please check it out. Thanks, and happy smashing! 🏓

Guys,

I'm a fh favouring attacker (looper and driver). Dignics 09c gave me the best two seasons of my life. Fh attack from anywhere was a breeze.

Due to it being super expensive, I switched to rakza z eh. Since I thought it's also tacky.

However, all my openings against backspin are noticeably weak. If I'm a bit out of position, no power on the topspin. Everything seems to just pop up with a lot of spin but no threatening speed.

I briefly switched to r48 on my fh and even that felt better than rakza z extra hard.

What are your recommendations if I want a non butterfly rubber as a replacement for dignics 09c?

hey everyone

I'm an 18-year-old table tennis player from Pakistan who has represented Pakistan internationally thrice and even have national and international medals under my name. Currently ranked Number 1 in Pakistan U-19, Student National Champion etc but the problem is that there is no future of table tennis here in Pakistan (no sponsors, no gov support, no incentive to pursue, negative politics, lack of training facilities and coaches etc) hence I wanted to study and settle/ train in another country. My main focus is getting a scholarship in college for my undergraduate degree since I belong to a low-income family and cannot afford the full college fee. Please suggest some good colleges around the world to which I should apply to. My academics aren't that bad as overall I got like 76% so suggest some good unis around the world in which I have a good chance of getting a scholarship.

I was gonna order my robot today(getting the pongbot nova s) and I saw there's an 'ipong' robot net half off for cyber monday, just wondering if they were compatible with each other, wouldn't mind saving 40 bucks on a net, but don't wanna waste money if it doesn't feed into the pongbot

Hi! I’m creating documentaries about the incredible sport of table tennis and the amazing community around it. I couldn’t find anyone else making in-depth documentaries about these legends, so I decided to step up and do it myself and I've gotten some really heartwarming comments, making me want to keep doing it.

So far, I’ve covered some iconic names: Xu Xin, Truls Möregårdh, Ma Long, Anders Lind, Fan Zhendong, Koki Niwa, Jan-Ove Waldner, Kreanga, and Lin Shidong. Up next is the legendary Zhang Jike.

I need your help – who do you think I should cover next? Whether it’s a legend you admire, a rising star, or someone with an inspiring story, I’d love to hear your ideas.

I’d really appreciate your feedback =)

Here's the channel for those who've missed it: https://www.youtube.com/@BeyondThePodiumOfficial

The previous one was translated into English, and you can find it in the article before this one. Here is the original Chinese text.

本期采访刊在2024年12月的《乒乓世界》，英文翻译在前一篇。原文如下：

马龙:我只是个幸运的普通人

■文/陈偲婧

巴黎奥运会后,马龙很忙。训练、接送孩子、参加活动,这让马龙的每一天都极其充实。还在训练?马龙笑了，“昨天还练了,下周也要去训练,但不太可能一天两节那样规律了"。马龙细数了他在北京平常-天的安排,7点起床送孩子上学,下午3点多要提前-些过去接孩子,回家陪孩子,每天只能“利用中间的间于一两件事”

10月底,马龙从这样满当的生活中抽身几天,来到葡萄牙海滨小镇斯凯什,接过国家和地区奥林四克委员会协会颁发给他的杰出运动生涯奖杯。“之前获得最佳运动员或者金牌,感觉是对某一次比赛的认可,这个奖项褒奖的是整个职业生涯,我觉得有点类似'终身成就奖’。"马龙说这让他感觉很荣耀。在颁奖现场,马龙碰到了一身西装、作为国际奥协运动员委员会委员和亚奥理事会运动员委员会主席出席的丁宁，“挺感慨,上一次我们一起参加颁奖,我记得是2016年体坛风云人物”。

马龙杰出的运动生涯,被奥林匹克挂上一枚勋章,如果让马龙给自己“盖个章”他想了想说:“从整个职业生涯来说,我认为做得不错。但我觉得也并不定要拿现在我做到的这个标准来衡量,如果我没有参加东京和巴黎的奥运会,我认为打完里约奥运会之后的我,职业生涯也是完美的,再继续的这些年,就是数量上的附加和更多的传播。作为运动员,我拿到奥运冠军，职业生涯就算是有了个完美的符号。

