Zhang Ning

[staples]

I think it was her goal to play the OG 2008 for a Gold medal and then retire?
At this pace, I don't think she'll even be able to win a medal next year. Age is perhaps catching up to ZN. Perhaps LYB should focus more on Zhu Lin and Lu Lan.

Any opinions on this?

[abedeng]

If Zhu Lin, Lu Lan, even Xie Xingfang, can maintain top performance, why not? But as evidenced in the just concluded WC, Xingfang lost badly and is probably not yet ready to be "team leader" of the WS squad. Surprising as she is now 27.

ZN may have lost to Wang Chen, but at least she did make the semis. About the only tournament I remember that she didn't do well was the Asian Games.

[Maximum]

who is 27 now??? XXF??? i thought she's onli 25 now...
ZN still hav alot left in her pocket... I dun think age is a problem 4 her... At least not at this moment...

[weeyet]

I prefer xie xingfang to win

[Syaoran_Style]

I think it was her goal to play the OG 2008 for a Gold medal and then retire?
At this pace, I don't think she'll even be able to win a medal next year. Age is perhaps catching up to ZN. Perhaps LYB should focus more on Zhu Lin and Lu Lan.

Any opinions on this?

She won't be able to win a medal ? Have you seen her current form ? she's able to beat everybody in the world. She's been number one in world ranking since several months, She has been more consistent than anyone else in her team .. Of course Zhang Ning can win a medal ! :eek:

[Xinguy]

I really hope zhang ning can retain another go medal in OG 2008 that will be history, she really had motivated me alot after OG 2004 where she beat mia audina when 10 yrs ago mia beat zhang ning. & 10 yrs later she beat her back zhang ning jia you i hope u can do it all the best...

[cooler]

who is 27 now??? XXF??? i thought she's onli 25 now...
ZN still hav alot left in her pocket... I dun think age is a problem 4 her... At least not at this moment...i think if she prepare well and time her peak form on a particular tournament, she would be hard to beat by all current WS players.

[Xinguy]

anw zhang ning i wish u all the best jia you u can do it:D

[george@chongwei]

here are some zhang ning picture (http://www.badmintoncentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=43451&page=5)during the olympic test....
post 79-80

[kevinboy]

According to Mr LeeYB, Zhang Ning, together with XXF will represent CHN in OG08.

[xavier felipe]

According to Mr LeeYB, Zhang Ning, together with XXF will represent CHN in OG08.

Then I think China might lose the gold for WS as Tine Rasmussen is unbeatable til now...
Zhang Ning will not be strong as prior years anymore..
hopefully Xie Xingfang will be on her top form

The chance for other countries to win is quite big..must consider many dark horses: Jun Jae-youn, Hwang Hye-youn, Yip Pui Yin, Wang Chen, Pi Hongyan, Wong Mew Choo, etc...

So far Zhang Ning's performance is not really good.lost to these dark horses.
LYB taking a high risk..:cool:

[LazyBuddy]

Then I think China might lose the gold for WS as Tine Rasmussen is unbeatable til now...
Zhang Ning will not be strong as prior years anymore..
hopefully Xie Xingfang will be on her top form

The chance for other countries to win is quite big..must consider many dark horses: Jun Jae-youn, Hwang Hye-youn, Yip Pui Yin, Wang Chen, Pi Hongyan, Wong Mew Choo, etc...

So far Zhang Ning's performance is not really good.lost to these dark horses.
LYB taking a high risk..:cool:


OG is still 4.5 months away, peaking now means nothing. Actually, peaking now, only make yourself to be the target, and let the opponents spend extra effort to "study" you.

ZN's problem is the age and injury. With all the SS going on, she never recover from her injury and fatigue. However, after the OG qualification and UC, there's not much events going on. With the extra rest, ZN can be deadly again, with her experience.

