I don't doubt that, but was Gopichand at his best? Zhao Jianhua said he was playing too conservatively and honestly, I was expecting more after reading Birdbrain's comments abt him being a very all-rounded player. Anyway, there was this Chinese article in which Tang Xianhu mentioned that Ji and Gopi's losses were not at all surprising coz they don't really have what it takes to be champions. It was just a matter of them performing brilliantly at the correct moments, ie. the Olympic and All-England finals. Li Yongbo also said not to judge Ji by his Sydney success - it is probably the best he can do in a long long time. Not a 100 per cent accurate translation, but you get the point...