2011 U.S. Open pics, photos, images, captures..

[phil-mm]

..here are the rest of them..more pics coming, incl. from kwun, for Day 4 & 5..
Day 3 photos will be up within 24 hrs..

WOW, that's HECK of a lot of photos! Thanks for the effort. Really appreciate it.
You're quite right. Misaki does look dejected

[madbad]

Chris, great job as usual with the pics. No complaints from my end about the excessive JPN pics, esp the cutie ones

Of more importance, how is Cheng Wen Hsing doing with her dodgy service? Is the crowd suitably entertained with it?

[soulpx]

wow thanks a lot for great pics..
btw pls bring the camera more often to lyd/ksh

[Loh]

Wow! That's a lot of hard work!
Thanks Chris.

[Racekonijn]

Thanks for the great pics!!!

[aeksit]

thx so much for pic

[suetyan]

Thanks for all the photos, Chris!! But you're wrong, LXR is not as tall as BCL. She is shorter than WYH. And thanks for the photos of Shoji Sato and Misaki Matsutomo. Can you try to take a few photos of Noriyasu Hirata?

[ctjcad]

* yes, suetyan, LXR is not as tall as BCL (but i think she's probably as tall as me); she's almost as tall as him, at least when i stood next to her. Lu Lan is also pretty tall, i think taller than me; she looks different in person than on tv or pics..
Shoji is a bit camera shy (but one more pic of him below)..Misaki is a bit shy but friendly gal..I will try to take a few more photos of Mr. Hirata (not BC's jhirata) if i have enough energy left..

Here are a few off-court pics..

JPN players stretching & warming up..(Sho Sasaki, Shoji Sato & Eriko Hirose, Hirokatsu Hashimoto & Mizuki Fujii)











Kevin Cordon being interviewed by a reporter



A few CHN players (Qiu Zihan, Ying Luo & Liu Cheng) stretching & warming up..



A player getting a back message..



Is she listening to Big Bang, TVXQ or Super Junior



One of the CHN players' camcorder...did i notice a Djarum sticker on there?



Tournament's referee..Mr. Carsten Koch



Kanako Yonekura with a post-game talk with Kaori Imabeppu after her loss vs. Lu Lan





That's Alan-meister aka BC's kakinami..and he'll be traveling to London to help out as one of the stringers at the World's



Taufik signing an autograph for a fan..



That's Taufik's coach, Hariawan, chatting with a JPN player..



Miyuki Maeda (left) and Satoko Suetsuna, after their win in the 2nd round, being interviewed by a JPN reporter..







Yes, they do have drug-testing for all players also..



THA's Porntip B. in post-match talk, after her win vs. Marin, with her coach..

[kwun]

went back to the hotel, started processing the photos and then fell asleep. processing my photos now, stay tuned....

[ctjcad]

..just a few but hopefully will get a few more in a few days from another BC member, Daylightkiller..

[ctjcad]

Chris, great job as usual with the pics. No complaints from my end about the excessive JPN pics, esp the cutie ones

Of more importance, how is Cheng Wen Hsing doing with her dodgy service? Is the crowd suitably entertained with it?

..don't worry, they'll be mostly a different group of players, but you'll get to see a few more JPN players cuties next week, in person..

For Cheng WH and her serving, to be frank, i haven't noticed much of her matches; just a bit busy with other activities. But, hey, at least she's still surviving so far..and will try to catch her playing tonight in both of her matches..

[madbad]

..don't worry, they'll be mostly a different group of players, but you'll get to see a few more JPN players cuties next week, in person..

For Cheng WH and her serving, to be frank, i haven't noticed much of her matches; just a bit busy with other activities. But, hey, at least she's still surviving so far..and will try to catch her playing tonight in both of her matches..

Sounds like you're having a great time there. Keep up the good work and looking forward to more pics, of course.

[kwun]

here are mine. enjoy!!!!

