Olympics' delay weighs heavily on older athletes
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Ma Long
Age: 31
Event: Table tennis
Still considered among the hot favorites for the men's singles gold in Tokyo, reigning Olympic and world champion Ma has seen his once-undisputed dominance diminished by a left knee injury.
His three losses to non-Chinese mainland opponents on the world tour since last July (twice to Chinese Taipei paddler Lin Yun-ju and once to Japanese teenager Harimoto Tomokazu) have pulled the alarm for Ma to get his body fully recovered. A longer preparation for Tokyo now seems a perfect fit for his quest to defend the gold.
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