Chinese table tennis star Ma Long, one of the world's most marketable athletes

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Chinese table tennis player Ma Long has been listed as one of the top 50 most marketable athletes from across the world by SportsPro Magazine.

Ma is the only Chinese and the only table tennis player in the list, which has been decided according to athletes' marketing potential over a three-year span. It is a detailed look into the athlete's value for money, age, home market, charisma, willingness to be marketed and crossover appeal.

Ma, 28, has been ranked number one in the world by the International Table Tennis Federation for a total of 58 months, the most by any male player.

After a clean-sweep victory in the Men's Singles at the 2016 Rio Olympics, Ma became the fifth player to achieve a career Grand Slam. Additionally, he is the first male player in the world to have won every singles title in table tennis.

Ma Long at a brand promotion event /VCG photo

The Chinese table tennis team is believed to be involved in a campaign to make the players more commercially appealing and help popularize the sport following the 2016 Rio Olympics.

Since then, Ma and another Chinese favorite, Zhang Jike, have become table tennis' icons, involving in a series of commercial promotion events.

Ma is now a spokesperson for Audi, Li Ning, Yi Li and Kiehl's.