jamesd20
01-23-2006, 06:04 AM
The semis brought tiredness to myself as the previous nights late night tranferred to an early start to get to the hall in time.
Eagerly anticipating some appetising MS and MD matches I was not to be disapointted. The arena was busy, although not full. We had good seats and were able to sit back and watch top class badminton-Heaven.
MS:Only one place to start, LCW/LD. Lin was very strong in the first game with LCW not imposing himself. He seems a very shy type and this is reflected in his game style. He is faster than lin dan, and according to statistcis more powerful attack. He has the weapons to beat LIn, but he is not agressive enough and doesn't like to counter attack to finish rallies like Lin. Every time LCW smashed Lin knew he was smashing. a more explosive gear would make LCW unbeatable. The third end was a spectacular game, with Lin not attacking much at all, keeping the shuttles in and making LCW work. LCW managed to make the victory almost there, bu LD sped up the game and LCW was tired. LD may consider himself lucky as some of his Smashes were very close, and on another day may have gone out, but he judged the pace a the game very well and made his dash for the line at just the right time. He was very emotional at the end as were the chinese coaching staff. I feel LD has matured slightly now, maybe taking it more seriousley.
Gade was very disappointing against LHI. he looked tired after the first game and was spent in the third game. LHI played very well, but time is running out for Gade as fitness takes longer to gainand quicker to lose as you get older. Too much smashing with LHI good footwork, and not enough stamina to continue the pace.
MD:
CTF/LWW had it easy against Tazari/Lin. Maybethe younger pair had spent too much mental energy on playing CHN/DEN pairs on previous days, but they were less focussed in SF and rudderless without Rexy advising them in between points.
Abdul/Latif played a very good game against DEN, and pushed them almost to the limit. two close games left the MAL pair just one or two rallies away from a top victory, but DEN pair were simply too good and controlled their speed very well.
WS:
Easy victory for ZN. XXF went to three against Mia, but I was never in any doubt she would not win. Mia didn't try in 2nd game as spent too much energy in winning 1st end that she just wanted the 5 minute interval.
WD:
Routine victories for both CHN pairs
XD:
Routine victory for ENG pair, with little resistance from INA pair. Widianto needs to take the initiative more, and seems asleep some of the time.
Actually I confess to wanting the KOR pair to win this as I felt they were the only ones to beat ENG pair (who I don't like). However Zhang Jun played very well and didn't give KOR time to impose there precision play.
Eagerly anticipating some appetising MS and MD matches I was not to be disapointted. The arena was busy, although not full. We had good seats and were able to sit back and watch top class badminton-Heaven.
MS:Only one place to start, LCW/LD. Lin was very strong in the first game with LCW not imposing himself. He seems a very shy type and this is reflected in his game style. He is faster than lin dan, and according to statistcis more powerful attack. He has the weapons to beat LIn, but he is not agressive enough and doesn't like to counter attack to finish rallies like Lin. Every time LCW smashed Lin knew he was smashing. a more explosive gear would make LCW unbeatable. The third end was a spectacular game, with Lin not attacking much at all, keeping the shuttles in and making LCW work. LCW managed to make the victory almost there, bu LD sped up the game and LCW was tired. LD may consider himself lucky as some of his Smashes were very close, and on another day may have gone out, but he judged the pace a the game very well and made his dash for the line at just the right time. He was very emotional at the end as were the chinese coaching staff. I feel LD has matured slightly now, maybe taking it more seriousley.
Gade was very disappointing against LHI. he looked tired after the first game and was spent in the third game. LHI played very well, but time is running out for Gade as fitness takes longer to gainand quicker to lose as you get older. Too much smashing with LHI good footwork, and not enough stamina to continue the pace.
MD:
CTF/LWW had it easy against Tazari/Lin. Maybethe younger pair had spent too much mental energy on playing CHN/DEN pairs on previous days, but they were less focussed in SF and rudderless without Rexy advising them in between points.
Abdul/Latif played a very good game against DEN, and pushed them almost to the limit. two close games left the MAL pair just one or two rallies away from a top victory, but DEN pair were simply too good and controlled their speed very well.
WS:
Easy victory for ZN. XXF went to three against Mia, but I was never in any doubt she would not win. Mia didn't try in 2nd game as spent too much energy in winning 1st end that she just wanted the 5 minute interval.
WD:
Routine victories for both CHN pairs
XD:
Routine victory for ENG pair, with little resistance from INA pair. Widianto needs to take the initiative more, and seems asleep some of the time.
Actually I confess to wanting the KOR pair to win this as I felt they were the only ones to beat ENG pair (who I don't like). However Zhang Jun played very well and didn't give KOR time to impose there precision play.