I assume the organizers put the stars on non-TV courts to make people go to watch it live so they can increase ticket sales. I have to say though, even in tennis, where the sport has way way more money going around, hawkeye didn't exist on the outer courts for years. I think money is a real issue here when it comes to implementing hawkeye on all courts, which means it's even more important to ensure that the players at the top play on courts where it's available because those are usually the games decided by fine margins.
Well, he showed the umpire his leg before retiring. In US Open, the opponent was just one point away from match points, then he complained of some chest pain and retired. Are you sure that hot date actually promised to come for a date? Or you just think so? As far as I know, LD never made any promises at all. Those in MO were the extremely lucky ones to get to watch him played a full tournament with almost full power. Maybe he was really feeling the strain on his leg but kept on playing. I mean he actually started to play, and found out that the match needed his best effort. But with no hawk eyes and questionable line calls, how could he win the match? In MO final, his shots were mostly either on the line or very close to it. I guess after that last dispute line call, he decided he was not going to sacrifice his leg for that match. Playing against VA is to him a big match. It's at least as big as any SF or F match in any tournament. I am sorry for the Singapore spectators for to be disappointed twice. But at least this time, you should blame the tournament organizers for not at least considered putting LD vs VA on court 1.
After watching the video when he retired, now I honestly don't understand with the fuss. He didn't seem angry nor throw any tantrum when he went up to the umpire and retired. I thought from the way people reacted and some angry posts he was doing all spoilt brat drama didn't get the toy he wanted and turned away when he knew he wouldn't going to get any. He might be unhappy with the line calls before but no any "bad" attitude.
In this article, he actually says 'there's nothing wrong with his emotions', but did point out the upcoming BAC and Olympics qualifications. Then threw a shade at organizers, 'saying a match-up of such quality (against VA) would've been staged in Court 1'.
No matter how you put it, it’s still unprofessional behavior. Now you could say we should give him a pass, I have no problem with that. We give star players leeway all the time.
Maybe. But the way some people described it, I expected he behaved in a more emotional outburst mannerism. He had done the similar things before, but no one gave a **** before he went on to win MO last week.
https://sg.news.yahoo.com/comment-t...sibility-fans-whether-like-not-054107832.html To retire and not to perform to one's best ability just smacks of diva-nism. Eg. do you see Man U players stage a walk-out if they rcv unfavourable linesmen calls or even a penalty called against them? EDIT: In before fan boys chime in with "top sportsmen's sole responsibility should only be to themselves (and important prizes)".
Where were you months ago when LD showed his diva-nism for the n-th time somewhere else in the world? We fans know about all his Diva-nism after 10 years or so. If you are bitter just because he did it in Singapore this time, maybe you should just accept it by now that it could have happened anywhere and move on like the rest of us.
Yes but just because people didn’t give a **** means what he did all along was okay. It is inevitable that with a recent victory there would be more attention cast on him. It is arguable, that retiring out of dispute for line calls and deciding it wasn’t worth his effort is just as unsportsmanlike as an emotional outburst, so I don’t think it would be very appropriate to defend him on those grounds. I as a LD fan, simply embrace that bad boy side of him. In fact part of the reason I’m a fan is that part of his personality. To me it’s way more interesting than watching a “Mr Nice Guy” having perfect press conferences and always doing politically correct things
I know. I meant nobody said anything when he was in a slump, he quit or walked out of the court without a care in the world about the match nor tournament but no one came here to bash him for that. But suddenly after he had won the biggest victory in many years, they started popping in here to say these things about his "sportsmanship". It was like he was not even worth mentioning before and now suddenly everyone finally started to "see" him as Legend or GOAT having a diva sickness? haha it's funny. Well, I guess that's how the world works. If you are something, people talk about you, if you are nothing, no one would care
If you defend a grown man throwing a match because he had 2-3 line calls going against him as the professional way to handle things, there's no arguing with you over this. If you said that he's only human, alright, personally I feel that a 35 year old man earning millions from this very sport purely based on his image, not his performance, might perhaps conduct himself accordingly (ever seen that kind of behavior from Federer? Nadal? Djokovic? Especially at 35?). Yes, bad calls are annoying. Yes, you have a right to protest. Playing on is not 'taking it lying down'. You can call for the tournament referee to make your point, you can protest after the match. I think pulling VA (any opponent, really) into this even as 'collateral damage', as you put it, is pretty bad. Saying it's unimportant due to his intentions - that his intentions were pure is an improvable assumption on your part. He might just as well have thought to himself 'man, I'm losing hard, might as well make a scene to get some headlines'. We'll never know. What we can judge are the actions and their consequences. And I find those of LD here utterly unbefitting of a professional in his mid-thirties. It's the equivalent of an engineer or developer erasing an entire project because two management decisions went against his will - you wouldn't defend that either.
