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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