就在回答这个问题的几句话间,马龙又把这枚给自己的“完美印章”盖得提前了一些。“其实回头想想在伦敦奥运会拿到奥运冠军也很不容易,即使当时有单打冠军是会有一些遗憾。”曾经执着于冠军的马龙，“在二十六七岁的时候,就和自己和解了”。马龙将这个准确的时间点,定义在获得苏州世乒赛单打冠军之前，“进入训练场地和比赛场的时候,我对自己肯定有要求,但下来以后,是和解的”。

马龙笑着给了解释。“曾经,冠军是我的绝对目标,2011年和2013年的世乒赛,我纯粹是奔着冠军去的,但2015年我对于成绩上的目标没有那么明确，'和解’后我就没有再想过'我必须拿冠军’都是一场一场打,冠军不是通过努力一定会拿到的,我知道比我努力的人有很多,拿冠军多少和运气有点关系。"

2024年,马龙获得第6枚奥运金牌和杰出运动生涯奖，他却说自己只是个幸运的普通人。“平时就逛逛超市,也爱和朋友一起在路边吃饭”;他还给自己的这篇封面故事想了个题目,叫“一个普通人幸运的成长之路”他很满意,说以后如果写本书,也叫这个名字!他不想回到过去,也不好奇未来,他说“现在挺好”;他没想好以后要再开启一番什么事业,如果想好了也不一定会说出来，“非得告诉大家?干就行了"。说到这里,马龙笑了,他非常确定地补充,反正无论做什么，定不会离开乒乓球。“不打球?那太难了,即使我不参加比赛,我也会去练球,我一定会抽出时间。你看昨天,我10点半有安排,那我就8点到训练馆,先练一个小时身体再练球。”

2024年初，“输球是早晚的事”

《乒乓世界》:刚才说的“拿冠军多少和运气有点关系”这句话要怎样去理解?

马龙:回想起来，是要有点运气的，比如抽签结果就挺重要的，再强的运动员也有感觉别扭的对手,有时候就可以避开;比如在一个比赛中拿到冠军，要经历很多场比赛，都有领先落后，很多时候就那一分球就是关键，如果对手有个擦边，或者一分我没搏上，整个比赛的局面就会改变;再比如放到奥运会里看，有时候我在落后的时候能赢回来，里约奥运会1/8决赛我赢郑荣植，东京奥运会半决赛赢奥恰洛夫，我认为这些都有运气在里面。

《乒乓世界》: 2024年你的运气怎么样?

马龙:挺好的，但年初的时候不这么觉得，遇到的困难比较多。金山团体赛半决赛我输给了李尚洙，其实我在釜山每一场比赛都发挥得不太好，很紧张，场馆的灯正照着我抛球时候眼睛看的地方，没法按照以往的习惯走，这就很别扭。对日本队时我第三盘打篠塚大登就赢得很侥幸，说自了，我在釜山输球是早晚的事。决赛我都不想上场了，不过决赛上又赢了。

《乒乓世界》，最后还是站上了团体世乒赛决赛场，而且赢下来了，后面运气又回来了一些?

马龙:好像是总有困难，但又挺幸运总能有转机。接下来到新加坡大满贯赛，输完弗朗西斯卡有点崩，又不想打了，甚至对奥运会的期待都没有了，不想承受那么大的压力了。本来在这场比赛之前对艾利克斯.勒布伦就打得很吃力，这场再一输，我就怀疑自己打外战的能力，到奥运会上肯定更不好打，没这能力就别去了，不过几天后在双打上拿了冠军，又给我感觉托了个底，让我觉得仍然有转机再接着到了仁川冠军赛，赢了莫雷高德、林钟勋和林昀儒，都是挺难的球，都赢下来后我感觉挺想赢而且有了些不怕输的感觉，包袱没那么重了。半赛我输给梁靖崑，打到第七局我还7:5领先，输完也感觉打得还不错，还想到如果我进决赛对雨果赢的希望也很大。如果在仁川冠军赛我能拿冠军，整个人面对参加奥运会能更有底气

《乒乓世界》:你对自己能否参加巴黎奥运会其实有过怀疑吗?

