Who do u all think will make up China's Thomas Cup team? In my opinion, this is wat the team will consist of 1st Singles: Xia Xuanze (this is a definant, given his current form and ranking) 1st Doubles: Zhang Jun / Zhang Wei (seems to be no other logical combination) 2nd Singles: Chen Hong (again, based on current form and ranking) 2nd Doubles: Liu Yong / Chen Qi Qiu (like b4, no other doubles combo more appropriate 3rd Singles: Dan Lin (Though he is young, i believe he is the next best after Chen Hong based on his form. Ji Xinpeng seems to be so out of touch this whole year and seems to have lost his place to youngsters like Lin and Bao. Lin, although loses to Bao most the time, seems to be able to conquer more highly ranked players than Bao, this is the reason for my choice. Also, Lin has a fighting spirit, much like Xia) Newayz, thats my opinion, please do share
i agree. Xia is lethal and his style suits 5x7 well. if Li and coaches can maintain his form till late May, they have a high chance of nabbing that MS point against most players. ChenH has been near top form last year, always get to 95% but has problem converting at the last moment. we haven't seen a lot of him recently. what is going on? i agree, Lin Dan is impressive, considering his age (18?), he will be great with good nurturing. as for doubles. Zhang/Zhang no doubt will be 1st doubles. 2nd doubles... well. not sure. China needs to have *more* doubles pairings. they should do what the ladies does, they have 4 world class pairs and don't know how many more pairs waiting to show what they can do.
Agreed. Misbun says that player to watch next year will be Gade as he has adapted well to 7 points system already.Chen Hong can be beaten by anybody in 7 points. Can you imagine the impact on badminton if China wins Thomas Cup again after 10 years.There will be a surge of national interest and shuttlecock prices will probably surge and Yonex will be busy stamping racquets and there will be more coverage on Satellitte TV.But if China fails I billion people will lose interest and the game can hibernate.Of course that is my opinion,
China's singles lineup 1) Xia 2) Lin Dan 3) Bao Chun Lai Doubles 1) Zhang/Zhang - always have a chance of beating the best. Just as easily can lose. 2) Liu/Chen - it depends how Chen Qi Qiu performs. These two also have elbow problems Not necesary to predict such dire warnings for the game. There are still Athens and Beijing to look forward to. China's atheletes and coaches are under tremendous pressure for 2008. Watch the fever mount.
Actually, There's no way any national association can place their team as they please. Thomas Cup rules require the placement of players based on their international ranking at the commencement of the Finals. Hence if Bao is ranked higher than Lin Dan, he will play as either 2nd or 3rd singles instead of Lin Dan depending on whether Chen is playing or not. Unless he is dropped completely from the line-up. Then, can a lower ranked player play in his place. Asumming a ranking as follows: 1. Xia Xuanze 2. Chen Hong 3. Bao Chunlai 4. Lin Dan Then, Lin Dan will only get to play if any of the other 3 players ranked higher than him are dropped from the line-up of the day. Likewise for doubles.
perhaps that would be tactic the Chinese will play. by holding off Lin so his ranking will be lower, yet early enough so he will get some exposure in the international circuit.
Chen Hong's record in both the 7x5 and 3x15 leaves one feeling that he is unreliable. He wins one match at a time, but seems unable to string them together to finish as No.1 in a tournament. Lin Dan is actually 3rd among the Chinese, currently 5th!!! But he has regularly lost to Bao the JWC and recently at the National Games sideshow - the International Challenge, final, Lin was thrashed soundly by Chen Yu (a great jump smasher) in straight sets, playing 3x15 system. MD, Zhang & Zhang have to be there, but their recent form has declined: they lose more than win. Liu and Chen are the 'old pairing' and can only produce the occasional surprise. They are next in ranking. Chen Rui/Zhang Wei at No.30 are next but they haven't been able to get among the medals in international tournaments. I prefer the JWC Sang Yang/Zheng Bo who played in Singapore and KL and collected some scalps -China could be preparing them for the T Cup debut if then can get up the rankings. John.
I still stand by my list. Lin Dan is currently fourth and Bao is 13th in the world rankings. Gladius, I think you must have been mistaken. Bao will need to get to the latter stages of two major tournaments to overcome Lin. Actually, I think Lin is the better of the two so far...but not by much. I have only seen Bao play once so my judgement is not fair. We forgot about Chen Yu as well. Poor Chen Hong world number 2 and we've written him off already!
I've seen Lin Dan play several times and Bao in Dutch Open final.I think Bao is a much more dangerous player with very lethal strokes and has a similar style with Sun Jun.
