Did the Olympics live up to your expectations?

[kwun]

we waited and waited and finally Olympics badminton came and went with all the medals to all five events awarded. there were upset after upset from day one and numerously closely fought battles and numerous effortless fights as well.

so after 8 days of Olympics badminton, did all the matches and results live up to your expectations? were you expecting more epics battles? or were you just happy that so and so won the gold medal?

[seven]

Many surprises that's great! :)

However I was hoping to see Ra Kyung Min in gold, that's a disappointment! :crying:
(luckily I've just learned she has decided to continue her career two more years :) )

I was also hoping to catch more live badminton on TV which wasn't the case! :mad: :mad: :mad: (fed up of fencing!)

[Kamen]

Though i am a Malaysian and Mal has not won a single medal in the Badminton events, generally the olympic was quite good. Great spectacles especially the all Korean MD final.

[david14700]

Despite a few upsets leading to the top names not making it to the finals (Lin Dan, Kim/Ra) you have to say it was a fantastic tournament overall.

Every final was great and exciting (except possibly the MS, a bit of a walkover). There were lots of great quarter-final and semi-final matchups in the men's doubles and the games were all exciting. Plus, the coverage was excellent and full time, which is rare. I've got 21 hours of badminton on tape now to watch over the next year and analyse for technical tips. :D

[jaclyn]

very dissapointed
i'm except choong-lee to win in MD n kim-ra win XD...
in MS are wong choong hann n lin dan,WD are gao ling
:crying: :crying: :crying:
but also intresting n fun :p :)

[LazyBuddy]

Sad to see big names like Lin, Bao, Kim/Ra, etc got knocked out in earlier round. However, dark horses did put on great shows, and glad to see Taufik finally utilized his talent. ;)

[wilfredlgf]

Badminton-wise, yes, we get all the ingredients of a dramatic event bar the WD of course, but the highlight such as Ronald's taming of the young dragon, Zhang Ning's tough match against Mia, Kim/Ra's shock exit, are things that colours the event appropriately.

It would have been different if Lin Dan just cruise to a gold, then Cai/Fu, Gao Ling/Huang Sui, Zhang Ning, Kim/Ra. Things will be too... 'predictable' then. "Oh, they won? Jolly. What's for dinner?".

[cooler]

The 2004 olympic (badminton) was quite good, better than previous olympic watching experience mainly because of better access live updates from more sources where as i had none before.

1. forumcast :)
2. some chinese games on CCTV
3. one (and only) match (WS final) on TV

Opinions on results

1. I think the surprises aren't really surprises. The chinese MS team didnt had a game plan for each of their opponent so they deserve what they got. Canada sucks, no surprises here either :p

2. Great to see some unexpected players achieving better than expected results, it's better for the sport of badminton (ex. Nathan R & Gail E, taufik, mia audina). However, i would have much preferred watching the MD final between KDM/Ha and JR/LP

[woop.]

Thought it was superb. The BBC used their interactive service to put a massive amount of badminton on the telly here in the UK, but they also put a very decent amount on the 'normal' (non-digital) channel live. So from a english perspective, especially with gail and nathan reaching the final, it was excellent.

However it was also good from an all round perspective. Many of us would use our knowledge to predict winners, and in some cases have them down as certainties, but frequently this did not prove the case. That can only be good for the sport.

I for one thought it was a superb tournament.

[chibe_K]

Overall yes, as my favourite mens doubles Kim/Ha won the gold medal, Taufik won the men's single, which is not a surprise to me. However, it was a disappointment that Kim/Ra made an early exit and Chong/Lee failed to advance to finals :(

[andymcg]

I'm a little undecided at the moment about the tournament. Here are my thoughts:

The coverage was absolutely superb from the BBC. I now have several (5+ on long play!) tapes of action to watch at my leisure. The online streams were OK, but could do with being a little faster! Not only did the BBC cover the usual british action (which they might have done anyway), but they covered loads of matches with no british interest at all. Hats off to them - I certainly will be emailing them to compliment them on the coverage.

