Table tennis player Ma Long is awarded the Best Male Athlete of the Year 2016 at the China's Central Television (CCTV) Sports Awards gala in Beijing, Jan 15, 2017. [Photo/IC]

BEIJING -- Table tennis Grand-Slam winner Ma Long and volleyballer Zhu Ting were voted the Best Male and Female Athletes of the Year 2016 respectively at the prestigious China's Central Television (CCTV) Sports Awards gala here on Sunday evening.

The Best Coach award went to volleyball legend Lang Ping, the first person to win the Olympic gold medal in the event both as coach and player. Her disciples, the Chinese national women's volleball team, captured the Best Team award. Both Lang Ping and the team have won the awards for three consecutive years.

The 29-year-old Ma won the men's singles table tennis gold medal at the Rio Olympics, beating teammate Zhang Jike in the final, becoming the fifth Grand Slam male winner after Liu Guoliang, Kong Linghui, Zhang Jike of China and Jan-Ove Waldner of Sweden.

Nominated for the second straight year, Ma beat other four candidates, including Rio Olympics men's 200-meter freestyle winner Sun Yang and badminton champion Chen Long, to claim his first Best Male Athlete award. He described the year of 2016 as "perfect" for him.