Also, the problem is, if LYB does not select ZN, who he going to use? Lu Lan and Zhu Lin are not obvious better choices. XXF is far from a reliable leader. Therefore, ZN's presence can be useful, or at least, helping to clean up the road for her teammates. Sure, ZN can be beatn by 1 of the "dark horse", but mostly, ZN won't go down, until she kicked out most of the "horses" 1st. ;)

[kevinboy]

Then I think China might lose the gold for WS as Tine Rasmussen is unbeatable til now...
Zhang Ning will not be strong as prior years anymore..
hopefully Xie Xingfang will be on her top form

The chance for other countries to win is quite big..must consider many dark horses: Jun Jae-youn, Hwang Hye-youn, Yip Pui Yin, Wang Chen, Pi Hongyan, Wong Mew Choo, etc...

So far Zhang Ning's performance is not really good.lost to these dark horses.
LYB taking a high risk..:cool:

Will Hwang Hye-youn be able to qualify in OG08?:confused:

[huangkwokhau]

Will Hwang Hye-youn be able to qualify in OG08?:confused:
she could.....thats why she will compete at Romania ( US$ 5000) and also Polish Open...she will play nonstop to get into top 16.........;)

[kennethkoc]

how bout Zhou Mi? i hope she too could play in the Olympics 2008.

[huangkwokhau]

how bout Zhou Mi? i hope she too could play in the Olympics 2008.
I heard she is applying for HK citizenship....she and Yip will compete for one spot beside wang Chen....

[kevinboy]

I heard she is applying for HK citizenship....she and Yip will compete for one spot beside wang Chen....

Hauge, you mean that Zhou is applying for the HK passport?:confused:

[huangkwokhau]

Hauge, you mean that Zhou is applying for the HK passport?:confused:
YES.............thats what I heard from HKG players back in February..not sure if she can qualify yet for Olympics though...

[ants]

This year the Chinese ladies looks shaky. It will be interesting to see the draw and see who have the upperhand.

[pjswift]

Then I think China might lose the gold for WS as Tine Rasmussen is unbeatable til now...
Zhang Ning will not be strong as prior years anymore..
hopefully Xie Xingfang will be on her top form

The chance for other countries to win is quite big..must consider many dark horses: Jun Jae-youn, Hwang Hye-youn, Yip Pui Yin, Wang Chen, Pi Hongyan, Wong Mew Choo, etc...

So far Zhang Ning's performance is not really good.lost to these dark horses.
LYB taking a high risk..:cool:
Tine would be the favourite and she can win because she will be assisted indirectly by the non-CHN dark horses you mentioned.They can only get better and even if they cannot take out CHN WS, they would have done enough to drain CHN WS so that when they meet Tine, they will be quite spent.
It'll be a miracle if ZN can go far in OG08.Some movement recovery problems are pretty obvious now and the non-CHN dark horses do have the skills to execute the tactics that capitalise on her physical weaknesses which are likely to deteriorate with time.
off-topic,if I were HKG, I would field Yippy over ZM for 3 reasons:
1. Yippy is still improving and can be a surprise package;she's unlikely to win the title but then it's hard to tell how far she can go.I like her fearless attitude and that she shows no respect for her opponents.
2. ZM can do more damage to non-CHN WS than to CHN WS.I believe none of the ex-CHN WS will do well because they showed much uneasiness playing in front of the 'homeland' crowd last CO07.
3. Yippy is young and should have priority in getting her first Olympic exposure as an experience platform for her future Olympic participation.She represents HKG's WS future, does ZM?
Unless there is clear, consistent evidence of ZM's superior results relative to Yippy in the run-up to OG08,it makes long term sense to field Yippy, assuming she qualifies.(Having said that, I do like ZM, so it's quite sad)

[LazyBuddy]

Tine would be the favourite and she can win because she will be assisted indirectly by the non-CHN dark horses you mentioned.They can only get better and even if they cannot take out CHN WS, they would have done enough to drain CHN WS so that when they meet Tine, they will be quite spent.