However, I'm not sure if I'm the only who thinks this - but I thought the standard of the badminton was significantly less than the event in Sydney. I've been able to burn some video CDs of the final rounds from Sydney, and there seemed to be more close games, and more excitement in the majority of the games. The exceptions from this event that spring to mind are the mixed final, the WS final, the Gade-Taufik match, and the Shon-Sony semi final. Maybe it is because I haven't seen all of the matches I have recorded yet, but nothing was even close in my mind to the epic MD final from four years ago, and the Gade-Ji semi from then as well. In contrast, I thought that the MS and MD finals in Athens were a bit of a disappointment, mainly because they were such one sided games. It was good to see some real shocks though.

Don't get me wrong - it was an excellent tournament. In the UK we now have a great opportunity to publicise badminton based on this event. I just wish we had the same level of coverage 4 years ago!

[cooler]

Thought it was superb. The BBC used their interactive service to put a massive amount of badminton on the telly here in the UK, but they also put a very decent amount on the 'normal' (non-digital) channel live. So from a english perspective, especially with gail and nathan reaching the final, it was excellent.

However it was also good from an all round perspective. Many of us would use our knowledge to predict winners, and in some cases have them down as certainties, but frequently this did not prove the case. That can only be good for the sport.

I for one thought it was a superb tournament.

I wonder if bbc could track the traffic of their interactive service. It would sure help prove or disprove their belief of how popular badminton is.

[jamesd20]

Everything I hoped for and more. For the last four days I only slep about 2hours each day becauseI was working nights, But the BBC coverage was fantastic, and kept me going. I couldnt have asked for more, great games, I got to see all I wanted.

[fishmilk]

it was good, but quite dissapointing for me... first of all, even though i was chinese, i favoured great britain much more. they had so much more sportsmanship. i remember one particular part that drove me up the walls. it was during the 3rd set when great britain was on a roll. gail emms was about to serve when zhang jun holds up his hand and says he wants the shuttle switched. the crowd booed, gail emms wasn't thrilled, but as politely as she could be, said the shuttle was fine and wanted to get going. zhang jun's request was denied, then gao ling said she needed to rewrap her knee support. the request was accepted, gail and nathan were obviously not thrilled but used the moment to refresh themselves and wipe off some sweat. finally gail emms served and zhang jun screwed up his net shot and hit right into the net, it was unarguably his fault but he tried to blame the shuttle but to no avail. next rally went to the chinese but zhang jun didn't even switch the shuttle. honestly, to win like that, what's the point? I would rather give it my best and lose gloriously like nathan and gail. but the tournament was a good one, zhang ning had a very emotional moment and i admit it was quite emotional for me too :crying:

[Redbull]

I agree ...It was a little surprising to see the Chinese pair using such tactics but obviously they were in trouble and needed to resort to this kind of gamesmanship .

It was also sad to see Kim/Ha using the same type of gamesmanship in the mens final , why oh why do players of this standard do this I will never know.

The BBC coverage was very impressive , the interactive viewing was excellent

[yonexfanatic]

i thought it was great. I voted a 4 because in order for me to vote for the 5, Lin Dan and Chen Hong facing off in the final would have had to happen :D. But due to many surprises and so many top seeds falling out in the men's singles and mixed doubles, i say that that made the olympic games for badminton more interesting; pretty much deserving the 5.

[bluejeff]

I put 3 because 1. China's MD and MS really got blow up badly and 2. US's TV coverage was bad and short and cut-offs.


However, I can still live with it.....well, I have to, don't I? ;)

[Spyboy]

5 from me. I thought it was great to see Taufik come through. Probably the most natural talent in his peer group. Great end to a fantastic career for Kim/Ha. Exciting MXD, WS & WD matches.

[abedeng]

I rate 4. To get 5, Taufik will have to face more opposition from Shon in MS final. It was the most one sided final in Olympic MS history. I have no doubts on his deserving the gold (though his crying act on court is too much, since he is a baby-faced guy). It made my Indonesian maid sooo happy!!:o

Too bad most of Indonesia missed it on TV.

[Woven]

4 from me, its good to see indonesia continue their gold medal tradition through Taufik, but i was quite dissapointed to see no indonesian in the MD final.

