Ma Lin (table tennis)

Ma Lin
File:Ma LIN.jpg
Personal information
Full name	Ma lin
Nationality	China
Born	(1980-02-19) February 19, 1980 Shenyang, Liaoning, China
Height	173 cm (5 ft 8 in)
Weight	75 kg (165 lb)
Table tennis career
Playing style	Chinese Penhold
Medal record Men's table tennis Representing China Olympic Games 2008 Beijing Singles 2008 Beijing Team 2004 Athens Doubles World Championships 2011 Rotterdam Doubles 2010 Moscow Team 2009 Yokohama Singles 2008 Guangzhou Team 2007 Zagreb Singles 2007 Zagreb Doubles 2007 Zagreb Mixed Doubles 2006 Bremen Team 2005 Shanghai Singles 2005 Shanghai Doubles 2004 Doha Team 2003 Paris Doubles 2003 Paris Mixed Doubles 2001 Osaka Singles 2001 Osaka Team 2000 Kuala Lumpur Team 1999 Eindhoven Singles 1999 Eindhoven Mixed Doubles World Cup 2011 Magdeburg Team 2007 Magdeburg Team 2006 Paris Singles 2005 Liége Singles 2004 Hangzhou Singles 2003 Jiangyin Singles 2000 Yangzhou Singles Asian Games 2010 Guangzhou Doubles 2010 Guangzhou Team 2006 Doha Singles 2006 Doha Doubles 2006 Doha Mixed Doubles 2006 Doha Team 2002 Busan Doubles 2002 Busan Mixed Doubles 2002 Busan Team Asian Championships 2007 Yangzhou Team 2000 Doha Singles 2000 Doha Team 1998 Osaka Doubles 1998 Osaka Team 1996 Kallang Singles 1996 Kallang Mixed Doubles 1996 Kallang Team

Ma Lin (simplified Chinese: 马琳; traditional Chinese: 馬琳; pinyin: Mǎ Lín; born February 19, 1980 in Shenyang, Liaoning, China) is a male table tennis player. He is the world's number four ranked player as of June, 2011 in the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF).

He learned to play table tennis at the age of five and became a member of the provincial team in 1990. In 1994, he joined the Chinese national team. At the 2008 Summer Olympics, Ma won gold in both the singles and team competitions, becoming the third Chinese male player to achieve this feat.

Ma Lin holds a professional era record of 5 major titles (4 World Cups, 1 Olympic Gold).

Style and equipment

Ma Lin uses the penhold grip. An aggressive player, he is known for his converse unpredictable serves, heavy short push receives, fast footwork, and powerful third ball attacks. In addition to possessing a solid backhand block, Ma Lin also uses the reverse penhold backhand (RPB), an innovative stroke utilizing the underside of the blade which allows a penholder to produce topspin from both wings. The most dangerous weapon Ma Lin has in his arsenal, however, is his consistent forehand loop, which he often uses to end a point decisively.

Ma Lin is currently using a Yasaka Ma Lin Extra Offensive Penhold as his blade. He uses DHS Skyline 2 for his forehand and Butterfly Bryce/Bryce Speed for his backhand.

Career

In the China Table Tennis Super League, Ma Lin played for Bayi Gongshang, Shandong Luneng, Guangdong Gotone, Shaanxi Yinhe and Ningbo Haitan. His transfer to Shaanxi Yinhe for over 5 million Chinese yuan was a league record but financial bust. His next transfer was to Ningbo Haitan for just 1.3 million yuan (US$168,000), including 1 million yuan in salary.

In China, Lin is famous for his dedication to training ("拼命三郎"); in his early days, he was known for wearing down the soles of his shoes in just three days. He has won the four World Cup trophies (2000, 2003, 2004, 2006), more than any other player in history, but has lost three times in the World Championship finals (1999, 2005, 2007).

Lin has been criticized often for his lack of mental resolve, crumbling in crucial moments. Despite his victories in 1999, he performed poorly in the national trials and was denied a berth in the 2000 Sydney Olympics. He was seeded first in World Championship at Zagreb (2007); however, he lost in the final to his compatriot Wang Liqin, after leading 3–1 in games, and being 7–1 up in the fifth. At a post-match press conference, he revealed that his maternal grandfather had committed suicide before the tournament began.

In the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Ma Lin won the teams competition with his compatriots Wang Liqin and Wang Hao. In the men's singles, Ma Lin defeated Korean player Oh Sang Eun in the quarterfinals (4–0), his rival Wang Liqin in the semifinals (4–2), and world number 1 Wang Hao in the finals (4–1). Ma Lin is now 12–7 head-to-head against Wang Hao.

Ma Lin has an 88.7% winning rate against all his opponents.

Titles

• 1999 Men's World Championship 2nd Place
• 2000 Men's World Cup champion
• 2002 ITTF Pro Tour Grand Finals Men's Singles Gold
• 2003 Men's World Cup champion
• 2004 Athens Olympic Games champion doubles (with Chen Qi)
• 2004 Men's World Cup champion
• 2005 Men's World Championship 2nd place
• 2006 Men's World Cup champion
• 2007 Men's World Championship 2nd place
• 2007 ITTF Pro Tour Grand Finals Men's Singles Gold
• 2008 Beijing Olympic Games Men's Singles champion and Men's Team champion.
• 2009 Men's World Championship 3rd place
• 2010 Men's Team World Championship, gold medal.

References

• Career profile of Ma Lin Table Tennis Master
• Chinese Olympic Committee profile
• Sohu Profile
• dataOlympics profile