GunBlade008
01-18-2007, 12:57 AM
Each player had a moment when they burst onto the scene and began dominating the sport. I want to hear some of your opinions as to when each player/pair started to show their abilities and began their road to stardom.
In my opinion:
LCW - All England 2006. MS Semi Vs. Lin Dan. He led 13-6 in the final set, outplayed Lin Dan up to that point, but lost 17-14. Before then, he was an unknown, even to me in the badminton world. Now he is regarded as one of the best, even managed to reach #1 rank and beat Lin Dan in the Malaysian Open.
Lin Dan - All England 2004. Won all his matches in straight sets until the final Vs. Peter Gade, in which he lost the first game but dominated the remaining 2 sets. After that, he dominated men singles, even up to now.
Taufik Hidayat - All England 1999. Although he lost to Peter Gade in the final, what amazed most people was the fact that he was only 17 at the time. He reached the final again the following year, only to lose to Xia Xuanze. He was named #1 seed for the 2000 Olympic games but lost in the quarter-final. Although he went quiet for awhile, he managed to win the 2004 Olympics, 2005WC and 2006 Asian Games. The All England still remains the only title he has not attained.
Fu/Cai - World Championships 2003. Not much to say, they came in unknown and made it to the semi-finals, in which they lost in an exciting 3 sets to Sigit/Candra. Fu was definately the stronger of the pairing at the time, and his smashes managed to break through Sigit/Candra's defense and was the main reason the Chinese pair took the first set and a half.
Tony Gunawan - 1996 Indonesia Open. Tony and Halim managed to defeat Rexy/Ricky, the pair that dominated the mid 90s. Although I should mention the 1999 All England that he won with Candra Wijaya, because after winning that title, he won (with Candra/Halim) numerous titles such as the 2000 Olympics, 2001 All England and 2001 WC. Tony moved to America after and took a short break. In 2005, he paired with Howard Bach and together, the pair won the WC2005. He is currently playing with Candra Wijaya, and has won the Indonesian Open, the Korean Open and the Japan Open. They have only lost once to Fu/Cai since they have reformed their partnership.
Sigit/Candra - 1997 World Championships. They won in the finals against the Malaysian pair, which included Malaysian head coach Yap Kim Hock. After that, they were split and Candra paired with Tony Gunawan. They reformed their partnership in the 2001 All England, where they lost in the final to Tony/Halim. They began dominating Men's doubles from then on, winning too many titles to name, including 2 appearances in the World Championships finals in 2003 and 2005.
The other players I do not know much about, but I would like to hear your opinions on them, or even these players if you have contrasting views!
In my opinion:
LCW - All England 2006. MS Semi Vs. Lin Dan. He led 13-6 in the final set, outplayed Lin Dan up to that point, but lost 17-14. Before then, he was an unknown, even to me in the badminton world. Now he is regarded as one of the best, even managed to reach #1 rank and beat Lin Dan in the Malaysian Open.
Lin Dan - All England 2004. Won all his matches in straight sets until the final Vs. Peter Gade, in which he lost the first game but dominated the remaining 2 sets. After that, he dominated men singles, even up to now.
Taufik Hidayat - All England 1999. Although he lost to Peter Gade in the final, what amazed most people was the fact that he was only 17 at the time. He reached the final again the following year, only to lose to Xia Xuanze. He was named #1 seed for the 2000 Olympic games but lost in the quarter-final. Although he went quiet for awhile, he managed to win the 2004 Olympics, 2005WC and 2006 Asian Games. The All England still remains the only title he has not attained.
Fu/Cai - World Championships 2003. Not much to say, they came in unknown and made it to the semi-finals, in which they lost in an exciting 3 sets to Sigit/Candra. Fu was definately the stronger of the pairing at the time, and his smashes managed to break through Sigit/Candra's defense and was the main reason the Chinese pair took the first set and a half.
Tony Gunawan - 1996 Indonesia Open. Tony and Halim managed to defeat Rexy/Ricky, the pair that dominated the mid 90s. Although I should mention the 1999 All England that he won with Candra Wijaya, because after winning that title, he won (with Candra/Halim) numerous titles such as the 2000 Olympics, 2001 All England and 2001 WC. Tony moved to America after and took a short break. In 2005, he paired with Howard Bach and together, the pair won the WC2005. He is currently playing with Candra Wijaya, and has won the Indonesian Open, the Korean Open and the Japan Open. They have only lost once to Fu/Cai since they have reformed their partnership.
Sigit/Candra - 1997 World Championships. They won in the finals against the Malaysian pair, which included Malaysian head coach Yap Kim Hock. After that, they were split and Candra paired with Tony Gunawan. They reformed their partnership in the 2001 All England, where they lost in the final to Tony/Halim. They began dominating Men's doubles from then on, winning too many titles to name, including 2 appearances in the World Championships finals in 2003 and 2005.
The other players I do not know much about, but I would like to hear your opinions on them, or even these players if you have contrasting views!