[Spyboy]

I rate 4. To get 5, Taufik will have to face more opposition from Shon in MS final. It was the most one sided final in Olympic MS history. I have no doubts on his deserving the gold (though his crying act on court is too much, since he is a baby-faced guy). It made my Indonesian maid sooo happy!!:o

Too bad most of Indonesia missed it on TV.


Well, the final was pretty one-sided but he did have to cross paths with Wong Choong Hann and Peter Gade to get there. After all the turmoil he has endured I can understand the tears. Apart from the joy of winning, they were also probably tears of relieve as the pressure must have been immense. I really don't think he was crying 'since he is a baby-faced guy'.

[jcl49]

it was good, but quite dissapointing for me... first of all, even though i was chinese, i favoured great britain much more. they had so much more sportsmanship. i remember one particular part that drove me up the walls. it was during the 3rd set when great britain was on a roll. gail emms was about to serve when zhang jun holds up his hand and says he wants the shuttle switched. the crowd booed, gail emms wasn't thrilled, but as politely as she could be, said the shuttle was fine and wanted to get going. zhang jun's request was denied, then gao ling said she needed to rewrap her knee support. the request was accepted, gail and nathan were obviously not thrilled but used the moment to refresh themselves and wipe off some sweat. finally gail emms served and zhang jun screwed up his net shot and hit right into the net, it was unarguably his fault but he tried to blame the shuttle but to no avail. next rally went to the chinese but zhang jun didn't even switch the shuttle. honestly, to win like that, what's the point? I would rather give it my best and lose gloriously like nathan and gail. but the tournament was a good one, zhang ning had a very emotional moment and i admit it was quite emotional for me too :crying:

When the BBC interviewed the pair, Robertson was asked what he thought about the extensive use of gamesmanship by the Chinese. He (NR) surprised the interviewer by replying that he would have done the same thing to distupt rhythm and indirectly praised the Chinese for playing strategically.

JL

[shasa03]

i voted a 2..shouldve been 3 though..
3 because taufik won a gold,on the singles men it was aLMOst an-all indonesia final,taufik beat gade:D i was cheering back then..
but it was dissapointing that most of the high rank players lost..but i guess that was the surprise..
dissapointed because most of the indonesian couldnt watch.and kabelvision couldnt telecast all when the indo's are playing..

[other]

When the BBC interviewed the pair, Robertson was asked what he thought about the extensive use of gamesmanship by the Chinese. He (NR) surprised the interviewer by replying that he would have done the same thing to distupt rhythm and indirectly praised the Chinese for playing strategically.

JL

come on...this the olympic gold they are playing for...of course they would play mind games if they felt they needed to..

its like alan shearer making sure the ref sees him when he gets fouled rather than diving (which is cheating). (not saying he doesn't dive)

ie...trying to gain an "unfair" advantage, but within the rules

[dlp]

Its the players job to push the boundaries of the laws, its the officials job to stand firm against that, yes, Zhang was over the line but blame the umpire

[Bobatea]

I gave it a 2.

Kim/Ra exiting early was very shocking. Ra Kyung Min deserves a gold medal more than any of the gold medalists. I'm not saying they didn't deserve it. Ra Kyung Min just deserved it more for her amazing career in women's singles, women's doubles, and mixed doubles. Lin Dan being knocked out in the first round was also a shocker (along with others being knocked out early i.e. bao chun lai). Men's doubles was great seeing an all korean final and having Kim Dong Moon and Ha Tae Kwon win the gold. I was disappointed to see Gong Ruina go home without a medal. I was hoping she'd win gold. I'm glad Ra Kyung Min was able to earn the Bronze medal for women's doubles (I wished she could've gotten gold through that. It would have been a major accomplishement since China practically sweeps the women's events).

What really made me hate the Olympic coverage of badminton was the commentators. One of the commentators was just in love with Gao Ling's blue kneebrace and would not stop commenting about it throughout the final match. Also, most of the time they really had no idea what they were talking about and acted as if they knew each player well and had followed their career closely. It just ruined the experience. I couldn't watch the Taufik Hidayat/Peter Gade singles match because the commentators just frustrated me too much by constantly talking about how Taufik is the 'wild child' of Indonesia. I guess it's more of a 3 now that I think about it. Commentators really killed the enjoyment. Also, they really didn't show enough badminton.