The "dark horses" will drain CHN WS, but I thought they will drain each other even more (or eliminate), including Tine. :rolleyes:

[Maximum]

I think it was her goal to play the OG 2008 for a Gold medal and then retire?
At this pace, I don't think she'll even be able to win a medal next year. Age is perhaps catching up to ZN. Perhaps LYB should focus more on Zhu Lin and Lu Lan.

Any opinions on this?
LYB chose ZN because she has more experience... She is more steady than LL or ZL... Her chance will be greater than LL or ZL...:)

[Loopy]

What are you all saying?
LYB has no say whatsoever in the selection of which ladies are going for OG.
Only 3 out of the top 4 players can go. Since Wang Chen is fourth and Zhu Lin fifth, it means Zhu Lin is left out of the OG for now.

The same thing happened to XXF in OG2004.

[huangkwokhau]

What are you all saying?
LYB has no say whatsoever in the selection of which ladies are going for OG.
Only 3 out of the top 4 players can go. Since Wang Chen is fourth and Zhu Lin fifth, it means Zhu Lin is left out of the OG for now.

The same thing happened to XXF in OG2004.
But Zhu Lin can get into top 4 again if she does well at India Open as well as Asian Championship...
If you look at the ranking points, it is about couple hundred points only between them and Wang Chen is not competing at IO....

[Birdwood]

But Zhu Lin can get into top 4 again if she does well at India Open as well as Asian Championship...
If you look at the ranking points, it is about couple hundred points only between them and Wang Chen is not competing at IO....

Who are the top four right now (XXF, ZN, ..., WC)? How well ZL needs to do in those two tourney to be in the top four?

[huangkwokhau]

Who are the top four right now (XXF, ZN, ..., WC)? How well ZL needs to do in those two tourney to be in the top four?
Top 4 now: XXF, ZN. Lu Lan and WC....I think Zhu Lin needs to get to finals to secure TOP 4........

[Birdwood]

If ZL gets in the top four, can Chn send a total of 4 WS baddy players to OG 08?

[huangkwokhau]

If ZL gets in the top four, can Chn send a total of 4 WS baddy players to OG 08?
No...China can send 3 only provided they are in top 4....so LYB has to choose 3 out of 4 ( XXF, ZN, LL or ZL)
Lets say if ZL could not get into Top 4. CHN still has 3 players ( XXF, LL and ZN)

[Birdwood]

I see, so it's really not that different whether ZL gets in the top four or not. Even if ZL does, LL is still a better player than ZL and may have a better chance in winning matches.

[huangkwokhau]

I see, so it's really not that different whether ZL gets in the top four or not. Even if ZL does, LL is still a better player than ZL and may have a better chance in winning matches.
Well...thats right but getting in Top 4, LYB can decide who will represent China...

[Birdwood]

So why XXF is in India Open 08? She doesn't need to play for any points.

[badMania]

The "dark horses" will drain CHN WS, but I thought they will drain each other even more (or eliminate), including Tine. :rolleyes:

Unless the "dark horses" do a "Li Yongbo" ;)

[badMania]

Anything is surely possible.

Who would expect Yip Pui Yin to win the Silver Medal in Doha 2006? The 2 HKG girls actually beat Xie Xingfang and Zhang Ning to win Gold and Silver at the Asian Games!

[Birdwood]

Unless the "dark horses" do a "Li Yongbo" ;)

Look like you are all for it now :D

btw, did you coin this new phrase? This is the first time I have seen it being used for something other than his name :confused:

[badMania]

No...China can send 3 only provided they are in top 4....so LYB has to choose 3 out of 4 ( XXF, ZN, LL or ZL)
Lets say if ZL could not get into Top 4. CHN still has 3 players ( XXF, LL and ZN)

And we will see another thread being opened on "Why the current World Champions is not going to be in the Olympics this year" :o

[huangkwokhau]

So why XXF is in India Open 08? She doesn't need to play for any points.
Good question...she does not have to at all...may be India organizer has asked China to send bigger names...or may be China needs XXF to be there and make ZL a bit easier to get back to TOP 4.....either way..I think we need to help promote badminton in India with Bigger names...I wish INA would send Simon or Sony....