I'd suggest you put yourself in his shoes, and considering your personality here, and , who knows, you might actually empathise with him. Look at the video somebody was kind enough to provide, was Lin Dan's behaviour that bad ? Fancy you to quote only Federer, Nadal or Djokovic, how sure are you none of them would react that way, ah, maybe not, too much money involved in tennis as well as the penalties. How about Serena/Venus Williams, McEnroe, for example? I'd say protesting to the tournament referee who won't overrule the umpire's decision and after the match are practically useless, perhaps that's why Lin Dan prefer to send a message during the match. Just saying. It's easy for you to show righteous indignation as an armchair analyst/forummer. If he had wanted to throw the match in the first place, he wouldn't be too bothered with the bad linecalls, at most with a murmur. Bear in mind,. he had suffered 15 R1 exits prior, probably immune to it. I'm thinking if the dubious linecalls didn't get under his skin, the match would be concluded without any incident, regardless the outcome. And I repeat, it had nothing to do with VA, not directed at him and it's only G1, and it could be anybody else as his opponent. As for your analogy of an engineer/developer erasing an entire project, not quite apt,as it appears to be sabotage, the consequences are more severe both to the management and the culprits concerned (even if there might be alleviating circumstances, maybe what management did to them was unethical, such as plagiarising their work, refusing to pay them their due, each case has their specific causes, etc). Just one match outcome decided in that manner does in no way affect the tournament. What has VA got to lose, except no full satisfaction of beating Lin Dan in two sets or three-setter , but who's sure of the eventuality, esp considering what Lin Dan has just done to five 'unlucky' world-class opponents the week before. Like I said, he could've just withdrawn last-minute and pay the fine, not that he has never done it before, not to mention other players. (Do you recall Nozomi played just one point in G1 and retired citing injury concerns, instead of withdrawing before the start of the event? ). And, to be clear and precise, he didn't walked off in a huff and leave the match in limbo, he chose retirement on grounds of injury.
Lin Dan's self-doubt was expressed by himself which doesn't conflict with his desire to aim for Tokyo 2020. I believe his self-confidence and inner belief is back now after that phenomenal MAS Open title win. Like you say, there's more than a year to go before Tokyo 2020, anything can still happen, I'm sure he is experienced and smart enough to work out his game plan.
Yeah, Chen Long and Shi Yuqi 'offered' Lin Dan a chance to rise and threaten their two OG tickets that seem at the moment safely in their hands. They had better think twice not to give the supposed has-been living legend a glimmer of hope or he might jolly well come back and haunt them. As it is, Lin Dan beating Chou TC , A Suupanyu and Kanta T the first three rounds was really something to cheer for, let alone overcoming his two highly fancied compatriots standing in his way to the Tokyo Olympics at the moment. Be very careful, Chen Long and Shi Yuqi may end up getting more than what they bargained for. If you watched all his five MAS Open matches you'd be immediately struck by the fact that in that one tournament, he went on the attack and smashed more than he did the whole of 2018 and the first few months of 2019 prior to the MAS Open event combined. 'It Ain't over yet' to use the lyrics of Rodney Crowell (I actually never heard of the song).
I compare LD to Federer, Nadal, Djokovic because his position in badminton is quite comparable to theirs in Tennis. That they earn more is insubstantial in this context - they're all at the top of the food chain in their sports and miles and miles above anything that is needed to live very comfortably. LD protesting and criticizing the event would not be useless. He has an absolutely massive fan base (in the context of badminton) - any criticism he voices will definitely be heard. If he openly says the event is subpar and not organized well, it will definitely have an effect, especially if he chose to skip it later on, citing that reason. I put myself in his shoes. I understand his frustration very well. It is precisely because I can empathize with him that I find this so immature and unprofessional. It's easy for me to show indignation because I have never once walked off the court like that. I dont know what you do, maybe you're projecting here, but I actively compete myself, and while I have been frustrated beyond belief at times, I've never walked off the court like a child. But it seems once again, because he won something, your beloved semi-god is beyond reproach. And you said your "silence the critics" wasnt meant literally. And, to be clear and precise, I saw his retirement, there's a couple short videos of it. Whatever reason he gave - it was not because of injury. Once again, he is putting that forward as a reason where BWF cant really punish him, like when he gave walkovers to half the Chinese team for a period of time....but this isnt about that.
Come on Lurker is an avid LD fan like us, he was merely saying that tongue in cheek. You need not treat every criticism of Lin Dan (or any Chinese players for that matter) so seriously as if it were a personal attack. Everyone has their strengths and weaknesses, and no one should be completely free of criticism, after all it only promotes self-improvement, which is a positive thing. As fans, we should be accepting of both their strengths and weaknesses, whether in terms of playing ability or character. We may embrace their weaknesses more than others, and that’s what makes us a fan and others not. But to imply that every of LD’s action is right and anyone that criticises him is perceiving things in an incorrect manner, as your paragraphs to j4ckie show, is not a constructive thing to do.