here is the line up for the semi finals... MS : Lin Dan vs. Ronald Susilo Peter Gade vs. Taufik WS: Gong vs. Mia ZhangNing vs. ZhouMi MD: Choong/Lee vs. Cai/Fu Jens Eriksen/Martin Hansen vs. Eng Hian/Flandi Limpele WD: Yang Wei/Zhang Jiewen vs. Wei Yili/Zhao Tingting Gao Ling/Huang Sui vs. Ra Kyeung Min/Lee Kyeung Won XD: Kim Dong Moon / Ra Kyeung Min vs. Nova WIDIANTO / Vita MARISSA KIM Yong-Hyun / LEE Hyo-Jung vs Jens ERIKSEN / Mette SCHJOLDAGER
My bets: MS : Lin Dan -Peter Gade WS: Gong - ZhouMi MD: Cai/Fu - Jens Eriksen/Martin Hansen WD: Yang Wei/Zhang Jiewen - Gao Ling/Huang Sui XD: Kim Dong Moon / Ra Kyeung - Jens ERIKSEN / Mette SCHJOLDAGER
Peter vs. Taufik... isn't that a repeat of 2001 (or was it 2000?) yeah. Peter vs. Lin will be a great match! can we say, "Gade is back"?
There's no need for me to list my picks (for the final at least), as by now everybody should know them. But I must say, this has been the first time ever that I've been excited about Chinese MD play, thanks to a pairing of 20 and 24 year olds!! Kwun, since you got your hands on the AE photos pretty quick, any chance you can post some of Cai/Fu and Lin Dan??
It's obvious, Choong/Lee shall win I like the semi final or even Final matchup except WS and WD events, as they compose of mixture from different nations, no more the repeat of World Championship 2003 where the Chinese had the luxury to fix things up. My only wish is Ronald Susilo put on a fighting hat and drag Lin Dan to rubber(I don't think Ronald can beat Lin dan) hence give the winner between Taufik vs Peter as fair chance as these two could very well go rubber too. I like Choong/Lee as underdog as they seem to perform better when you we don't expect them to just like against Paaske/Rasmussen, so I pick a upset for this matchup. Malaysia Boleh!
Lin Dan is too strong lately!! By the way, he thrashed Sony, i think Lin Dan is too strong lately. I think Lin Dan has dominated Gade in their recent encounters. Anyone know the history for Gade / Lin Dan? Last 3-4 matches i think Gade lost i think. To win Lin Dan, the opponent must understand his game well.
Ronald Susilo has created S'pore History Well most of you don't seem to give our local hero, Ronald, a chance in the SF. All indications so far have pointed in Lin Dan's favour. Agree only on paper! Whatever the SF outcome, Ron has already achieved the unexpected, almost impossible, distinction of a Singaporean appearing in the QF and now even the SF of the All-England! Now, please, no more argument on his citizenship as Ron has been a Singapore citizen for some time now and his development into a badminton star has largely been due to the resources placed on him by our SBA since the time he was a teenager studying here. Ron is now 24. I was also surprised that most posters have discounted the ability of Taufik Hidayat to beat Peter Gade. Haven't we been reminded that this year's AE is full of surprises and shocks? If the old hands of Choong & Lee of M'sia (kudos to them!) can beat the young No. 1 seeded Danish pair of JR and Lars in straight games, who can be very sure now? Similarly, the veteran doubles of Eng Hian and Flandy of Indonesia have demolished all the young and up-coming pairs who faced them up to the QF stage and they have now earned a place in the Semis. On paper Anders Boesen was ranked higher than Ronald, but this is only theory. Remember, Lin Dan became world no. 1 only recently, replacing Chen Hong first and Lee Hyun Il after a brief spell, I think. So I will be cheering for a Ronald and a Taufik win just to be on the other side of the fence! More fun this way although I doubt I will win Kwun's T-shirt if this really come true! Because on paper, Lin Dan's recent performance seems unstoppable. But so far, this AE has proven that major upsets can happen. ANYTHING GOES!
Thanks for hte pics, Ants! Lin Dan has won the last 2 matches against Gade, of their total 3 matches ever played. Gade's was won back in 2002 on home ground at DK Open. That was the period of Lin Dan's stagnation.... Gade vs Taufik should be a close, fairly lengthy match. If Lin disposes of Ronny quickly, then he will certainly hold a stamina advantage in the finals.
Lin Dan had a 2-1 record over Gade with their last encounter at swiss open where lin dan won 17-15 , 15-4. my guess would be lin dan this time at the rate he is going.
it will certainly be a very exciting match. Peter beat Taufik in 1999 AE Final. that was... 5 years ago! so hard to say who'll win. both have had their problems in the past couple of years, Gade injury, Taufik with PBSI. but both are recovering from them. it will be another epic battle. whoever gets to watch it live are in for a treat. i envy you.
Taufik IMO will beat gade, taufik, was immense yesterday against Chen yu, the only points he got were lucky shots/mis hits. Taufik relaxed in the second game and chen yu was 6-0 up, but taufik just played properly again and won 15-8. It was fdefinitely the taufik of old. He made very few mistakes, playing very simlpy, tigh net shots, solid defense, killer smashes. also think lindan will win ronald Cai/fu will also win (IMO) probably eng/flandy in doubles, but very close game, not much between. Going to stick my neck out and say that mia will beat gong too. going to watch now, hope you have fun watching, thinkng of you all!
Re: Ronald Susilo has created S'pore History Ronald only beat Shoji SATO, Yousuke NAKANISHI, Aamir GHAFFAR and Anders BOESEN before he could appear in the semi. None of them is a super player. I think he is too luck in the draw.So you could not expect too much of him.
8-5 Eriksen/lundgaard .. I would have liked it to be a little less close.. in the "old-boys" semifinal..