[madbad]

I must be a bad searcher, but who did CHN decide on for the 3 WS spots (from XXF, ZN, LL and ZL)?

[ctjcad]

...she's in the list of the Olympic qualifiers..XXF, ZN & LL will represent CHN..
http://internationalbadminton.org/WS%20Olympic%20Qualifiers%20-%20150608.pdf

[madbad]

...she's in the list of the Olympic qualifiers..XXF, ZN & LL will represent CHN..
http://internationalbadminton.org/WS%20Olympic%20Qualifiers%20-%20150608.pdf

Yes I found that out after posting. Thanks Chris :o:o

[tommy_bun]

I feel sad for Zhu Lin

[Oldhand]

In any case, China's chances for the WS gold are pretty slim ;)

Most ominously, Tine Rasmussen is in frightening form.
Zhang Ning can't be expected to repeat the magic of 2004.
Xie Xingfang looks shaky against even second-rung players.
Lu Lan is unlikely to get past even Wong Mew Choo, much less TR.

It's surprising that China opted to leave Zhu Lin out.
At least, she has been known to play unconventionally.

[LazyBuddy]

In any case, China's chances for the WS gold are pretty slim ;)

Most ominously, Tine Rasmussen is in frightening form.
Zhang Ning can't be expected to repeat the magic of 2004.
Xie Xingfang looks shaky against even second-rung players.
Lu Lan is unlikely to get past even Wong Mew Choo, much less TR.

It's surprising that China opted to leave Zhu Lin out.
At least, she has been known to play unconventionally.

Yeah, the used to be guaranteed gold suddenly look to be "anyone's game". Well, at least, OG 2012 will be Wang Yihan time. :D

[tehsham]

Y OG 2012 will be Wang Yihan time. :D
Dont forget about Maria (IO finalist) she cud matured into another Susi Susanti

[LazyBuddy]

Dont forget about Maria (IO finalist) she cud matured into another Susi Susanti

"Wang Yihan time" referring to CHN OG representative selection. Unless Maria would like to switch to CHN passport. ;)

[indra]

Dont forget about Maria (IO finalist) she cud matured into another Susi Susanti


Maria's style of play is a combination of Susi's and Marleve's. Most female players are not used to this style. Any player who adopts this style of play will certainly tire her opponent. I call this style "The Phyton Style".

Maria is now one of the most dangerous female players, threatening the Chinese domination.

[CLELY]

Maria's style of play is a combination of Susi's and Marleve's. Most female players are not used to this style. Any player who adopts this style of play will certainly tire her opponent. I call this style "The Phyton Style".

Maria is now one of the most dangerous female players, threatening the Chinese domination.

The most dangerous WS player to disrupt Chinese supremacy NOW absolutely are Tine Rasmussen and Wong Mew Choo who had proved it. We're still waiting Maria brilliant performance outside INA, particularly to defeat CHN world #1 XXF.

[sumbadder]

The most dangerous WS player to disrupt Chinese supremacy NOW absolutely are Tine Rasmussen and Wong Mew Choo who had proved it. We're still waiting Maria brilliant performance outside INA, particularly to defeat CHN world #1 XXF.
I don't see how WMC is a huge threat to CHN players actually. Winning one tournament a year prior doesn't mean a whole lot and she hasn't produced any fantastic results this year really (or even a win?).

[tjl_vanguard]

we'll c bout WMC.. she might spring up some surprises again against chinese playerS in China... :D

[Qidong]

I feel sad for Zhu Lin

I feel sad also. The defending world champion was not selected to play in OG. I hated this kind of selecting system. Either all based on ranking or have a selection tournament, that's fairer to the players.

[indra]

The most dangerous WS player to disrupt Chinese supremacy NOW absolutely are Tine Rasmussen and Wong Mew Choo who had proved it. We're still waiting Maria brilliant performance outside INA, particularly to defeat CHN world #1 XXF.

The curve has been going up, with the peak performance hoppefully at the OG. I am confident that with her recent performance (mentally and physically) she will be one of the hardest stumbling blocks for the Chinese players.

