Michael Maze: London Final Won't Be All Chinese (Videos)

The Danish superstar Michael Maze unfortunately suffered a serious injury last year that led to his absence in Rotterdam championships and the world cup in Paris. In addition, Maze also had to give up this year's World Team Championships in Dortmund.

The last appearance of Michael Maze for the year 2011 was in the Volkswagen Cup in China where he faced a 1-4 defeat against the Chinese Wang Hao in the quarterfinals. After which, Michael Maze was reported to have taken a leave of absence due to injury. The news about his injury actually made his fans very worried. Everyone was hoping that it was not that serious and that he can get back to playing in no time. 

Michael Maze vs Wang Hao 2011 Volkswagen Cup MS QF
video kindly shared by ttprovider

After a few months, Michael Maze updated his fans about his rehabilitation in Vienna and showed signs of recovery. It was a good sign that Michael Maze was actually coming back. Indeed, Michael Maze joined his UMMC Team for the Champions League last September and contributed to a wonderful season. In addition, Michael Maze also surprised everyone in the 2011 European Supercup after winning over the German rookie Dimitrij Ovtcharov. 

Michael Maze vs Dimitrij Ovtcharov 2011 European Supercup
video kindly shared by janus770

Eventually, Michael Maze got back just in time for the London Olympics. In the past three months, he did not participate in a lot of competitions. However, he made sure to train by all means. He has done a lot of knee exercises to ensure full recovery. For the London Olympics, Maze is actually in great condition as his knee doesn't hurt anymore. 

Days ago, the ITTF released the result of the draw and Michael Maze was there to witness it. "I am fairly satisfied with the result of the draw. Results could be better and could also be worse. The first round will be very difficult. I will be against the Greek Kalinikos Kreanga. I lost in all my past four encounters against him. However, since this is the Olympics, I will try to beat him." Maze admitted. 

Michael Maze vs Kalinikos Kreanga 2009 European Super Cup
video kindly shared by kaitopspin11

In addition to his opponents, Maze also has his own views on the upcoming competition. He believes that the Men Singles finals will no longer be an all Chinese affair. This is because of the limited slots for each country and China will only have Zhang Jike and Wang Hao. "They can be under such tremendous amount of pressure." Maze added.  

However, the Danish star also admits that breaking the monopoly of the Chinese players is not an easy task primarily because they have the best players. "Sweden once competed against China but later had difficulty in sustaining such power. Today, Japan, South Korean, including me as a European player, can issue a powerful challenge to the Chinese players." Michael Maze confidently said.  

Aside from being a talented Table Tennis player, Michael Maze is also a fashion icon in Table Tennis. He can be seen with unreserved hairstyles and a sleeveless shirt inside the arena. A new addition to his fashion statement this year is the tattoo etched on his arm which has a ring pattern and the flags of the United Kingdom and Denmark. With the new tattoo, Michael Maze is considered as the "David Beckham of Table Tennis" by the Chinese fans.

He explained to the reporters why such pattern. He said that his father was actually British and his mom was Danish. As for the ring, Maze said that when his father died, a ring was given to him. Unfortunately, Maze was not careful enough and eventually lost the ring. So in order to keep the memory of the ring, Maze had it tattooed. In that way, at least figuratively, the precious gift won't be lost again. We are sure they hope Michael Maze's tattoo will "amaze" all TT fans around the world, in London.

Photo source: pingpong.com.pl