Ma Long, a Chinese table tennis ace who won the men's singles gold medal in the Tokyo Olympics in July, told ifeng.com that he couldn't promise to attend the Paris Olympics in 2024, but he will do his best for it.

As the captain of the Chinese national table tennis team, Ma is already 33 years old. Some of his predecessors, including Cai Zhenhua, Liu Guoliang and Kong Linghuin, retired at a younger age of 28, 26 and 31, respectively.

Ma is confident that he is at his peak after playing 18 years in the national team. He used to say that table tennis players are in their best physical condition between 26 and 27 and at the best technique level between 27 and 31.

"I think now it's normal for players to keep playing at their 30s," Ma said. "Recovery, medical treatment and training today are more and more scientific. They will help extend our career."

Though he has already won so many world titles and Olympic golds, Ma does not think he has reached his peak. "I think it's very hard to reach the technique peak," Ma told ifeng.com. "They say 'there's no limit to knowledge.' Neither there is limit to refining your skills because you can always create or learn new plays. It's not like weightlifting or athletics which have a specific limit in terms of seconds or kilograms for an athlete."

Ma began to play table tennis when he was five years old, but his passion for it has not vanished even at his age or after achieving so much access. "Everything I have is from table tennis," Ma said. "I have discovered so much by playing it, and I want to discover more. Today's young players have remarkable skills and I want to learn from them."

Ma won back-to-back Olympic gold medals in Rio de Janeiro in 2016 and Tokyo in 2021. But, more importantly, he's the first 30 plus years old to win the men's singles Olympic gold. He also beat the record of winning the most gold medals by winning the fifth one of his.

As one of the best-performing Chinese athletes in Tokyo 2020, Ma visited China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) as a member of the Chinese mainland delegation. It's a traditional event that began in 2004. Ma had a good time in Hong Kong.

"Elite athletes of the Chinese mainland will go to Hong Kong after every edition of Olympic Games since 2004," Ma said. "Our schedule got tighter this year because of COVID-19 and the National Games. The visit was later than usual. But we are all very happy to carry on this tradition.

We could all feel that athletes of China's Hong Kong have been doing better and better these years. They won their first gold medal in Tokyo since 1997. I believe the regular exchanges between the two sides have a lot to do with that."

According to Ma, many players of China's Hong Kong now compete in the China Table Tennis Super League and thus meet and interact with their Chinese mainland counterparts more often.

"We have trained together for three months before the Tokyo Olympics," Ma told ifeng.com. "We practice together, make progress together and communicate with each other. It's very helpful. They worked hard to win the bronze medal in Tokyo."

China beat Japan 3-0 to win the women's team fold medal in Tokyo. Coach Liu Guoliang asked athletes of China's Hong Kong to join them for family photo after the awarding ceremony.