MF said it. However, I suppose there's a difference between "how many titles one has" and "technically the greatest ever". Also it's impossible to compare eras. I think if LD had a 30-0 H2H record against LCW, then we could call him quite clearly the greatest ever. Or if LD never lost to TH in the World champs and Asian Games final. LD is/was well ahead of his peers, but then so were all past "greatest of all timers"
"Best chance to win..." How many times have we heard this before? LCW will "choke" again as usual. He's basically in the stakes for the all time saddest athlete in sporting history. Jimmy White is probably the saddest ever with six losses in World champ snooker finals, never winning once.
BTW, this is what H Vittinghus has to say about the CHN vs CHN XD semifinal "Another embarrassment for our sport watching this World Champs mixed semi final. Will it ever end? #obvious" He alleges match fixing. What do you guys think?
Overall, for sure. LCW is a close second. I still think that technically, LCW is at least as good as LD though. Perhaps even better. But then it's like saying Roger Federer is technically better than Rafael Nadal in tennis - really debatable.
I am sure, they had a long discussion no twitter and any doubts will go by reading some of those comments. Also, H2H for Lin Dan and LCW is 23-9 (not including Asian Games) and that of Chen Long vs LCW is 8-9. So the difference between LCW and Chen Long is a lot smaller than between Lin Dan and LCW.
thanks to their withdrawal, the morning session ended already at one o'clock. The next session would start at five! The venue is kind of in the middle of nowhere, so in between there was really nothing to do... Most people came by car. It would take over an hour to get back to the city center by public transport, plus it coincided with a change of the S train schedule. What I wanted to say is it would not make sense to travel back to the city in between these few hours.
That's sensible then. All persons, commentators or not, have their preferences. Commentators are paid to comment but neutrality is not a pre-requisite. Same with reporters and newspapers. If there is a criticism, then it is that many times GC has to comment on her own. I very much prefer a two person commentary team. It is a tough job to do single handedly.
For your sake I hope LCW wins this World Championship. Because the longer he doesn't win it, the more the above statement become hilariously embarrassing for you. Let me sum it up for you. Lin Dan is better than LCW. Period. And no, it ain't close either. Why stop there? After all, Lin Dan has lost before. Surely anyone who has ever lost a match can't be called the greatest ever. I mean, Taufik was older than Lin Dan and came on the professional circuit earlier. Never mind that Lin Dan basically NEVER lost to him in his prime. As long as Lin Dan couldn't beat everyone in diapers, he's not the greatest ever. Pathetic.
Finally the thread is heating up. Usually doesn't take this much effort hehe. Good luck for all in the finals!
Some of you guys are biased yourself on your critics of GC an MF. They don't praise LD as much as some of young fan would like, but this is not being biased. Praising LCW is not also being biased, LCW is indeed a formidable player. GC is most of the time loudly praising the Chinese WS ("we tend to overlook their fantastic technical skills because of their great physicality"), specially WHY and LXR, and repeated endlesslsy that Chinese WD changed the game, made it exciting and closer to MD. The fact that one does not share all of your opinions do not make that person "biased".
Actually I would like to point out something else in their commentating which, while not a criticism per se, seems contrary to the ideals they are espousing. GC has always talked about how badminton should follow tennis' way of professionals competing as individuals as opposed to representing a nation. But her commentating is still very much divided on national lines. For example, a recurring theme whenever LCW has played this week was that he's looking to win the WC coinciding with Malaysia's independence, the hope of a nation resting on his shoulders, etc. I mean, you certainly seldom hear anyone saying Nadal is winning for Spain, or that the hopes of UK is resting on Murray's shoulders, etc. Perhaps she doesn't even realise this herself, but when she talks about the Chinese domination, referring to players from the same country as a group as opposed to individuals (eg, "...the Koreans..." "...the Indonesians..."), talking about how Danish MS was waiting for JOJ to shine after PR's win in 1997, etc, it gives the impression that this divide between nations rather than individuals is the natural and even preferred course of action in badminton. And this influence is a constant whenever anyone watches a BWF broadcasted match. Attitude of spectators is shaped by subtle things like these. Something to think about.
Yeah but it is so ingrained so much into her that it is a lost hope. As the saying goes "You can't teach a old dog new tricks"
Please watch the 2011 world championships final between LD and LCW. Mr. Morten Frost is basically rooting for LCW. The match finally ends like this - Morten, "I have been saying this all week, and I will say it again, Chong Wei plays the best overall" Other commentator(perhaps Kauffman), "But Lin Dan is the champion" Morten, "yes, he is" (The tone unmistakably meant that winning the title didn't mean much) Now I concede, they are indeed appreciative sometimes and of some players (like Gill has a special crush on Wang Xiaoli, "the creativity", and Zhao Yunlei). The overall environment is basically unappreciative and rather nauseating. I watched the London Olympics final sometime back and was actually evaluating every statement of Gill, and I found a common theme that while she credited for LCW's good shots, she focused more on errors of LCW when LD comes up with a spectacle. "Just a little bit of error from LCW". If you want, I can write a research paper on this by evaluating comments in some matches. But I will do it after 2 weeks, coz I have my exams coming.
If you look at MF's career, you would understand why he has a soft spot for LCW and is allegedly against Chinese. MF himself was the perpetual second best thanks to there great Chinese players like HJ, YY and ZJH.