[Maximum]

Is the list of the players who r going to OG out??? U mean all countries have hand in their names??? ZN is one of the women singles???

[madbad]

Prior to her injury, Jun Jae Youn was one of the players who could give the CHN players a run for their yuan. While she's recovered and in full scale training, we don't know how match fit she is. I'd love to see her take a scalp or two. Go JJY :):):):):)

[madbad]

Is the list of the players who r going to OG out??? U mean all countries have hand in their names??? ZN is one of the women singles???

Yeah, look on the BWF website

[CLELY]

The curve has been going up, with the peak performance hoppefully at the OG. I am confident that with her recent performance (mentally and physically) she will be one of the hardest stumbling blocks for the Chinese players.

That's our hope for Maria where her positive trend will be continued in Beijing...

[kwun]

according to Chinese media, the China team has until July 21st to decide whether they will send Zhang Ning or Zhu Lin to the Olympics. XXF and LL pretty much have their spot secured.

with the lack of any further media information, it is safe to assume that the final list of entries has not been decided. we will have to wait for the final decision from the Chinese coaching staff.

[madbad]

according to Chinese media, the China team has until July 21st to decide whether they will send Zhang Ning or Zhu Lin to the Olympics. XXF and LL pretty much have their spot secured.

with the lack of any further media information, it is safe to assume that the final list of entries has not been decided. we will have to wait for the final decision from the Chinese coaching staff.

If CHN is afforded this luxury, surely this disadvantages the other nations in terms of selection.

[abedeng]

CHN already has a luxury, 3 women team for WS.

So they already have an advantage, and XXF is back at her best. But only she looks prepared among the Chinese women.

[jimbo]

No doubt in my mind that the GOLD will remain in CHN's bag :cool: The ONLY dark horse that can spoil the party is Tine, and I must say that this lanky player is damn solid good... :eek:

The rest of the WS players are just making up the numbers :rolleyes: and that includes our WMC :D

[SibugiChai]

No doubt in my mind that the GOLD will remain in CHN's bag :cool: The ONLY dark horse that can spoil the party is Tine, and I must say that this lanky player is damn solid good... :eek:

The rest of the WS players are just making up the numbers :rolleyes: and that includes our WMC :D

That's why CHINA is choosing between ZN & ZL...

They will see who got better record again Tine in recent form.

But I think they will go with ZL as ZN form hasnt been impressive lately!

I hope Lay Peng can win this OG08

[Han]

No doubt in my mind that the GOLD will remain in CHN's bag :cool: The ONLY dark horse that can spoil the party is Tine, and I must say that this lanky player is damn solid good... :eek:

The rest of the WS players are just making up the numbers :rolleyes: and that includes our WMC :D

Tine can not do it alone, for her to win the gold, she needs a lot of help from Wang Chen, Mew Choo, Xu Huaiwen and Pi Hongyan. As of who can actually help Tine will be clearer after the final draw is out.

[jimbo]

Tine can not do it alone, for her to win the gold, she needs a lot of help from Wang Chen, Mew Choo, Xu Huaiwen and Pi Hongyan. As of who can actually help Tine will be clearer after the final draw is out.

Absolutely agree with U. I dont wish to see CHN vs CHN in the WS Final though I strongly believe that the GOLD is still in their bags. I hope Tine will at least make a strong contender to at least challenge for the GOLD. go go Tine... :p

After watching her thrashing WMC in the recent SO, I dont see how WMC can stand in the podium. The most, create one or two upsets :rolleyes:

[jimbo]

That's why CHINA is choosing between ZN & ZL...

They will see who got better record again Tine in recent form.

But I think they will go with ZL as ZN form hasnt been impressive lately!

I hope Lay Peng can win this OG08

True. I dont know if CHN has decided on the final WS selection but I think LYB will opt for ZN. It happens everywhere, just look at SG, Msia and INA. They all opted for experienced players rather than young but impressive players ;)

Sorry... who is Lay Peng? :confused: