@@tomspice73 The Olympics is a prestigious event because a player represents his country. But the Olympics does not include most of the world's best players. Each country represents by 2 of their best players, not necessarily the top players in the world. While the WTTC traditionally determines who will be the #1 rank player in the world. This is because all the best players in the world will compete and try to win this tournament, the toughest TT competition, once every 2 years. Wang Liqin is one of 3 players who won 3 WTTC Singles since the 1950s. I would say even Ma Long will have trouble winning against a peak Wang Liqin.
I agree. World championship is the most difficult tournament. Olympics is diluted because only 2 or 3 are allowed per country. Wlq winning 3 wttc is amazing. He is the only player that could beat ma long or Zhang jike at their peak
@@TableTennisHero I believe a peak Ma Lin would be able to beat them both. But we can't prove that unless we can manipulate time. In the 40mm era, the achievements of Wang Liqin and Ma Lin were just as good as over-achiever Zhang Jike and the Great Ma Long. But Wang Liqin was not as good as Ma Lin or Waldner when they were in the 38mm ball era. The 40mm ball has a lower angular velocity. That somewhat took away the effectiveness of both Waldner and Ma Lin's serves.
When the final match reached 9:10, JO reviewed every single match he played in his 21-year long career in few seconds to find a correct way to reverse the game. When he finally made up his mind, he tossed the ball highly into the sky. The ball went up, reached the peak, then fell down straightly in a high speed, just like every legends' career: when you touch the bottom, you leave. But JO missed it. Kind of dramatic, even seems like a dark humor. But the ball never truly left, so does JO Waldner. He lost to no one, he lost to time.
voltei no tempo agora quando joguei exatamente neste lugar nas Paraolimpíadas em 2004 contra adversários poderosos...como o Chinês Ping au Pong ...um espanhol número 4 do mundo na época e outros mais....
Perfect games with speed and imagination !!! Its very sad that they made the balls plastic... Table tennis lost 30 years of technic evolution with this plastic non spin brick that replaced celluloid at 2013
he didnt do that for respect. he wanted to check the flight path because he missed the serve. probably wanted to check if there was any wind or the ball was dented or something. whatever it was he lost and i agree he is legendary!
mola alınca devamını waldner alacak zannettim ( videonun bitmesine daha vardı ) adam gitti servis kaçırdı : ) harbi şaşırdım,,, bu spor gerçekten çok tuhaf sürprizler barındırıyor.
j'ai eu l'occasion également de battre Waldner, ce fut en 1988, dans un camping de la cote d'Azur.Il était à 2,5 grammes et moi à 3 grammes. N'empêche, je lui ai donné une leçon avec mes services type"revers vrillé"... après on a rigoulé
Wang Liqin has defeated Waldner... but,, where's Wang Liqin now ? is there any update ? btw, i respect Wang Liqin that plays all out.. congratulation..
Waldner in his prime and in form was pretty much unplayable. Waldner is the goat with the old ball. Ma Long is the goat with the new ball. Tabletennis was funnier with the old ball. Could switch up the game and Waldner was the master at it. Nowadays it's all about who is the best robot.
Waldner certainly was not "unplayable", he in fact had a losing track record against top Chinese players even before 2000. But he was a very clutch player and can perform in big events. He is considered by many as the Goat due to that and his longevity (e.g. WTTC 1989, 1997 and of course the 2004 Olympics run).
@@afmirror01In fact he was 7-3 against Kong Linghui and owned players that beat the Chinese like Gatien and Kim Taek Soo.He was the most consistent players of the 90's.
I think this was the match when someone had aimed a laser at Jan to temporarily blind him. DIRTY PLAY FROM THE AUDIENCE 👎🏼 But Waldner is awesome 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
Waldner beats all the top chinese players with ease, and that means the best players in the world. But he usually have a hard time against any other countries players. It's a little weird
Pontus Schroder I know that, and that’s why it’s ridiculous because all his serves are false and the one of wang liqin are more « legal » than waldner’s
@@DizXBear Waldner had one of the most legal serves after the new rules were imposed, he immediately placed his left hand on his hip after tossing the ball.Wang Liqin served with his back facing the opponent,Ma Lin also cheated with his serve.
Chinese are always admiring Swedish players like Waldner and Persson while Swedish people insulting Chinese players with arrogance. That's the difference between a Empire with 5 thousand years of history and uncivilized Viking pirates.
