The 2024 season is drawing to a close, and various selection lists are being released one after another! Recently, the sports department of Xinhua News Agency announced the list of the top ten international athletes in 2024. The highly anticipated Quan Hongchan, Pan Zhanle, and Ma Long were all eliminated without exception, with only Zheng Qinwen making it onto the list. The reason for this is that Zheng Qinwen won the women's singles tennis championship at the Paris Olympics, becoming the first Asian player to win an Olympic tennis singles title. She also finished as the runner-up at the Australian Open, setting her personal best record in a Grand Slam event. Additionally, she won the runner-up titles at the Wuhan Tennis Open and the WTA Finals. In the WTA's year-end selection, Zheng Qinwen was awarded the Most Popular Singles Player of the 2024 Season and the Best Moment Award at the 250 tournament.
In fact, it is not surprising that Zheng Qinwen made the list of the top ten international athletes, it could even be said to be expected! First of all, there is no doubt about Zheng Qinwen's performance in the 2024 season; she amazed everyone by reaching the final at the Australian Open at the beginning of the year; then, Zheng Qinwen defeated the favorite Swiatek in the semi-finals of the women's singles tennis at the Paris Olympics, winning against her opponent for the first time in her career, and went on to defeat Vekic in the final to claim the championship; secondly, as the sport with the greatest influence in the world, the popularity and influence of tennis far surpass table tennis, swimming, diving, and other sports.
However, to be fair, although the influence of table tennis cannot be compared with tennis, it is still somewhat regrettable that Ma Long did not make the list of the top ten international athletes! At the opening ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympics, Ma Long and synchronized swimmer Feng Yu served as flag bearers for the Chinese sports delegation, and he led the team to a 3-0 victory over Sweden in the men's team event, winning his sixth Olympic gold medal and becoming the Chinese athlete with the most Olympic gold medals.
It is not an exaggeration to say that Ma Long has successfully created history, and while it is unknown if there will be successors, he is undoubtedly unprecedented. If we set aside the influence of the competition projects, Ma Long absolutely deserves the title of one of the top ten international athletes. However, to put it another way, Ma Long has already achieved a fulfilling career and no longer needs these things to prove himself.
During his career, Ma Long has twice won the men's singles title at the World Cup, twice at the World Table Tennis Championships, and once at the Olympics, falling just short of the double grand slam achievement. If Ma Long qualifies for the singles event at the Paris Olympics, advances to the final, and wins the championship, achieving the double grand slam achievement is not entirely impossible, after all, Ma Long's strength has long been recognized, and even if he faces Fan Zhendong in the final, there is a possibility of victory.