马龙:有啊，打完对梁靖崑的半决赛后，晚上和王导(王皓)、磊哥(崔庆磊)和小胖(樊振东)吃饭，我还说我可能就差今天这4个球(7:5领先梁靖崑，7:11输了第七局),这张奥运门票可能就没了。

在澳门，收获信心上的“大血包”

《乒乓世界》:如此想得到冠军和底气，那在澳门世界杯比赛上有没有给自己定目标?

马龙:世界杯这个赛制，我给自己定的目标说实话就是出组，小组赛就打四局，赛前是真没谱。抽签我觉得运气挺好，如果顺利出组，淘汰赛都是七局四胜，允许我犯错的空间能大一点，就能赢轮是一轮吧。其实世界杯真是赢一场赚一场，因为我受伤了，第一场比赛的时候背就疼，仔细看的话，我捡球的姿势都变了。后面稍微好一点，到半决赛前，脖子突然疼得动不了。特别感谢当时陈方灿博士去了前方做保障,他一直在帮我治疗，除了打比赛我就躺在床上转身都动不了。所以半决赛我只能直点儿胡打，根本没办法多打两下。

《乒乓世界》:决赛前伤病恢复得怎么样?

马龙:从半决赛打完到决赛前，一天的时间里做了三次治疗,晚上打完做一次,第二天早上做一次:比赛前再一次，每次都是将近两个小时。以往这样的比赛时间我上午都会去训练活动，那天我一直都躺在床上没动地方，还只能平躺。一直到上场之前5点多的时候我脖子还动不了，治疗完的热敷让我感觉稍微好一点。

《乒乓世界》:决赛是一场0比3后的逆转翻盘,你在赛场上做到了什么?

马龙:本身我和高远就不好打，再加上脖子动不了，大比分0比3落后的时候我真想过要弃权，不过那只是一个念头，我还是想再打一打试试。第四局开局我就5:1领先，也是很幸运的，打着打着脖子感觉也好一些。对于当时的我来说，无论这是一个世界杯比赛的冠军，还是一个普通公开赛的冠军，都很重要，拿到冠军，在信心方面我觉得自己吃了一个“大血包”。

只要上奥运会，“压力都一样巨大”

《乒乓世界》:获得巴黎奥运会的参赛名额后,你在心态上经历了怎样的变化吗?

马龙:在世界杯上刚有信心，到沙特大满贯赛上第二轮又输了，0比3输给张禹珍，这个比分确实对我有些影响。我也回顾了一下近期的比赛，每场赢得都挺艰难，没有什么能稳稳当当赢下来的，只能完全放开拼，所以奥运会对我来说确实有难度,好在在沙特我和在新加坡一样是在双打中取得冠军，让我感觉最后一口气保住了。

《乒乓世界》:站上巴黎奥运会赛场的马龙，和前三次区别大吗?

马龙:回想2016年我是有信心，2021年我是感觉自己心态好，那两届都是打两项，通过前几场比赛的胜利能够顺利进入到比赛模式中，拿到单打冠军再打团体赛的时候信心也很足。这次奥运会就算我排在三号，对自己也有很高的要求，可能要打双打，也可能会在接下来的比赛中碰上对方的一号。我这人，会自己给自己一些设想和压力，所以我感觉和之前的奥运会区别不大，只要上奥运会，压力都是一样巨大的。

《乒乓世界》:巴黎奥运会4场团体赛，你打了4盘双打，这第四次奥运会你的感受怎么样?

