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Also known as ping pong, table tennis is one of the more popular indoor sports in the world.
Actually, according to WolrdAtlas.com in an article written in 2018,
Table Tennis is the sixth most supported sport in the world with an estimated 875 million fans. Hard to believe? In an article written in January 2020 SportsShow.net has Table Tennis ranked as the seventh most supported sport with an estimated fanbase of over 850 million.
The men's singles category is quite competitive at the moment with Chinese trio of Xu Xin, Ma Long and Fan Zhendong ranked as the top three players in the world.
Zhendong is currently ranked world number one for men's singles by the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF).
While his compatriot Xin is ranked world number two on the ITTF rankings, but third-ranked Ma remains the man to beat.
Ma is the current Olympic and World champion and holds several table tennis records making him one of the greatest players of all-time.
Born in Anshan, Liaoning, China on the 20 October 1988, Ma announced himself to the world in 2004 when he won both the Asian and World Junior Championships.
Ma, whose playing style is right-handed & shakehand grip, then became the youngest world champion at 17 years old after he participated in the 2006 Bremen World Team Championship.
Before he turned 22, he had great success in singles, reaching the finals of 11 ITTF World Tour tournaments (winning eight).
Since then Ma has held the ranking of number one for a total of 64 months (and 34 consecutive months from March 2015), the most by any male player in the history of table tennis.
"I’m really happy. I never thought I could win this title again. For last year, I know what I have been through and what I have done. I have fought against my injuries for so long but I’m feeling much better now," Ma said after being named 2019 Male Star of the Year at the 2019 ITTF Star Awards ceremony.
"So, here I want to show my appreciation to my team, my family and my fans who have supported and helped me a lot. Although I have many challenges for me right now, I will always have a golden heart. Table tennis means my everything so I will keep fighting and I will pull out all the stops."
Nicknamed the Dragon, Ma, who is the captain of the Chinese national table tennis men's team, has won a record five straight ITTF World Tour tournaments in a row, including a streak of 35 sets.
The Dragon was very successful at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil where he won gold medals in the singles and team categories.
As a result, Ma became the fifth player to complete a career Grand Slam - clinching the Olympics, World Championships and World Cup.
The 31-year-old, who is arguably the best forehand attacker in table tennis history, joined fellow Grand Slam winners Jan-Ove Waldner and Liu Guoliang, Kong Linghui, and Zhang Jike.
Furthermore, Ma is the most successful player in ITTF World Tour Men’s Singles history after winning the Seamaster World Tour Platinum China Open last year.
Also known as the Dictator, Ma surpassed Belarusian legend Vladimir Samsonov’s 15 year-long record to claim his 28th career title in the ITTF’s premier tour format that has run since 1996.
These records have led many to consider the Dictator to be the greatest player of all time.
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