can somebody who watched this match on TV give some comment? how did Chen Hong managed to lose the 2nd game? what happend in the 3rd game? did he run out of ideas against a very strong Shon, or did he simply run out of steam?
I am wondering the same question, anyone, please? This is another proof that man's life is harder than woman's, Gao Ling is winning all the way is two events...And Chen Hong is....
I'll try. Chen Hong was controlling 1st set and not duly stretched. In fact he was a much better player than in AE or Sudirman. 2nd set was neck and neck until Ch broke off at 13-8. Then Shon staged a fast paced fight bak to 14-14. then 17-14.(Reminds you of AE) Shon had not much to offer but he played a very safe game and upped pace in 2nd set. Dunno what happened in final and never will as ESPN then ended transmission.
Arghhhh, Chen Hong lost. I fell asleep watching their first set (it was close to 5am then), what a pity to miss the rest .....However, Shon used to be a fighter and even though he lost in a big gap at first set. He's still calm, and fast. Not a surprise for Shon to win over Chen. He could be very dangerous to Wong CH as well.
Yes, I thought Chen Hong has improved alot since the last time I seen him! He had no problems in the first set. Leading 13-8 in the 2nd, Chen Hong just seemed to lost focus from then on. Made quite a few errors! As the commentators mentioned, Chen Hong made more errors halfway through the 2nd set as compared to the whole of the first set. To Shon's credit, he never gave up.... played pretty well in the 2nd.... but really, Chen Hong's game to lose! 3rd set was not shown on ESPN, they cut short the broadcast!
I've watched the game again.I think CH must have miscalculated. His habit of gaining several points, then stroll, etc. . In 2nd game against Shon after leading 13-8, he made too many unforced errors and lost 17-14. In contrast when Xia played Wong, they were quite miserly and snatched point for point, until Xia broke away at 6-6,showing his superior fitness this time. The again games played at NIA are very tactical as the side facing camera is fast, whilst person with back to camera faces the wind. Very obvious in ladies games when ladies facing draft tend to lose heavily perhaps because shuttles were a bit slow. I think Xia deserves to be champ, he has more skills whilst Ch depends only on his big smash.
I watched CH VS Shon. It did not finish until nearly midnight. All I can say is Shon is a real fighter. Very determined. Was standing 2 feet from him in the press conference room later as some of the Malaysian Journalists took me in with them. He was in tears and we were all very touched. Also went to listen to Li Yong Bo give press conference. What a strange character he is, he only speaks in Mandarin, and no one can ask any questions. Everyone there was only listening and writing. The foreign journalists were only later given scraps by the Chinese Media. He strikes me as a very arrogant and snobish sort...but maybe he has every right to be. He kept going on and on about how strong China's MD is and CH loss is no big deal. All in all, a very fruitful outing for me as I got to see Choong Hann in the hotel lobby as well when the Malaysian Journalists went to interview him. Had a good chat with him and found him to be a very intelligent and thoughtful guy, and disciplined too. Apparently he meditates for a couple of hours the night before a big match. He is my favourite among all the Malaysian players, as he has all the qualities of a great champion. I hope Hafiz emulates after him as far as displine is concerned, actually, all Malaysian national players should look to him as a role model.
I watched the game in NIA, and this is my feeling on the matter. 1st game- chen hong looked himself,quick,technically good,working the rallys well to win the game. seung-mo nervous and just not up to standard. 2nd game- again chen was walking it, he did an outrageous trick shot where he left it from high,then pirouetted and hit it between his legs or something, but looked good. he lost that point,although not due to that shot, from that period,his fast game reduced, as he became i feel bored with the game, until setting when the score was 15-14 to shon, at which point he did a superb net kill from a tight net shot which the umpire called fault,as said shuttle not over net, that brought shon match point which he converted at 2nd or 3rd attempt, i dont remember,it was late. 3rd game-shon started very quickly against what i thought looked a tired chen, shons net play became better and better, shon developed a big lead, chen just looked like he didnt want to play and tried to smash everysingle shot from the back, and try too tight and to difficult net play at front, meanwhile everytime shon play a shot he got more confident and more confident. everytime chen played a shot you thought shon would win the point. he continually served short, to which shons netplay was too good, developing a lift to which he gain initiative or net net reply, put away by shon, that was if his serving was good enough to warrant that,most of the time in third shon could just kill it from the serve, i could serve better.when he was returning he tried net shot, but they were poor resulting in shon controlling the rally. his clears were always just reaching the doubles service line, and he was leaving the clears of shon, as he was not confident to win it by his shots, so he tried to leave them,hoping they were out.his come back at the end was consolation, and no real threat to shon. my analysis of chens game is that he is technically excellent and his movement and strokes are generally very good, his weakness is his netplay, and fragile confidence, and overconfidence whilst in lead. He does not seem to be able to change his game to counteract opponents change of tactics. He is so quick that usually when people lift, he does not play round the head, but gets fully behind it so shuttle is above his head, when he gets in a lead, is tired or not wanting to play, then he tends to hit things round the head, or whilst he is moving back, as he is not used to this he makes a lot of mistakes as he tries the same shots, when in different positions, my opinion is that to beat chen hong you have to play fast make him play shots quickly, as this unsettles him, he likes a slow games,where he can have time to move behind the shuttle, this is probably a reason why he struggles against wong choon hann, as he plays quick, with deception, making chen later for shots. Basically he needs to improve his stamina so he can play the way he likes for 90+mins and his brain, so he can recognise the play changes in a third set without the reliance of his coach. however i think he is a joy to watch, as his movement and grace, is rivalled at moment only by xia-he looks good even when he is diving for a shot.-this was highlighted in the xia/bao chun lai match, bao seems to have very scrappy footwork, perhaps as he is so tall, also due to his age, when matched against xia, was obvious. By the way, if you have bother to read all the way to the bottom i managed to get picture with bao chunlai as he was wandering around in a break on finals day!!!! i was so happy, as i a lefty with dodgy movement as well!!!
Good analysis! Zhao Jian Hua said the same thing about Bao on ESPN, that his recovery is poor because of his leg strength.
Bao chun Lai looks too thin. For such a tall fellow, they really should feed him more. As my mum says, "he looks like a coat hanger".