马龙:我要做的就是打好我的这一盘比赛，乒乓球团体赛是这样，每个人打好自己那一盘，尽好自己那一份力。我在巴黎奥运会上也是这样做的,我的双打搭档王楚钦进入到团体赛后打得非常好，我能多使点劲儿的地方，就是打完双打在下面为他们加油，或者在场外指导的时候把自己看到的和想到的提示给他们。我的性格是想得谨慎一点,有点“底线思维”，总是做最坏和最困难的打算，我觉得团队里也需要这样的角色。

在家人面前，“一上来就全力冲刺”

《乒乓世界》:WTT中国大满贯赛是这么多年来第一次在孩子的注视中打比赛，那是种什么感觉?

马龙:还是挺紧张的，因为这可能是自己的最后一次国际比赛，又在北京，就想让孩子们去看眼。当然还是想让他们看到我赢球的样子，所以第一轮我就让他们来了，心想别后面没能晋级看不到了。在家人面前我更想充分调动自己，对皮切福德比赛的第一局我印象太深了，他第二个球发了个失误，这我都喊了(笑)。

《乒乓世界》:家人带来的动力太大了!

马龙:其实打中国大满贯赛之前我也犹豫过奥运会后挺长一段时间都是抽空去练两下球，会想这样的状态怎么打比赛?但一想到可能穿上国服比赛也是最后一次了，“丢人就丢人”，这我都想好了,我是鼓足勇气去参加这站比赛的。打之前我还想跟老婆说，如果看我快输了就把孩子先带出去，最后忍住了没说出口。五局三胜的比赛太快了，能赢一个球是一个球，比赛一开始我就全力发动，而且我也没有包袱，就是拼了，“连唬带骗”也行，有什么都使出来，不会非得留到关键时刻再用了，一上来就是全力冲刺。

《乒乓世界》:这种全力冲刺的状态贯穿了你打中国大满贯赛从始至终吗?

马龙:我觉得每个球都是这样做的，感觉精神状态比近一年的比赛都好，可能是因为压力小了吧，赢了一两场以后，心情变得好了，人也更松了，灵感球也多了，信心也多了，这样就越打越好。这种感觉和被冲击、越打越紧的难受感完全相反

不想回到过去“因为我这一路都是幸运的”

《乒乓世界》:决赛后在央视的采访中，有个问题问你想回到过去的哪个时刻，你没有选择去安慰某个时刻的自己，而是想回到决赛第七局8:4领先的时刻叫个暂停，这场决赛的“后劲儿”这么大?

马龙:可能是当时这个比赛给我留下的印象太深了，打完决赛我回队里收拾东西，到家已经晚上12点多了。我先躺在床上，不行，睡不着，爬起拿瓶啤酒，坐在客厅里，觉得啤酒真是苦啊。这种时候感觉就是要忙点别的，否则脑子里都是那场决赛，那一个瞬间怎样处理比较好，这样想下去，可能我能想出一万种方法，打完一场这么有机会的比赛，需要用好几天去消化

《丘乓世界》:已经拿过31个世界冠军的马龙依然要对那几个球的处理方法“耿耿于怀”?马龙:虽然这次比赛没有获得冠军不算是遗憾但在脑子里留下的印象非常深刻，好像是下意识的会不停地反思，哪怕对手是我父母，在领先很多的情况下输了，我也会反复想。

《乒乓世界》:这时候也会觉得没拿冠军和幸运有关系?

马龙:越打比赛越会这样觉得,所以就会更珍惜，更珍惜每一次幸运时刻，因为下一次就不知道能不能这样幸运了。

《乒乓世界》:当时听到那个回到过去的问题可能你还沉浸在决赛中没过“劲儿”，如果现在问你这个问题，你想回到什么时候?

马龙:我不想回到过去，我觉得现在挺好。如果回去了，我感觉不一定能做到现在这么好，因为我这一路，始终是带着幸运的。过去的我自己也用不着安慰，安慰的话每个人都会说，当时的自己心里很清楚，当时帮助自己的人也很多，但还是需要自己熬过来。我们每个人心里都有个小人儿，这个小人儿是你的另一个想法，他会让我们徘徊纠结做不做这个决定，因为做了决定后，就要承担压力和接受结果，如果我们能和心里的小人儿想法统一那我做什么都不会害怕和犹豫。

《乒乓世界》:那你想去未来吗?

