China's Ma Long, with his teammate Wang Chuqin, plays against Sweden's Anton Kallberg and Kristian Karlsson during the men's gold medal team table tennis match at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday ...

CHENNAI: Defeating an Olympic champion and legend like Ma Long at his peak is no small achievement. Japan’s Tomokazu Harimoto accomplished the feat at the Japan Open in 2018 just before turning 15.

Fan Zhendong, Chen Meng and Ma Long, who have 14 Olympic gold medals between them, pulled out late last year, ending their participation in tournaments run by the sport’s governing body.