With the dawn of 2006 BWF/IBF calendar year and the new 2007 BWF calendar year and SS schedule coming up, which player(s) do you guys think will be the player(s) to watch next year??.. Will it be someone new for each of the field (MS, WS, MD, WD and XD), or will it be same old story and players all over again??..
As usual, Lin Dan, see how does he handle the pressure, being World No.1 and all... Can he win all those titles and confirm his stauts as an all-time great? We'll wait and see... Among the others to look out for, and can put a spanner in Lin Dan's works include Lee Chong Wei, Chen Jin, Bao Chunlai, Peter Gade, Taufik Hidayat, Lee Hyun Il, Kuan Beng Hong (what?! hehe...) and a few surprises here and there... All in all, i'm lookin forward to 2007! P.S. Jia you Lee Chong Wei and Bao Chunlai! :-D
Saina Nehwal will cause few upsets this year though its just a beginning of her career. She is just 16.
Actually i am really looking forward to the newly crowned asian game mens double champion KKK/TBH...Recently there are really a lot of peoples talk about them and i doubt all of the top pairs hope to win them.Really hope to see what they can do in 2007 and hope that they are not the next hafiz,after winning the all england,he can't really do well.So,the battle start with the Mas open super series in Jan 16...
Beng Hong will be the man I think it will be a break through year for Kuan Beng Hong. Based on the Asian Games Team event performance, I like what I've seen as Beng Hong had totally changed his playing style from stroke player to attacking player, typical Li Mau style. What Beng Hong need is the confidence and and some luck on the draw.
I think Taufik. I wonder if he wants to have a dominating year. He has proven he can win when he says he wants to but can he prove he has the heart and desire of a champion for extended periods?
I think one of the player to watch is Simon Santoso, he managed to beat chen Jin ... and almost beat him few days after. In CPH master, he also almost beat peter Gade and Wong choong hann (21-19 in the rubber). I'm sure he'll create many upsets this year .. =p But also from indonesia Joko Riyadi/Hendra Aprida Gunawan .. They managed to beat eriksen/Lundgaard (n°2 in the world) but also very easily the runner-up at the world championship anthony clark/Robert blair. Hope to see them more often this year !!
i'm sceptical about BCL's future performances. i think CJ will outshine him again this year, i can still see CJ improving, but i think BCL may have already reached his peak, sadly. so this year, my eyes are on CJ and KKK/TBH.
CJ outshined BCL this year? BCL reached the final of the WC (Beating TH & LCW), won a 6 star tournament and made the final in three others. I don't think CJ did better than this. I agree however when you say BCL is unlikely to improve. Physically or Technically he is unlikely to change from now, he can improve mentally, but it is much harder to do this. Back On the main subject I would say: MS: Likely to be no new faces IMO here at this time, Chen Hong is likely to have a few victories, LD should have more, LCW might win one or two if he improves a bit more. WS: I beleive this should be more open this year. as big a fan of ZN I am I can see her performancs tailing off now-I don't think she will make it to OG2008. This leaves XXF as the outstanding player, but I still think she is fragile mentally. The younger CHN WS players are not quite there yet, and there are still players that can beat them on their day. MD: This should be interesting this year, with Eriksen/Luungard ageing, they should be more inconsistent, and with not many top older pairs left (save for LWW/CTF and of course Tony/Candra) Younger pairs from MAL/INA should be in with a shout. I hope LYD from Korea gets a good partner soon, and he still has lots more to develop. WD: Can't see any change here. XD: I think Zhang/Gao are finished, but it would not be surprising if they won a few again. Zhang is a Big tournament player, so I think the Super Series is not for him. Expecting some KOR pairs to emerge. DEN are looking a bit thin. Will be interesting to see if ENG WC performances were a one-off or not.
WS: I agree. This might be the year to see the CHN young ladies and the "export" CHN clash against each other more often. XD: This event is wide open after Kim/Ra was gone. Now, Zhang/Gao are done, leaves this even more unpredictable in a way. Don't ignore Xie/Zhang, though.
haha, shouldn't it be outshone? anyways, you're right i guess results-wise, i'm just speaking from the games i've watched CJ play vs the ones BCL played. i believe BCL has more natural ability than CJ, but i feel CJ works much harder and has a better attitude when facing tough opponents. which is why i agree with NGP that this could be CJ's year.
