GOAT Index

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Ma Lin: the case for the GOAT

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    Ma Lin: the case for the GOAT

    China · Born 19 February 1980, Shenyang, Liaoning, China · Career 1994–2013

    Chinese penholder with a powerful forehand and some of the best serves of his era, who finally won Olympic singles gold at a home Games in 2008.

    Career highlights

    Why Ma Lin could be the GOAT

    Ma Lin won three Olympic golds, four World Cups and world titles in doubles, mixed and team events. He took singles gold at Beijing 2008 in front of a home crowd. His consistency over more than a decade made him one of China's most decorated players.

    What fans say

    Ma Lin is #6 of 18 in the fan ranking, with a 7–3 head-to-head record from 56 Men's table tennis votes. See the full Men's table tennis GOAT ranking

    Ma Lin head to head

    How the ranking works. Every head-to-head vote is a result, like a game. The standings use a Bradley–Terry model, the same idea behind chess ratings: beating a highly rated legend counts for more than beating a long shot. Ratings are shown on a chess-style scale centred on 1500.

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    Photo credits

      Photos come from Wikimedia Commons under the licenses listed. Each links to its source page.