Ma Long: You Are in Your Best Year as Long as You Love What You Do
马龙：只要热爱，永远都是最好的时候
Ma began to play table tennis when he was five years old as a way to build up his health. He began to follow table tennis competitions regularly for the first time during the Olympics in Sydney in 2000.
当马龙五岁的时候他开始打乒乓球作为一种锻炼健康的方式。他第一次开始定期地关注乒乓球比赛是在2000年悉尼奥运会期间。
That’s also when playing table tennis changed from a hobby to a bond that carried the dream of Ma. He attended the World Table Tennis Championships for the first time at 18 in Bremen and received his first team event title. In 2015, Ma won his first men’s singles gold in the World Championships.
那时候，也是马龙打乒乓球从爱好变成了他的梦想。在18岁的时候，马龙第一次参加世界乒乓球锦标赛，在不来梅举行。他获得了人生中第一个团体奖。在2015年，马龙在世锦赛上获得了第一个男子个人第一。
Having won the men’s singles gold in the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro in 2016, Ma had all the honors he needed to complete a grand slam record. “It’s the happiest moment in my life to watch the Chinese national flag fly because of me. Finally, I have realized my dream of making my country proud,” Ma said.
在赢得了2016年里约奥运会男单金牌后，马龙获得了创造大满贯记录的所有荣誉。马龙说，“当看到国旗因我而升起时是我一生中最荣耀的时刻，我这才意识到我的梦想是为国争光”。
He was 28 years old after Rio 2016, but was already one of the most successful table tennis players in history. That’s why many began to ask: would he retire in his best year?
度过了2016年里约奥运会的马龙已经28岁，是乒坛史上最成功的运动员之一。开始有很多人疑惑：他会在最辉煌的时候退役吗。
Ma’s coach Qin Zhijian asked him the same question: would they go to Tokyo in 2020? Ma said he wanted to because he could still play. Qin told him that alone was not enough for motivation. Ma admitted that he couldn’t fully understand what the coach meant back then.
马龙的教练秦志戬问了他同样的问题：2020年的东京奥运会他们还去吗？（原句是：下一个四年，走不走？怎么走？靠什么支撑你走？”）马龙回答，他想去，他还能打。 马龙承认他不能完全领会秦指的意思。 （2020年马龙完成了双圈大满贯）
What came along with Ma’s dominance were various injuries, especially with his knees. He gave up a lot of events from the second half of 2018 and stayed away from table tennis for as long as eight months.
一直伴随马龙的是无尽的伤病，特别是他的膝盖。在2018年，马龙未能参加很多比赛，修养了八个月。
Like the rest of the world, Ma used to have doubts if he could ever return to his best form after suffering so many injuries. “I realized at the darkest moment of my career that table tennis has become an integral part of my life. It has settled down inside me. I couldn’t love it more.”
和世界一样，马龙自己也无数次自我怀疑，自己究竟能否在经历这么多伤病之后还可以重回巅峰。“我在职业生涯最黑暗的时候才终于意识到，乒乓已经成为我生命中不可或缺的一部分，它已经根深在我的生命之中。我爱它不能更多了。”
As a professional athlete, Ma had to face winning and losing in every match he played. “Your only way to success is through the will to win and hard-work. But sports taught us more than just winning and losing. We must have the bravery to start over after losing and the faith of not giving up even in desperate times,” Ma said.
作为一名职业运动员，马龙需要面对比赛的输赢。马龙说：“你成功的唯一途径就是获胜欲以及勤奋的训练。运动教会了我们不只是输赢，我们必须有在失败后有重头再来的勇气，在绝望时刻永不言弃的信念。”