[edit]
Did anyone notice Mia Audina cheating a little during her ws final match against Zhang Ning? (appealing line calls 3-4 times I believe. Two of which I was 100% sure were accurate calls by the line judges).

[laughable c.]

first of all, even though i was chinese, i favoured great britain much more. they had so much more sportsmanship. i remember one particular part that drove me up the walls. it was during the 3rd set when great britain was on a roll. gail emms was about to serve when zhang jun holds up his hand and says he wants the shuttle switched. the crowd booed, gail emms wasn't thrilled, but as politely as she could be, said the shuttle was fine and wanted to get going. zhang jun's request was denied, then gao ling said she needed to rewrap her knee support. the request was accepted, gail and nathan were obviously not thrilled but used the moment to refresh themselves and wipe off some sweat. finally gail emms served and zhang jun screwed up his net shot and hit right into the net, it was unarguably his fault but he tried to blame the shuttle but to no avail. next rally went to the chinese but zhang jun didn't even switch the shuttle. honestly, to win like that, what's the point? I would rather give it my best and lose gloriously like nathan and gail.
i didn't watch the whole match, so i missed that particular scene.. but i can understand why zhang/gao had resorted to such tactics (if they were intentional); they needed a breather to sort out their emotions (and .. anxiety?? - if that's the right word)...

however, these tactics (if they were) were 'approved'.. (the umpire allowed it, didn't he/she?).


but the tournament was a good one, zhang ning had a very emotional moment and i admit it was quite emotional for me too :crying:
YEAH! i know i've said this before, but i'll say it again. it was the first time a victory in a sports game brought tears to my eyes.. that athens medal ceremony soundtrack was real touching at that moment. i wonder where i might get a midi version of it..

[laughable c.]

i gave it a two too:D . but after giving it a second thought too late, i realised i should have really given it 3. (just like Bobatea). of all, only the MS was really depressing. bao cl's exit had more impact than the other two, dunno why. taufik's win was a good one for him. i suppose he deserved to cry at the end... though if i were him, i would have tried to suppress those tears. that final match didn't look too difficult.. for him, i mean!
the MD was quite fine with me, really. after seeing kim/ha play even before finals, i could already imagine them winning the gold. but it would have been much more fun if they were up against lars/paaske instead.. i imagine.
zhang ning's victory was best. her leaps into the air were really cute! i hope i never forget those moments.. up till she fell into her coaches' arms! AND the prize-giving ceremony.


Ra Kyung Min deserves a gold medal more than any of the gold medalists. I'm not saying they didn't deserve it. Ra Kyung Min just deserved it more for her amazing career in women's singles, women's doubles, and mixed doubles.i think ra has been really consistent and hardworking all along to achieve where she is now. but that would suggest she really deserves a separate award for that ie. the most diligent player, or something..


I was disappointed to see Gong Ruina go home without a medal. I was hoping she'd win gold. on the contrary, i was glad zhou mi toppled her to get a bronze. perhaps i'm bitter, but it wouldn't have really been fair if gong loses her match against mia and then win her compatriot for a medal. but that's just my humble opinion.


[edit]
Did anyone notice Mia Audina cheating a little during her ws final match against Zhang Ning? (appealing line calls 3-4 times I believe. Two of which I was 100% sure were accurate calls by the line judges).remember how she reacted towards the line call. AND the uncivillised way she protested to the umpire. most disgraceful, i say.

[jump_smash]

Resonable since

1. SBS TV show adeqaute coverage.

2. Taufik won! Helped my tipping against some americans!

3. Nathan and Gail winning silver.

Disappointing since

1. Kim and Ra didn't make it through to finals.

2. Mia losing to Zhang.

[aiyuuw]

4 for me,2 becos taufik won,1 becos sony clinched bronze,and 1 for flandy eng,it could be 5 if indons won md:D , but they didnt:crying: (hoho, im a loyal indon)