Ma Long's eyes turned red when he saw the match between Fan Zhendong and Zhang Benzhihe. I believe friends who support China Table Tennis and Fan Zhendong were very moved! Fan Zhendong's tenacity and persistence in trying to win in the face of adversity, and his hard work every ball, really make people nervous and touching. It's incredible and awesome!
@@pingsunday Do you know why Ma Long was so nervous? In the men's table tennis final at the Tokyo Olympics, he defeated Fan Zhendong for his *second* Olympics single gold, otherwise, Fan would have completed a Grand Slam (Olympics, World Championship, and World Cup) three years ago. If Fan lost to Zhang Harimoto or Moregard this time, Ma Long might feel a bit uneasy or guilty: No matter how rare his two Grand Slams are, the significance doesn't quite reach the level of denying a comrade in the same trench his own Grand Slam!
@@Shadowless_Kick In an interview Fan gave after winning the gold medal, he said what kept him keeping on fighting against Harimoto was mainly because Wang lost to Moregard in the other half. He was the only Chinese player left in men's singles. As Ma and other players said that the Chinese system trains not only the player's skills, but also the mental toughness. It's almost like winning the gold medal is a duty. Therefore, Fan wasn't really just playing for himself.
Yes, Fan was under immense pressure to keep China in contention for the previous men’s singles gold. Just a reminder: China and the US ended up tied in the total number of gold medals, so every gold was crucial. However, achieving a personal ‘grand slam’ is the highest honor for any top Chinese player. If Fan had lost the match to Harimoto, he wouldn’t have joined the ‘Hall of Fame’ alongside Ma Long and a select group of other top achievers.
Lucky to have met and sat amongst members of table tennis team visiting Wellington, New Zealand in 1972, sang 小小銀球傳支誼. And have since those years of 乒乓外交, witness the games and winnings. Bravo 马龙,振东,国乒加油!