But China Masters Gpg is the last qualification tournament so you never know... It might pour when it rains.
Yes, Lin Dan will win the CHN Masters to improve his Race to Glasgow Standing. Frankly, looking at the draw, I don't expect anybody to trouble him ,but the point is everybody will go all out to beat him with nothing to lose, even his fellow teammates. not just the foreign players, all for a shot at fame. So he would have to strike a balance between conserving energy and winning the tournament without affecting his condition for the following week's BAC where even stronger opposition awaits him.
Probability to beat Superdan LD not in form vs other players in form = 55% LD in form vs other players in form = < 10- 15% LD in supersaiyan form vs other players in form = no chance at all ( - 0%) LD not in form vs other players not in form = <30% LD in form vs other players not in form = no chance at all LD in supersaiysan form vs other players not in form = massacre, slaughtering which comes in a form of an exhibition match
Same as this one : Probability to beat Superdan LD not in form vs LCW in form = 55% LD in form vs LCW in form = < 10- 15% LD in supersaiyan form vs LCW in form = no chance at all ( - 0%) LD not in form vs LCW not in form = <30% LD in form vs LCW not in form = no chance at all LD in supersaiysan form vs LCW not in form = massacre, slaughtering which comes in a form of an exhibition match Thanks SS. Correct me if I am wrong.
Will we be so fortunate and spoilt as to see another Lin Dan vs Lee CW match in the semifinals of the BAC so soon after the MAS PSS Dream Final ? To be honest, my expectations aren't high, not when awaiting them is probably Chen Long in the final, not to mention the Sudirman Cup just round the corner where all participants want to preserve their form and condition for it. Still I hope to see another LD - LCW matchup, followed by one involving Chen Long, we may never know.
On another note, I truly hope to see Lin Dan continuing to maintain the form and motivation of the MAS Open for as long as possible where there's LCW and the so-called SEA jinx to push him. The present-day Lin Dan who's once again proven himself to be still the best player in the world, his skills and experience second to none, is no longer the Lin Dan we used to know, his priorities in life have changed, and as far as badminton is concerned, he does very much what his whims and fancies take him nowadays. Perhaps, the birth of his baby son , Xiaoyu, serves as another motivation as Nine-Tailed fox put it. Veritably, every little motivation counts for someone who has nothing to prove and no more peaks to conquer in badminton. Tokyo 2020 for his third Olympic gold remains a driving force, undeniably though unconfirmed yet as he hasn't spoken about it, but it's early days yet; as such we have to wait until the next Olympic qualification cycle begins in 2019 to know his real state of mind, assuming he wants to give it another shot.
To tell you the truth, I am very glad that LCW is still around refusing to give up and continuing to play top-notch badminton near or at his best to put all the young pretenders in their place. As a result, not only Chen Long has to be on his toes, even Lin Dan is driven by him, reluctant to call it quits. We badminton fans are so fortunate. To be fair, we really can't blame or begrudge the two Golden Oldies, nay Living Legends, for still being able to deliver sterling performances that put the younger generation to shame, apart from The Dragon, Chen Long, who remains the only one capable of challenging the two super maestros at the highest level. True, for the time being, Chen Long who's taken a long post-Rio'16 break is not back at his best yet , but he'll be back for sure, anytime soon,perhaps at the BAC just to convince his coaches his readiness to do duty for the Sudirman Cup.
Yeah but with each subsequent match, it's losing its marketing appeal. Unless it's the World Championships or Olympics, any other match does not match the hype.
Huh? Viktor has proven he's also in that skill range. I strongly suspect Momota was before his unfortunate departure from the sport, although it remains to be seen. Shi Yuqi, provided he gets back into form, looks like an interesting player. I'm not so confident in Xue Song or Tian Houwei, they're good, but I'm not convinced they're the same cut. It's a shame Chou Tien Chen, Shrikanth, and Sugiarto didn't really come into their element. JOJ came closer, but he too never quite made the leap into that level. Hell Tago could've been something, but he clearly did not have the personal drive to operate at that level, and tapered off heavily. I think Chen Long is in the weirdest place, in his age bracket, he has no contest. LD/LCW are significantly older than he is, and Axelsen is significantly younger.
That may be so but any MS final not involving Lin Dan and/or LCW are just not the same, lacking in the special allure and heightened excitement it can generate to stir our imagination and draw in the crowd and increase TV/Internet viewership. Unfortunately, until now, there is yet another rising superstar who can fill their shoes, not even Chen Long unless he is crossing swords with either one of the said megastars. So for now, it still has to be Lin - Lee, Lee - Chen or Lin - Chen. And it's unlikely to change in the foreseeable future until a new superstar is born who commands the same charisma.
Not quite, I remember just before the Rio Olympics, Peter Gade and Taufik Hidayat were both of the opinion that none of the younger generation, not even Chen Long, can step into the shoes of Lin Dan and LCW, irreplaceable. All the possible names you mentioned, not one is convincing - just recall how Lin Dan and LCW were like at their age back then.
I sincerely believe Axelsen is one capable of meeting the mark. He needs opposition though. Let's see where Shi Yuqi and a return Momota go. They're two candidates for great things.
I don't think LCW was that great around 21, 22. Kinda a late bloomer around 2007? So that would be around age 25.
In a way, you're right.I thought he started his ascent in 2005 to 2007, about 23 to 25 years old, a couple years later than Lin Dan who at age 21 was already a worldbeater. But once LCW was on the rise, he was very impressive, so convincing and consistent as to put today's young wannabes,pretenders,and contenders in their early to mid-20s to shame.
LCW got better when he started pursuing physicality. LD knew this much earlier and have obtained a superbody Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
The great disappointment is Srikanth. If he could have continued to play at his best level he would, with Axelsen and Momota, gave us a very exciting rivalry. He has the charisma and style to attract the crowd's attention. But for some reason he did not make it. The young INA generation is also promising but we need two or three more years.