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I know,than a lot of people will say Waldner,but IMO its about his beautiful game and longevity. And if we will watch objective,who is the greatest player of all-time in his prime? Candidates: Jiang Jialiang,
Guo Yehua,Waldner, Kong,Liu Guolang, Ma Lin,Wan Liqin, Wang Hao,Ma Long,Zhang Jike.
Your opinion...

For me, Waldner still..

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Guo by a mile.

Joo Se Hyuk is not on the list, definitely me role model.

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Joo has never been number 1, so technically he can't be greatest player, although it depends on the definition of "greatest". Certainly it could be argued he fits the bill.

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Please view my blog, viewtopic.php?f=58&t=17571 , all the problems that I face in table tennis, I post on here, and I would very much appreciate it if you give your opinion on the matters.
S#1: Joola Wing Passion Fast, FH: 729 Cream 2.2, BH: 802-40 2.
S#2: Joola Trix Medium, FH: Hurricane 3 Neo 2, BH: 279 FX Lightning 2.2.
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S#4: Giant Dragon Kris Special, FH: Giant Dragon TaiChi Soft, BH: Giant Dragon Meteorite Soft.

I think Waldner would usually come top on a poll like this... not necessarily because he was the greatest, but because he's one of the most memorable ones, certainly in the western countries.
Personally I have trouble remembering some of the Chinese names, not because they weren't great, but the names are simply hard to remember

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Ma Long is a strong candidate for the future.
For now I have some reason to say Waldner, for other reason Wang Liqin's the man.
For some reason Joo

Oh and Sir Gregoire, I saw the same thread in quite some forums out there.
The one in TTD is losing the poll, maybe you could add it? Would be awesome! Thanks

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"Greatest" can be interpreted in so many ways, there will never be a real consensus on the meaning of this term. "Most dominant" is much easier to define. I would pick LGL and Waldner (tied) for the 38mm ball era, and WLQ for the post 38mm ball era.
WLQ won the WTTC Mens Singles three times, and ranked #1 for 48 consecutive months. Hard to argue against him.
Liu Guoliang did everything Waldi did in a shorter span of time, and dominated Waldner in their head-to-head comps. Throw in the fact that LGL has become the greatest CNT coach in history you can't really argue against him either. I will include Waldner to show my appreciation of what he's done to table tennis from a Western world's perspective, and rank him equally with LGL. I also happen to think Persson is as great as Waldner in terms of table tennis skills and knowledge. This guy is still competing at the highest level... Simply mind-boggling.

I couldn't vote on this becuase I only have seen only some of the players listed and and the ones that I do know plus others were all great

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Guo Yuehua would be the most dominating player in his prime.
His playing style probably would not be too effective against the top 2 wing attackers of today though. Um...add RPB and it would make the ultimate penholder, better than a Wang Hao or Ma Lin.

WLQ.

Longest at the very highest pinnacle. Most modern era pro tour wins.

Waldner is great, but he never completely dominated like WLQ did nor stay right at the pinnacle...

Ma Long is the one to watch now though. I hear he's already equalled or surpassed one of WLQs records (not sure which one)

I find it difficult to compare players from 30 years ago to players these days. Granted, they were great at their time, but now? It's completely different. It's way more athletically demanding these days...

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Chasse Patate

I wanna add my idol here.
In his peak, Schlager is the man!

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Excellent argument. If I could have my vote over, I'd go with WLQ.

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Guo was ranked either 1 or 2 from 1977-83 (he retired in 83). In those days the ranking system usually gave the number 1 spot to the current World Champ so when he was 2 it was due to this. He played in 4 consequtive WTTC singles finals winning 2 of them. He lost one because he was injured during the match and had to retire (against Ono) whilst he was forced to chuck against Kohno.

Guo played in 3 world cups. He won 2 and finished 3rd in the other.

He was unquestionably the best player in the world for 6-7 years. His losses were very rare but what is more significant was the ease with which he frequently beat the other top players in the world. Often enough they struggled to get to 10 (21 up games). He was supremely fit (he looked like a gymnast) and had amazing footwork and loops. His serves and lobbing were also great.

He came out of retirement in around 86 to play league in europe. Even tho he was overweight he still beat Waldner the only 2 times they met.

I have read that both Waldner and Persson consider him the greatest player ever.