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Chinese table tennis legend Ma Long has been left out of the country's singles contingent for Paris Olympics 2024. World No.1 Wang Chuqin and World No. 2 Fan Zhendong were named as the country's men's singles players for the Summer Games by the Chinese Table Tennis Association (CTTA) announcement on Tuesday.
Wang was selected as an alternate by the Chinese team in the Tokyo Olympics. He was impressive in the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games, securing four gold medals.
Fan, on the other hand, won the silver medal in the men’s singles category at the Tokyo Olympics.
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Meanwhile, World No. 3, Ma is a five-time Olympic gold medalist, making his debut in the London event. His first men's singles gold came at the Rio 2016 Games. Ma held the World No.1 ranking for 64 months, the most by any male tennis player in history.
Last month, he secured the ITTF Men's World Cup title for the third time. He beat Lin Gaoyuan 4-3 to be crowned the champion.
While Ma Long missed out on the singles list, he is expected to find a place in the team event to help China perform well in the global event.
"Though Ma will miss this chance to defend his singles title, but with his rich experience and seasoned skills, he is highly likely to secure a spot in the team event, where he could seek a sixth Olympic gold medal," Mao Jiale, a Chengdu-based sports commentator, told the Global Times.
The table tennis events in the Paris Olympics 2024 will take place from July 27 to August 10 at the South Paris Arena.
Ma Long played his last Asian Games in 2023
The Asian Games 2023 was Ma Long's last appearance in the continental event.
The 35-year-old helped the Chinese team win an eighth consecutive men's team title. However, he didn't compete in the singles category in Hangzhou.
"Every time when I finished the Asian Games before, I thought that I would have another shot in the next edition. But this time, it might be my last Asian Games, which is the biggest difference from the past ones," Ma Long said as per Xinhua.
