As far as I'm concerned, they performed according to my expectation, not above or below. If they win France, then it will be above
Considering that they beat Lee/Ko, BoMo, and the Thai boys (which was a very entertaining must-see match!), KooTan did quite well and above most of our expectations... which was rather low to begin with anyways...
Thai boys are entertaining indeed, especially when Issara ran out of gas to smash. They've got really explosive smashes sometimes. meanwhile, "Boon Heong admitted he went for a wrong shot at 19-19 in the decider and regretted the move." sounds more honest.
To be honest with you, even Cai/Fu who are supposedly invincible, always struggle against KOR pairs , especially scratch ones featuring LYD, KSH, YYS or KSR.
Koreans have speed, like Oppa Gangnam style on steroids or something. They had that in every Korean pair from every decade. Remember Park JooBong/Kim Mon Soo? It must be part of their training. There's a sense of urgency in their games, and they push every pair they play against struggle to keep up with them. The only way to fight them is to play fast and flat, and force them to defend by going on an all out attack. Every time Cai/Fu lost to CJS/LYD, you can tell that they focused their attack on Fu who is a little slower because he has huge muscles.
lol I noticed that too Fu is always the target when he's playing KSH or YYS. Poor guy... On the other hand... BoMo seem to love playing KOR pairs a lot more than others... KOR, DEN and CHN MD pairs are like rock scissors paper.. there is no total domination from one country. KOR >CHN>DEN>KOR>CHN......... But they have one thing in common... they always own KKK/TBH.. lol
I think the 26-24 win over Denmark was pretty important for them. How long has it been since they won such a close match? Hopefully it makes them remember what is it like to win a close match.
At least they will have a good draw in the Worlds now.. That's why they lost , come on now.. Why else lose to a scratch .. LoL
True... but how about losing a close match a day later in the finals by only 2 points due to a fake smash drop into the net by Tan at 19 all, accompanied by a fake shout even?
I know... they've improved quite a lot. Even though they are smiling in between points but I can see the seriousness in Koo and Tan's faces as they prepare to serve and receive. Their defensive lifts are much better all the way to the corners opposite from the smasher forcing him to tire out by running back and forth, e.g. Issara, Mogensen causing them to make many unforced errors. Tan is smashing more smartly to conserve energy and Koo has avoided (mostly) playing his casual high risk showy shots (but he still couldn't control himself a few times) .
Both also can I am a fan of both, BoMo and Koo/Tan, however on the Denmark Premier Semis, i would prefer the MAS team advanced to the final, winning the final would be even more sweet as the first step for their currently better form. Hope they will be even more better on the next tourneys.
Tonight against lee yong dae/ko sung hyun again.. can koo/tan repeat their winning ways and extend their H2H record to 2-0?
And the answer is ... nope. 1-1 tie. Very tight and close match though... either many game points in the first and many match points in the decider. Good effort from the lads... could've gone either way.