马龙:也不想，未来我就老了呀。我的未来是什么样子，会做什么，我都还没有想好，全新的从头做起的东西，早晚会去挑战的，但现在我可能是还没有和自己心里的小人儿达成一致，他总是在提示我风险，所以说，我是个“底线思维”的人嘛。

《乒乓世界》:2023年底你说当时的动力是为自己的努力负责，说不定也会有新的动力出现。经过2024这一年，新的动力出现了吗?

马龙:我想参加奥运会,这算一个年初的新动力!心态不好的时候能把眼前的比赛完成好，这也算是一个新动力。现在我好像也没有太强求需要动力的地方了，将来可能还要有，在我要认真于成某一件事的时候，我一定会认真负责，把它干好。

《乒乓世界》:当你决定要干成一件事的时候会用怎样的方式告诉大家?

马龙:非得告诉人家干什么?干就行了

《乒乓世界》:如果决定了去做一件事，但是没有时间打球和训练了，你能想象吗?

马龙:不打球?那太难了，即使我不参加比赛没事的时候我也会练球，不会没有时间，我一定会抽出时间。你看像昨天，我10点半有安排，正常训练9点开始，练完我就没有时间练身体了，那我就反过来，8点到训练馆，先练一个小时身体再练球。我昨天竟然一个人干了5件事，那也抽时间练了球也练了身体。

《乒乓世界》:如果要你给这篇文章起个题目,你会起什么?

马龙:一个普通人的成长之路，一个幸运普通人的成长之路，一个普通人幸运的成长之路，以后我要是写书就叫这个。

《乒乓世界》:在这条成长之路上，你觉得最精彩的路程是哪一段?

马龙:如果按四个奥运周期来说，每一段都是不同的经历。从2008年到2012年，是向着第一个奥运冠军的目标去冲击，有机会竞争单打，最后没有竞争成功，竟争上了团体赛，迈上了一个从世界冠军到奥运冠军的台阶。

从一个“世乒赛小白”到一个“奥运会小白”,这中间经历了2013年世乒赛和2014年世界杯，那是我有更好向往的时候受到的挫折，到2015年我换了一个思维模式，获得了世乒赛和奥运会单打冠军，这又是一段经历。2016年里约奥运会结束后，球迷和观众一下子变得特别多，生活上方方面面也被曝光，受到了很大影响，哪怕输一场联赛都会有很多人议论、出很多的新闻，一下子觉得生活很累，承担的东西也变多了。那段时间曾经有过犹豫，在2017年联赛的时候，我看的书是泰森的自传《永不后退》，他写道自己就是个拳击机器，我印象特别深，当时我跟秦老师(秦志戬)说，我就是个赢球机器，除了赛场上赢的那一瞬间，其他我感觉都没什么意思。世乒赛前，马琳刚成为我的教练，在封闭训练的时候我练得不好不想去吃饭，他就去麦当劳给我买汉堡他说那是“这辈子买麦当劳最多的时候”。打杜塞尔多夫世乒赛的时候，我状态很不好，信心和心态都不好，主动去找刘主席(刘国梁)说，他调动了我很多，后来慢慢越来越好，最后拿到冠军。再到2018年受伤，2019年肯定是没想到能够再拿一世乒赛冠军,接着做手术,能够再站到奥运会赛场上那时已经33岁了，肯定不能像上一个奥运周期那样好，手里也没几个冠军，奥运会能赢下来靠得更多的是大赛里的稳定。2021年打完东京奥运会，我的目标就定位在打团体赛上，一步步按照这个定位的要求去努力。有时候对自己要求过高，可能是一个惯性，或者对于乒乓球，自己没办法不去高要求和高期待。这样一回顾起来，整个职业生涯中我的运气真的挺好，世乒赛和奥运会我打进决赛的时候都获得了冠军，真挺幸运的。

《乒乓世界》:大家说你是伟大的运动员，你却说自己是普通的，是幸运的。

马龙，我觉得我真没什么，平时生活中我逛逛超市，愿意和朋友去路边吃饭。还有就是喜欢打乒乓球，喜欢在球场上的感觉，训练我也喜欢，感觉-站在球台边就非常专注。面对自己喜欢的事情，可能别人不理解，但自己愿意去做，不觉得累，也不觉得无聊。哪怕我现在去队里就练一个小时，也会很认真地去完成，我很喜欢这种感受。

In the latest issue of Table Tennis World, Ma Long sat down for an in-depth interview, reflecting on the past year of his storied career. From Busan to Incheon, Macau to Paris, and finally, the post-Paris China Smash, Ma Long retraced his steps during a year that marked yet another milestone in his legendary journey.He also took a step back to examine his entire career. Since clinching the men’s singles gold medal at the Rio Olympics, what has continued to drive him forward? Sharing his inner thoughts about the victories, the losses, and the moments of self-reflection that shaped his mindset throughout his career.

After the Paris Olympics, Ma Long has been keeping busy. Training, taking his kids to and from school, and attending events have made every day full and fulfilling for him. Is he still training? Ma Long laughed, “I trained yesterday, and I’ll train again next week, but it’s unlikely to be as regular as two sessions a day anymore.” He outlined his typical schedule in Beijing: waking up at 7 a.m. to drop his kids off at school, picking them up around 3 p.m., and spending time with them at home. Between these activities, he manages to squeeze in a few things during the day.

At the end of October, Ma Long took a brief break from his packed routine and traveled to Cascais, a seaside town in Portugal, to receive the Association of National Olympic Committees’ (ANOC) Outstanding Career Achievement Award. “Previously, awards like ‘Best Athlete’ or gold medals felt like recognition for a particular competition, but this award honors my entire career. It feels like a lifetime achievement award,” said Ma Long, feeling deeply honored.

At the award ceremony, Ma Long met Ding Ning, who was dressed in a suit as a member of the ANOC Athletes’ Commission and Chair of the OCA Athletes’ Committee. “It was emotional. The last time we attended an awards ceremony together was in 2016 at the Laureus World Sports Awards,” he reminisced.

Ma Long’s outstanding career has been symbolized with an Olympic honor. If Ma Long were to evaluate his own career, he said, “Looking at my entire career, I think I’ve done well. But I don’t think it’s necessary to judge it by the standard of what I’ve achieved now. If I hadn’t competed in the Tokyo and Paris Olympics, I believe my career would have been perfect after the Rio Olympics. The years that followed were just additional numbers and a chance to promote the sport further. For an athlete, winning an Olympic championship is already a perfect mark on one’s career.”

Midway through this thought, Ma Long moved the “perfect mark” on his career timeline even earlier. “Actually, looking back, winning the Olympic team gold in London wasn’t easy either, even though not having a singles title at the time felt like a regret.”

Having once been obsessed with championships, Ma Long shared that he “made peace with himself” when he was 26 or 27. He identified the turning point as being before winning the singles title at the 2015 World Table Tennis Championships in Suzhou. “When I was on the court for training or competition, I definitely had high expectations for myself. But off the court, I was at peace.”

Ma Long elaborated with a smile, “Championships were once my absolute goal. In the 2011 and 2013 World Championships, I purely aimed for the title. But in 2015, my focus on results wasn’t as sharp. After making peace with myself, I stopped thinking, ‘I must win the championship.’ I took it match by match. Winning isn’t always guaranteed through hard work. I know many people work harder than I do. Winning championships often involves a bit of luck.”

In 2024, Ma Long won his sixth Olympic gold medal and the Outstanding Career Achievement Award, yet he humbly said he’s just “a lucky ordinary person.” “I like to shop at supermarkets and enjoy eating casually with friends at roadside stalls.” For this feature story, he even came up with a title: A Lucky Ordinary Person’s Growth Journey. He liked it so much that he said, “If I ever write a book, I’ll call it that!”

