Who is the greatest table tennis player of all time? Ma Long vs Jan Ove Waldner Olympics 2021 UPDATE

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2 жыл бұрын

Current fans have crowned Ma Long, the recent double grand slam champion the "Greatest of All Time". However, many Waldner fans disagree, and believe there is something more to that title then just championships. They claim that even if Ma Long would have played at the world table tennis championships 2021 he could not be considered the greatest. We look at the reasons behind this dispute now.
#tabletennis #pingpong #malong

Пікірлер: 44

@PongsarinChessClub 2 жыл бұрын

Totally agree that Waldner is the best!

@Trollet532 19 күн бұрын

I love how the sports top 2 players of all time have COMPLETELY different styles.

@dustrober2 2 жыл бұрын

Jan ove waldner was more of an artist. Ma long, although spectacular to watch, is more of a high performing engine

@always-ask-why 2 жыл бұрын

Good analysis and statistics! Another consideration - Ma Long comes from a place that is essentially a ping pong "Top Gun" school. Could Waldner have won more championships if he grew up in China instead of Sweden?

@dickn.ormous1064 2 жыл бұрын

Waldner is a product of Sweden's sports culture.His role model was Bjorn Borg.China has a totally different approach to sports based on endless drilling and strict pattern training which is why they excell only in technical niche sports like diving,TT etc. Waldner would never have made it under China's system. Besides,he had a penchant for spin which goes totally against China's speed/badminton like approach. Ma Long's numbers are due to the dismissed level of international competition( partly due to the collapse of the USSR,new rules that hurt Koreans penholders etc.) and the focus on the Olympics which come in 4 years cycles.

@micael7773 2 жыл бұрын

Waldner basically did. The Swedish training camp was extremely tough, they also went to China to specifically train against the pen-technic holding.

@richmondkro 2 жыл бұрын

If Waldner was born in China, his playing style would have been different, more robotic like with superior technique but less creativity.

@dickn.ormous1064 2 жыл бұрын

@@richmondkro Technically Waldner was superior to the Chinese as he could play from all distances.Kong Linghui had the benefit of 10 years of technical progress yet his forehand was nowhere near Waldner. The first Chinese who could compare to Waldner was Zhang Jike.It took them more than than 20 years to catch up with Waldner's comprehensive abilities and I don't think Ma Long does anything better than Waldner.

@zubinbharucha6686 7 ай бұрын

Jan Ove Waldner is the greatest table tennis player in the world. If Ma Long met him in his prime, Waldner would adapt and beat him. That is why Ma Long will never be the Mozart of Table Tennis even after winning 1000 titles. Some things are given from the Almighty, they can never be taught or mastered.

@boudusaved4719 3 ай бұрын

Some would argue Randy Daytona is the GOAT.

@mdv9831 2 жыл бұрын

Probably Ma long. Just based on sheer statistical data. Also I'm pretty sure far more people play table tennis now than earlier. Although there is a good argument for Waldner as well

@cindymmm11 2 жыл бұрын

Yeah. I think Ma Long is better.

@dickn.ormous1064 2 жыл бұрын

statistical data are pretty irrelevant.Fan Zhedong at 24 yo has better statistics than Ma Long had at the same age.Now that the CNT consists of only 5 members one of them being a lefty who will focus on doubles with hardly any aspirations for single titles it's even easier to dominate.In Waldner's time the CNT consisted of 11 players.

@mdv9831 2 жыл бұрын

@@dickn.ormous1064 yeah so? Statistical data is always relevant. We aren't comparing Fan Zhedong and Ma long, we are comparing waldner and Ma Long

@gr637 Жыл бұрын

When I watch table tennis, I don’t watch statistics. I just want to be entertained. Waldner was the best entertainer.

@ericye9762 2 жыл бұрын

Obviously Ma Long, two circles of grand slams, the greatest player of all time.

@cindymmm11 2 жыл бұрын

Ma Long

@kevinreilly7924 2 жыл бұрын

Neither it’s Forrest Gump damn newbs 😁

@TK-2510 8 ай бұрын

The GOAT title is not dependent on titles or matches won. It’s right there is a correlation, but there is also charismatic personality and play style to be put into consideration. Waldner makes his opponents run a marathon with ease, with minimum effort. A single match or tournament has absolutely no value, there is too much numbers of variables which decide win or loss (Players with troubled minds won’t reschedule a tournament). Ma long was created in an inhumane sport factory in China. Waldner grew up in his passion. There is a difference.

@daniel2064 7 ай бұрын

"inhumane sport factory in China"s China hater....there are many super modern training table tennis camps for kids to national team..... As a Canadian I would say Canada's hockey program is similar......some parents of hockey kids are considered inhumane.

@DaigoParry 2 ай бұрын

38mm ball kicks from the racket more. That means spin variation and spin deception has more consequence. If you read the spin wrong, you are more easily punished. 21 pts also mean energy conservation is a thing. You might start off well with gun blazing, but can you sustain 5 sets of 21? Multiple matches in a single day? Waldner's style was made for 38mm ball.

@traytyler9951 11 ай бұрын

No way people actually still saying this after ma long second gold right? Lmaoo bro all love for waldner but his fans delusional as fuck

@swagmoney1652 11 ай бұрын

It’s not that we’re delusional. Waldner left a lasting impact on the table tennis world. His success paved the way for a new wave of players from China like Zhang Jike, Ma Long, and Xu Xin. Even Ma Long himself said that Waldner is a player who transformed table tennis into an art and he hopes to learn from Waldner.

@pham1020 2 жыл бұрын

Ma Long is already the goat for a few years now, but here we're back to this shit argument again. I mentioned before in a similar video in the past that some Waldner fan will never give up even if ML win the 2020 Tokyo and this is it.

@dickn.ormous1064 2 жыл бұрын

Won all of his medals against the same players Xu Xin/Fan Zhedong and Xu Xin has a ridiculously flawed game that failed him even in doubles(2020 Olympics).

@pham1020 2 жыл бұрын

@@dickn.ormous1064 LMAO! I can feel the pain in your words. Keep clinging on your ignorance because Waldner is no longer the goat and the world won't care about your pain.

@tomassantiagomolina5438 Жыл бұрын

@@dickn.ormous1064 Ma Long is the GOAT of table tennis. Period.

@pinkpanther8983 Жыл бұрын

Waldner is like Maradona to football

@gustavwallin2004 2 жыл бұрын

Waldner is the only one who has won the world championships without lose a single game through out the whole tournament. That is a good reason why he can be considerd the best player of all time

@traytyler9951 11 ай бұрын

He played when China wasn’t good lmaoo how could you possibly say that? That’s like saying George mikan was the goat before black people were allowed to play basketball

@DaemonRicks Жыл бұрын

Maybe they are both the greatest cause they didn't play the same rules.

@olfiru2336 9 ай бұрын

If both were in their prime with any rules, Ma would effortlessly beat Waldner 3:0. Not only does ma have a relentless attack, and amazing footwork, his consistency, control, and placement are just out of this world.

@swagmoney1652 Жыл бұрын

Waldner hands down. Became the first goat in table tennis and China looked up to him a lot for inspiration. Without Waldner, China wouldn’t have been able to produce such champions like Ma long, Zhang Jike.

@yongdeng1813 3 ай бұрын

lol same could be said about waldner,without the Chinese there wouldn’t be a waldner or any waldner. The Chinese made waldner,though we Chinese came to admire him later on.

@samguapo4573 2 жыл бұрын

Current table tennis is like the current NBA. It's "softer" today than before. Faster balls and lower nets would require much more skill and all. Age would definitely claim many victims as they lose speed.