[Krisna]

Uhm, from these pictures, the stadium in US Open is not nice... Isn't there a better venue somewhere in LA? This stadium does not look too much better than the one for Indonesia Challenge..... Badminton needs a better presentation in the US...

[ctjcad]

Uhm, from these pictures, the stadium in US Open is not nice... Isn't there a better venue somewhere in LA? This stadium does not look too much better than the one for Indonesia Challenge..... Badminton needs a better presentation in the US...

Yes, it's quite true. We could definitely use a better "badminton" stadium for the presentation. However, at this time, OCBC and maybe the new LABC club can be considered a spectator type facility (with seating stands) in the U.S. Also, considering the amount and percentage of badminton die-hards in California/L.A. region, i think the stadium wouldn't fill to capacity. For yesterday's QF Rd. i think the stands were only filled about 80-85% max.
IBF tried holding a tourney during the 2005 Worlds but it was at the Anaheim Pond (used to be called Honda Center)-there are pictures of that event in the 2005 World Championships thread. However, eventhough that facility has all the bells and whistles and concessions stands, it also has its drawbacks. For one, quite a few players (incl. Mr. Hidayat) complained of the air conditioning draft~he joked that they might as well play outside the stadium as the air was blowing the shuttles, that they probably can fly a kite inside the stadium. Afterall, it's a large and very open air stadium built not conducive to sports like badminton. Also, we have to think about the cost of renting such stadium.
Now, if BWF wants to nominate U.S. to hold a few major BWF events in the U.S. in the next few yrs, surely USBA and the organizers will be able to plan something. But if they'll only have it for a GP /GP Gold type tourneys, where only they'll have top players coming in every so often, then they might have to think twice or thrice if they want to rent a "badminton" type stadium. Or say, if badminton's popularity really boom in U.S./CA in the next few yrs, then we might have a chance to host this kind of event in say the Pond or Staples Center. Another option is to hold the event in NorCal where there are more Asian/Chinese population in comparison to SoCal/L.A., but they would need to rent a stadium type hall.

[JStandard]

Uhm, from these pictures, the stadium in US Open is not nice... Isn't there a better venue somewhere in LA? This stadium does not look too much better than the one for Indonesia Challenge..... Badminton needs a better presentation in the US...

While I don't disagree with you and think the above post is on point about the financial considerations, our "humble" stadium allows (forces) fans and players to mix very easily whichcreates a really great atmosphere.

Yesterday I looked to my left at the bathroom sink and Bao Chunlai is washing his hands right next to me before a match so I gave him an extra paper towel. Tien Minh Nguyen was sitting behind us in the stands and accidentally kicked my friend in the butt when getting up to go play his match. On his way to the court Taufik got caught in some walking traffic because too many people were going to the snack bar.

It is true if we want the sport to grow we will need to find a bigger home, but until then I will enjoy our 1 Bedroom Badminton Apartment.

[Cheung]

While I don't disagree with you and think the above post is on point about the financial considerations, our "humble" stadium allows (forces) fans and players to mix very easily whichcreates a really great atmosphere.

Yesterday I looked to my left at the bathroom sink and Bao Chunlai is washing his hands right next to me before a match so I gave him an extra paper towel. Tien Minh Nguyen was sitting behind us in the stands and accidentally kicked my friend in the butt when getting up to go play his match. On his way to the court Taufik got caught in some walking traffic because too many people were going to the snack bar.

It is true if we want the sport to grow we will need to find a bigger home, but until then I will enjoy our 1 Bedroom Badminton Apartment.

Entirely agree. Different venues, different atmosphere. Although I've never been kicked in the butt myself, it's a good reason to worship your friend forever

I don't think US Open will be supported as much in the next two years. After all, it's really only the Olympic qualification points that are the big draw.


Chris, excellent photos. What are you using now? 7D or 1D. Lighting doesn't look good. What ISO are you guys on?