Ma Long doesn’t wish to return to the past, nor is he curious about the future. “I think things are good now,” he said. He hasn’t decided what kind of new career he might pursue, and even if he did, he doesn’t feel the need to announce it. “Do I have to tell everyone? I’ll just go ahead and do it,” he said with a laugh, firmly adding that whatever he does, it will definitely be related to table tennis.

“Not playing table tennis? That’s impossible. Even if I’m not competing, I’ll still practice. I’ll always make time for it. For instance, yesterday, I had an appointment at 10:30 a.m., so I went to the training hall at 8 a.m. to train for an hour, first working on fitness and then playing,” he said with determination.

Due to gaining a nittaku sponsor from e and j table tennis I have switched from hurricane 3 neo on both sides (which was all I could afford since I do paper round and wash cars for my rubbers) to now fastarc g1 forehand and s1 backhand. They have not arrived yet but are there any technique adjustments or shot adjustments to be made. Ps I play under 15 national UK.

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Howdy. I’m 21 and I’ve been playing for roughly 3-4 months. I play against my coworkers mostly, but I’ve quickly outgrown them skill wise. I can spin with different serves at a level where the ball noticeably kicks either off the table or the opponent’s paddle. I rarely make errors unless my opponents have a lot of pressure on me.

If I went to a tournament, would I get destroyed? Also how do most tournaments work. Are they single or double elimination, or is there some sort of round robin involved?

I have been learning for a couple months with Yasaka Sweden Extra and Rakza 7 on both sides. I'm considering getting another racket to experience something different and help establish what I like. It would also give my brother (casual player) something to use when he comes by.

What would you suggest as a good alternative? I have been reading about the Timo Boll ALC, Nittaku Acoustic and OSP Virtuoso.

Or considering I'm only still starting out, should I just get a premade for playing with someone else?

I understand the importance of sticking to one setup when learning, which I fully intend to do.

Love this match very much, Harimoto use backhand, speed and position to give great pressure to Malong on first 3 games. And Ma Long comeback by solving it next 4 games

MaLong vs Tomokazu Harimoto

Just saw the blade on sale and there is alot of mixed reviews saying it is and its not (So confusing :( ) and was wondering if it was legal in tournament play and if its a scam or not and what your recommendations are for this type of blade . Thanks in advance

https://preview.redd.it/8ho0olhxn44e1.png?width=389&format=png&auto=webp&s=169ea271e4b3d830d12ee6fef82beafb0576a58c

I just a ordered the TMXi non pro-version(My dream blade), currently i'm using xiom 36.5 ALXi with Rakza Z forehand and Vega Europe Backhand, i really enjoy this setup, it's a spin machine.
But since i'm EJ, i really wanted to try the TMXi, and for forehand i'll use the Rakza Z since i like the rubber and can't see any reason to use anything else, but for BH i have an issue with the vega europe, it's too soft, it seems that i don't have great feedback when i try to put some strenght in the BH, but it has awesome control and it is consistent. Wish i could try something like it but with more hardness i guess.
I'm thinking about the vega korea, the omega 7 pro and the J&H V 47.5. Wich one should i get?

I'm an amateur and I've been training consistently and going to tournaments as much as I can. I'd say my backhand is my strength and I'm very good at smashing and playing close to the table with it.

I've noticed that the further I get from the table I have a tendency to just lob with my backhand and when I go for the counters they almost always go long or short. How I can improve my game in that sense?

Equipment I decided to build this configuration because I like to play offensively, although I have heard that with earth 2 I won't be able to do as much Spin effect

I am myself so excited about Chen Xingtong. The poker face. The emotional control. The technique and all the big ones almost shudder in front of her.

Hi,
Wondering what the weight difference between a Yasaka Razka 7 max rubber vs 2mm rubber, cut to a normal size blade. Thanks