Ma Lin

MA Lin celebrates victory over Timo Boll
2004 World Team Table Tennis Championships
Photo courtesy of the ITTF

Full name:  Ma Lin (simplified Chinese: 马琳; traditional Chinese: 馬琳)
Nationality:  Chinese
Grip:  Pen hold
Blade:  Yasaka Ma Lin Extra Offensive Pen hold
Rubber (backhand):  Butterfly Bryce/Bryce Speed
Rubber (forehand):  DHS Skyline 2
Playing Style:  Offensive–consistent forehand loop; known for powerful third ball attacks. Ma Lin uses a reverse pen hold backhand, using the underside of the blade. While the reverse pen hold backhand is becoming more popular, the reverse backhand is somewhat unusual for a pen hold player.

Ma Lin is currently one of the best table tennis players in the world. According to ITTF, as of January 2010, he is ranked number 3. He was born in 1980 in Shenyang, Liaoning, China and started playing table tennis at the age of 5. In 1994, he joined the Chinese national team. Ma Lin holds 70 major table tennis titles including 7 World Cups and 3 Gold Medals. During the 2008 Summer Olympics, Ma won gold medals in both the singles and team competitions.

Wang Hao vs. Ma Lin 2009 China Nationals

Ma Lin winning
Ma Lin (CHN) vs Wang Hao (CHN)
Euro Sport
27th Table Tennis World Cup - Paris 2007 Men's Singles - Final

Photo by Rémy Gros
2009 World Table Tennis Championships
Photo courtesy of the ITTF

Photo by D.E.R.
2003
Photo courtesy of the ITTF

Ma Lin, winner of the 2006 Liebherr Men's World Cup, leads China's challenge in Doha
Photo by: Rémy Gros
2006 Asian Games
Photo courtesy of the ITTF

References and Sources:

ITTF World Ranking Record for Ma Lin

Wikipedia entry for Ma Lin